Description:
Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 114,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.
Working at Abbott
At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and family, be your true self and live a full life. You’ll also have access to:
- Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
- Free medical coverage for employees* via the Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO.
- An excellent retirement savings plan with high employer contribution.
- Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree.
- A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries around the world and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
- A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as a best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.
The Opportunity
This position works onsite out of our Willis Tower location in our PA Public Affairs Division.
We are looking for someone who wants to grow and learn the ins and outs of media relations at Abbott, one of the world’s leading healthcare companies. The Specialist, External Communications will play a pivotal role in helping formulate, execute and sustain external communications strategies for Abbott. This position will primarily focus on Media Relations Operations and work with the External Communications team, as well as members from Abbott’s Business Public Affairs team to support media relations tactics and strategies. The perfect candidate will be a team player who is willing to roll up his or her sleeves and be enthusiastic about the basics of media relations including, developing pitches, crafting talking points, identifying media targets and curating media lists, recapping announcements and strategically thinking about ways to elevate Abbott’s overall storytelling. Ideal candidates have media relations or journalism experience, either in house or at an agency, he or she is detail oriented and highly organized, an excellent writer and a go getter who is passionate about elevating global brands.
What You’ll Work On
- Position Abbott as a leading global healthcare company by supporting Abbott’s Media Relations and External Communications strategies.
- Lead Abbott’s Media Relations operational tactics including creating pitch materials, developing media lists, writing talking points, drafting news releases, creating fact sheets, monitoring news and social coverage, measuring results and more.
- Assist in identifying editors, reporters and media outlets that Abbott should engage with and work to build relationships that will lead to positive coverage.
- Cultivate a deep understanding and build relationship with media and key influencers top tier, local, consumer and national media.
- Monitor social and media landscapes to identify opportunistic moments to insert Abbott into news coverage in a positive light.
- Enhance visibility of the company and protect company reputation.
- Must be a strong teammate who:
- Is interested in growing their career and learning by asking thoughtful questions and working cross-divisionally to get an understanding of Abbott’s different businesses.
- Has an entrepreneurial mindset combined with an ability to navigate in a large, complex organization.
- Ability to work independently and execute on projects with changing deadlines.
- Proactive in generating ideas for working more efficiently as a team and identifying media opportunities based on trending topics and world events.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Marketing or a related field and 2-3 years of relevant experience.
- Excellent writer and communicator who has experience writing on consumer lifestyle, business topics and can organize, summarize, clarify and communicate ideas simply, succinctly and accurately.
- Detail oriented who is able to streamline processes for a working team and find ways to keep team members organized.
- Experience crafting media relations materials including press releases, talking points, media lists, pitch materials and developing recaps from announcement on press coverage.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in developing and implementing media relations plans and proven ability in helping place media stories.
- Able to achieve results while dealing with ambiguity and a rapid pace of change.
- Experience working with cross functional teams and ability to understand complex concepts.
- Experience in Healthcare either at an agency or in house is a plus.
* Participants who complete a short wellness assessment qualify for FREE coverage in our HIP PPO medical plan. Free coverage applies in the next calendar year.
Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives: www.abbottbenefits.com
Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity.
Connect with us at www.abbott.com , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews and @AbbottGlobal.
The base pay for this position is $57,300.00 – $114,700.00. In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.