Health Communications Specialist III

Lantana Consulting Group, Inc. provides services and software for standards-based health-information exchange. We have established ourselves as a trusted leader in the industry with two decades of expertise in developing and deploying technical specifications and interoperability solutions. As a rapidly growing distributed, employee-owned company, we hire exceptional talent nationwide and offer flexible remote work arrangements. We take pride in our mission to improve public health and quality of care.

Primary purpose: 

Supports public-health and healthcare programs, with particular emphasis on translating complex technical, scientific, operational, and policy information into clear, accurate, and audience-appropriate products. Independently leads complex and high-visibility communication and policy assignments, exercises advanced judgment in content development and audience strategy, and serves as a trusted resource to program staff, subject-matter experts, stakeholders, and leadership.

A successful candidate will do the following:

• Lead the development of complex health-policy and communications products that involve nuanced subject matter, multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, or high visibility
• Translate complex public-health, healthcare, scientific, technical, operational, and policy information into clear, accurate, and compelling messages for technical, executive, professional, partner, and healthcare audiences
• Develop and refine policy briefs, issue summaries, environmental and landscape assessments, reports, presentations, talking points, communication plans, training materials, web and electronic content, and other program products
• Analyze program information and available data to identify gaps in communication, policy, audience, and information; recommend practical strategies to address the gaps
• Serve as a trusted partner to subject-matter experts (SMEs) and leadership on complex communication and policy-related assignments
• Provide guidance to less-experienced staff
• Advise SMEs and program leaders on audience needs, message clarity, tone, sequencing, content structure, and communication approaches
• Lead communication planning for complex initiatives; define objectives, audiences, key messages, channels, products, dependencies, review processes, and measures of success
• Coordinate contributions from multiple SMEs and stakeholders, reconcile differing perspectives, resolve ambiguity, and maintain progress toward shared objectives
• Review, edit, improve, and secure approvals for materials developed by colleagues and SMEs 
• Serve as a resource for editorial, visual, accessibility, and documentation standards; identify systemic quality issues or recurring sources of rework
• Develop and maintain content governance practices, templates, workflows, and review processes that improve efficiency, consistency, and quality across deliverables
• Anticipate audience questions, concerns, or resistance and develop communications that support understanding and adoption
• Deliver presentations, facilitate discussions, and represent the communications or policy function in meetings with program staff, SMEs, leadership, partners, and other stakeholders
• Mentor and coach staff on writing, editing, audience translation, content development, communication planning, and quality standards
• Identify opportunities to improve products, processes, and team practices; use evidence and structured problem solving to recommend and implement improvements
• Maintain working knowledge of relevant public-health and healthcare policy, program requirements, communication practices, and applicable organizational or client standards
• Ensure products are developed in accordance with applicable client requirements, policies and branding, accessibility requirements (including Section 508), and quality standards

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, health administration, or a related field
• Nine (9) or more years of progressively responsible experience in health communications, technical writing, public health, healthcare, health policy, or a related field
• Advanced written and spoken communication skills, including the ability to convey complex technical, scientific, and policy information clearly to audiences with varying levels of technical understanding
• Demonstrated experience independently leading complex communications or content-development assignments involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities
• Experience working with technical SMEs to translate complex information into clear, compelling, and audience-appropriate products
• Experience reviewing and improving the work of others and providing constructive guidance on content quality, clarity, and standards
• Experience working in public health, healthcare, healthcare policy, or a related environment
• Experience developing communications, policy-related materials, presentations, reports, or other products for professional, public, executive, or government audiences
• Strong knowledge of Standard English usage, grammar, mechanics, editing, and content organization
• Competency with Microsoft 365 applications, particularly Word and PowerPoint
• If required by the project, ability to successfully complete a federal Position of Public Trust Level 5 background investigation, meet all eligibility criteria, and maintain the required clearance throughout employment

Preferred qualifications:

• Master’s degree in public health, health administration, or a related field
• Experience developing policy briefs, issue papers, landscape assessments, environmental scans, or other products that synthesize policy and program information
• Experience supporting federal, public-health, or healthcare clients and working within structured processes for review and approval 
• Experience developing proposals for government, including customizing written content and understanding the proposal lifecycle and content management
• Experience complying with accessibility requirements and Section 508 
• Knowledge of CDC programs and/or the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)
• Experience leading change communications, stakeholder engagement, or cross-functional initiatives
• Experience mentoring or informally supervising staff in communications, technical writing, or public health

Additional information: 

• We are a remote organization, but we prioritize in-person collaboration during key events such as our annual company meeting. 
• We are an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws.
• For this position, the candidate must reside in the United States.