Manager, Communications

As the communications lead for Enterprise Supply Chain, you will develop and manage communication strategies that keep internal teams, leaders, customers, and stakeholders informed, aligned, and engaged. You'll transform complex operational initiatives into clear, compelling messages that support organizational goals and strengthen stakeholder relationships.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Communication Leadership

• Create and manage a broad communication model for Enterprise Supply Chain that supports internal teams, Duke University and Duke Health stakeholders, customer groups, suppliers, and external audiences where appropriate.
• Translate Supply Chain priorities, restructuring progress, operating changes, performance results, and value creation into clear messages that are accurate, credible, and easy to understand.
• Establish standard communication routines, templates, talking points, briefings, update products, and messaging discipline so Supply Chain communication is coordinated rather than fragmented.

Internal and External Communication Management

• Manage communication planning and execution for internal SCM updates, leadership messages, team announcements, stakeholder communications, customer communications, and external-facing SCM content.
• Partner with Supply Chain leaders to prepare concise, audience-appropriate messaging for operating changes, service updates, sourcing activity, project milestones, and stakeholder engagement needs.
• Coordinate with Duke communication partners when messaging intersects with institutional communication standards, external publication, website content, or broader university and health system communication channels.

Standard Tools, Web, Social and Content Management

• Create and maintain standard communication tools, templates, executive updates, briefing materials, QBR support products, FAQs, one-page summaries, and recurring communication packages.
• Manage SCM web and social content so the function presents a current, professional, and consistent public and internal-facing presence.
• Ensure communication products are visually clean, accurate, brand-aware, and aligned with the tone and expectations of Duke University and Duke Health.

Performance Narrative and Executive Messaging

• Build the performance narrative that explains Supply Chain priorities, progress, challenges, value creation, stakeholder impact, and leadership asks in plain language.
• Work with analytics, project management, sourcing, operations, shared services, university SCM, and business office teams to convert performance information into usable messages for leaders and customers.
• Help ensure dashboards, scorecards, QBRs, and executive updates tell a coherent story that distinguishes activity from impact and projected value from realized value.

QBR and Customer Communication Support

• Create and schedule customer QBR communication routines, including planning calendars, agenda support, pre-reads, follow-up messaging, and documentation of key decisions or requests.
• Support business partners and vertical leaders with communication materials that make stakeholder meetings more consistent, professional, and actionable.
• Coordinate communication events that bring Supply Chain priorities, customer needs, service updates, and value opportunities into a predictable engagement rhythm.

Communication Governance and Stakeholder Partnership

Maintain communication calendars, message inventories, distribution lists, stakeholder maps, and review workflows to ensure the right audiences receive the right information at the right time.

Serve as a communication advisor to Supply Chain leaders, helping shape messages that are concise, transparent, action-oriented, and appropriate for the audience.

Create feedback loops so communication quality, timing, usefulness, and stakeholder understanding can be continuously improved.

What You'll Bring

Required Qualifications

Education/Training

Work requires communications, marketing, strategic planning, analytical and organizational skills generally required through completion of Bachelor's degree in journalism, public relations, communications, English or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications
• Clear communicator: turns complex Supply Chain activity into plain-language messages that leaders, employees, and customers can act on.
• Enterprise storyteller: creates a coherent narrative that connects strategy, performance, service, value, and stakeholder impact.
• Structured operator: manages calendars, templates, channels, review routines, QBR support, and communication workflows with discipline.
• Customer-aware partner: understands audience needs and adjusts tone, timing, format, and detail level accordingly.
• Brand-conscious builder: creates professional products that reflect Duke standards and strengthen confidence in Supply Chain.
• Experience managing internal communication, stakeholder communication, web content, social content, events, or executive communication products.
• Ability to support broad communication needs across multiple leaders, functions, customer groups, and stakeholder audiences.
• Strong writing, editing, synthesis, planning, and message development skills.
• Comfort shaping performance narratives, QBR materials, leadership updates, and customer-facing communication tools.
• Created communication plans, newsletters, web content, social content, executive updates, briefing materials, or stakeholder communication packages.
• Managed recurring communication calendars, events, distribution routines, or multi-stakeholder messaging processes.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex operational or performance topics into concise, polished, audience-ready materials.
• Experience supporting supply chain, operations, healthcare, university, finance, communications, or similarly complex enterprise functions is preferred.

Anticipated Pay Range: Duke University provides an annual base salary range for this position as USD $62,766.00 to USD $97,798.00. Duke University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position; candidate's work experience, education/training, and key skills; internal peer equity; as well as market and organizational considerations when extending an offer.

Your total compensation goes beyond the dollars on your paycheck. Duke provides comprehensive and competitive medical and dental care programs, generous retirement benefits, and a wide array of family-friendly and cultural programs to eligible team members. Learn more at: https://hr.duke.edu/benefits/