Employment Opportunities
Director of Policy and Communications
Organizational Background
The Medicare Rights Center (www.medicarerights.org) is a national, nonprofit consumer services organization that works to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities through counseling and advocacy, educational programs, and public policy initiatives. Having celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2009, Medicare Rights is an independent, consumer-oriented source of Medicare information for all Americans, whether they are older consumers, people with disabilities, their caregivers, or the professionals serving them.
In carrying out its mission, Medicare Rights works in three main areas to help the 47 million Americans with Medicare. First, through its Client Services Department, it provides direct assistance to individuals who need answers to Medicare questions, and help resolving problems with access to health care—through counseling, enrollment, casework and, when necessary, legal representation in individual appeals cases. Second, the Education Department at Medicare Rights leverages its content expertise in the field of Medicare through a number of media, most notably the online tool “Medicare Interactive,” (MI), a comprehensive source of easy-to-understand information about all aspects of Medicare provided in a user-friendly format at www.medicareinteractive.org. Third, and most directly relevant to the position described below, Medicare Rights is able to leverage its day-to-day experiences helping Medicare beneficiaries, to make sure that the consumer voice is championed among health care policymakers at all levels of government.
Medicare Rights Center’s unique blend of direct service, education, advocacy and policy work ensures that real consumer experiences reach the highest levels of policy-making, and that policies and laws adopted at state and federal levels are translated for consumers and effectively implemented.
Since its founding in 1989, Medicare Rights has provided assistance to more than one million people. In its most recent year, it received almost 49,000 hotline calls, and handled more than 20,000 new consumer and professional counseling cases. With a staff of 35 professionals, its annual budget is approximately $3 million, with slightly over half provided by foundations and private donors, and the balance by government grants and contracts. The organization maintains its headquarters in midtown Manhattan, as well as an office in Washington, D.C., which focuses on policy work and advocacy. The position described below will be based in the Washington office.
The Position: Director of Policy and Communications
The Medicare Rights Center currently seeks a Director of Policy and Communications, a key senior role in the organization, reporting directly to the President. The Director will be responsible for formulating, directing and implementing the policy and advocacy work of the Washington office of the Medicare Rights Center, and for developing, in conjunction with the President, a proactive communications strategy that supports the policy priorities of Medicare Rights. The Director will focus his/her efforts on continuously informing policymakers in Congress and the administration, as well as journalists covering health care issues, about the problems facing Medicare consumers, and the administrative and legislative policy remedies that the Medicare Rights Center supports to address those problems.
Specific Responsibilities of the Director of Policy and Communications
- Communicate regularly with Medicare Rights Center client services staff to identify problems facing Medicare consumers that require development of legislative or regulatory solutions.
- Analyze Medicare-related legislation and regulations and other health policy developments, and formulate the Medicare Rights Center’s response for journalists and policymakers.
- Advocate for the Medicare Rights Center’s policy priorities with administration officials and congressional staff.
- Participate in health care policy coalitions with other Medicare stakeholders in pursuit of Medicare Rights Center’s policy agenda.
- Provide reporters with background information and Medicare Rights Center’s perspective on a range of health policy subjects.
- Develop, write and edit periodic policy papers and reports, congressional correspondence, press releases and policy newsletters for stakeholders.
- Supervise the day-to-day work of the staff in the Washington office, and oversee their professional development.
- Collaborate with the two-member Communications team in the New York office to ensure appropriate messaging to relevant stakeholders—journalists, policymakers, consumers and visitors to the Medicare Rights Center website.
Qualifications:
- Undergraduate degree required; advanced degree preferred;
- 7+ years of post-undergraduate work experience, preferably in a health care policy or advocacy organization;
- A solid working knowledge of Medicare is strongly preferred, preferably obtained through some aspect of previous work experience;
- Excellent writing skills, as demonstrated through a writing sample, and preferably with previous work experience involving writing;
- Excellent communications skills, and experience as a speaker on policy-related topics;
- Experience with the legislative and regulatory processes of government in Washington, D.C.;
- Experience interacting with news media (traditional and new) in the role of advocate;
- Demonstrated ability to work collegially, as a participant in organizational coalitions;
- A leadership style that is highly collaborative, yet appropriately decisive; a willingness to work across departmental lines on a consistent basis.
Salary is commensurate with experience. The Medicare Rights Center offers a generous benefits package.
Application Instructions
The Medicare Rights Center is committed to diversity, and welcomes applications from individuals of any race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation.
Qualified applicants should send a cover letter and resume to: jobs@medicarerights.org with “Director, Policy and Communications” in the subject line.
No phone calls please. Local candidates from the Washington, D.C., area only.