Office of Public Affairs & Communications Writer

Date Posted	January 06, 2025
Industry	Academia
Specialty	Not Specified
Required Education	Bachelor’s Degree
Job Status	Not Specified
Salary	Not Specified

Description:

Office of Public Affairs & Communications Writer

University Job Title: Office of Public Affairs and Communications Writer

Bargaining Unit: None – Not included in the union (Yale Union Group)

Time Type: Full time

Duration Type: Regular

Compensation Grade: Administration & Operations

Wage Ranges: Click here to see our Wage Ranges

Work Location: Central Campus

Worksite Address: 2 Whitney Avenue

New Haven, CT 06510

Work Week: Standard (M-F equal number of hours per day)

Searchable Job Family: Communications/Editing/Teaching

Total # of Hours to be Works: 37.5

Position Focus:

The writer will produce compelling news and feature stories about Yale, with an emphasis on faculty scholarship in medicine and biological sciences. Working under the supervision of the managing editor in the Yale Office of Public Affairs & Communications and in collaboration with videographers, graphic designers, multimedia storytellers, and others, the writer will cover a variety of specific academic disciplines and institutional units. The writer will produce original news and features of varying lengths and formats, including news reports and feature stories, Q&A interviews, and profiles. The writer demonstrates an aptitude for and commitment to clarity, accuracy, and collegiality; the ability to present complex ideas and concepts in accessible terms for mass audiences paired with an eagerness to find opportunities to augment the written text with multimedia elements; comfort with multiple, sometimes tight deadlines; and general versatility. A wide-ranging curiosity and eagerness to learn, as well as a well-honed instinct for identifying and telling compelling stories about people and ideas, are helpful. The writer’s work will publish on Yale News, the university’s primary news website; in Yale Today, the university’s premier and highest-circulation newsletter; and on other Yale publishing platforms, helping to advance and invigorate Yale’s reputation as one of the world’s great universities for research, teaching, and learning.

Writer will collaborate with a team of editors, media relations officers, videographers, photographers, graphic artists, social media editors, and production personnel to identify opportunities for providing the reader with a rich, multidimensional experience. The writer will play a role in maximizing reach and impact of stories by contributing ideas for enhancing visual appeal, multimedia elements, timeliness of publication, and dissemination through social, new, and commercial news media. Research, identify, and write original stories about Yale scholarship and community, with an emphasis on medicine and the biomedical sciences, for publication in Yale-owned media, sometimes on short notice. Track new research and programming within assigned university beats, with an emphasis on faculty scholarship and achievement. Identify story ideas that represent the breadth of disciplines and issues within assigned beats, including a diversity of story types that are appropriate and relevant (feature stories, Q&As, press releases). Ensure that all work follows OPAC editorial policies and meets the highest standards. Work closely with OPAC colleagues to identify opportunities for enhancing presentation of stories to maximize reader interest and engagement and generate attention from traditional and new media alike. Coordinate with colleagues to identify or generate photographs, illustrations, slideshows, video to accompany stories; write captions and supplementary material as needed. Contribute to editorial planning by collaborating closely and reliably with editorial and media relations colleagues.

Please include up to 3 writing samples at point of application.

Note: Some details described in the “Essential Duties” section do not apply to the posted job. Please refer to the above description of “Position Focus” for the most relevant information.

Essential Duties:

1. Pitch stories to OPAC’s editorial leadership.2. Write stories.3. Write, for a given story, promotional language for social-media and all-Yale email.4. Gain a thorough understanding of a given beat.5. Gain a thorough understanding of what kinds of stories, told in what ways, are most likely to be effective, using OPAC-generated insights into our audiences and the performance of our past stories in the news media.6. Write content other than news, as needed (e.g. speeches, correspondence, etc.).7. Perform related duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Required Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree and three years of writing/editorial experience, or an equivalent combination of experience and education.

Required Skill/Ability 1:

Demonstrated ability to write clear, compelling, accessible prose about complex subjects.

Required Skill/Ability 2:

Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and thrive amid competing priorities.

Required Skill/Ability 3:

Demonstrated ability to identify the stories latent in information.

Required Skill/Ability 4:

Strong interpersonal skills. Ability to collaborate and coordinate smoothly with colleagues to achieve optimum outcomes. Ability to monitor deadlines and work independently with different teams as needed to achieve results.

Required Skill/Ability 5:

Demonstrated eye for detail in editing/proofing others’ work as well as your own. Ability to multitask and quickly adapt to changing priorities. Ability to work well under pressure in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.

Preferred Education, Experience and Skills:

Bachelor’s degree and seven years of professional editorial experience, including significant work in daily news or other fast-paced, deadline-rich editorial environments, or equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience and interest in working with graphic designers, videographers, and other multimedia professionals to augment appeal of written stories.

Drug Screen: No

Health Screening: No

Background Check Requirements:

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit “Learn about background checks” under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It’s Your Yale website.

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement:

Posting Disclaimer:

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the particular position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring departments.

To apply, visit https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search/home/HomeWithPreLoad?partnerid=25053&siteid=5248&PageType=JobDetails&jobid=1593538

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