External Relations Director

Job Title

External Relations Director

Job Description

External Relations Director

In this senior role focused on media relations, as External Relations Director – Trade & Health Industry Media, you will take the lead in shaping and executing external communications that position Philips as a trusted health technology partner towards health industry audiences. You will work closely with the Business Communications team to guide the creation and publication industry-focused innovation and commercial announcements, directly managing relations with key trade media and overseeing all trade media outreach

Your role:

• Lead and implement strategic trade and health industry media engagement plans for Philips, with a strong focus on the health industry ecosystem. Engage with trade and business media and take end-to-end accountability for driving exceptional coverage that demonstrates Philips delivering better care for more people.
• Drive business-level visibility by supporting major commercial announcements, partnerships, product innovations, and thought leadership initiatives. Collaborate across communications and marketing teams to align earned media efforts with business goals and measurable outcomes.
• Build trusted relationships with key trade, B2B, and healthcare media across channels, including editors, journalists, digital platforms, and influencers.
• Act as a key point of contact for Business Communications in the global External Relations team, contributing to corporate reputation campaigns and alignment. Collaborate with Business Communications to guide media relations for business-critical announcements and campaigns, including media pitches, press materials, Q&As, and spokesperson prep.

You're the right fit if:

• You’ve acquired 8+ years of experience in external communications, with proven success in securing media results in trade and B2B environments and have worked in an international environment and understand the nuances of different health systems, media markets, and regulatory landscapes, preferably in healthcare or technology domains.
• Your skills include collaborative communication with deep experience in media relations, especially in the healthcare, medtech, or life sciences sectors; a strong viewpoint on how media relations practice is evolving and how to get ahead of the challenges and opportunities created by this evolution and ability to develop and implement strategic communication plans that align with business goals, leading their implementation, including hands-on execution with a high standard of quality.
• You have a Bachelor's Degree, required OR Master's Degree, preferred in Business Administration, Communications, Marketing, Brand Management or related fields.
• You must be able to successfully perform the following minimum Physical, Cognitive and Environmental job requirements with or without accommodation for this position.
• You are excited by telling great stories and taking ownership of delivering first-rate media coverage as part of fully integrated campaigns which embrace digital and social to demonstrate clear ROI. You speak native standard English and have a broad global perspective, ideally with experience working within international teams and across global activations.

How we work together

We believe that we are better together than apart. For our office-based teams, this means working in-person at least 3 days per week. Onsite roles require full-time presence in the company’s facilities. Field roles are most effectively done outside of the company’s main facilities, generally at the customers’ or suppliers’ locations.

This is an office role.

About Philips

We are a health technology company. We built our entire company around the belief that every human matters, and we won't stop until everybody everywhere has access to the quality healthcare that we all deserve. Do the work of your life to help improve the lives of others.

• Learn more about our business.
• Discover our rich and exciting history.<