Senior Writer

Job Description

About Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University:

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is an independent, culturally diverse institution providing quality education and research in aviation, aerospace, engineering, and other related fields with residential campuses located in Daytona Beach, Florida and Prescott, Arizona. The University's Worldwide campus provides educational opportunities online and at approximately 130 locations throughout the United States, Asia, Europe, and Central/South America.

As the largest and most comprehensive aviation and aerospace-focused university in the world, Embry-Riddle is a unique institution. Over the past 90 years, the University has evolved with industry to break new ground and produce top-level graduates who serve the ever-changing needs of aviation and aerospace and other STEM-related disciplines. Embry-Riddle offers programs in seven primary fields of study including: Applied Science; Aviation; Business; Computers and Technology; Engineering; Safety, Security, and Intelligence; and Space.

For Academic Year 2020-21, there were over 10,700 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students that attended the University's residential campuses and approximately 32,700 students in total enrolled with the University around the world.

The Opportunity

The Senior Writer will play a key role in supporting Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s News Team, particularly through efforts to engage the university community internally — by creating and distributing campus emails and announcements — and by generating earned media coverage externally. External communication work involves writing compelling news stories to share with journalists. It is an exempt, benefited role scheduled for 32 hours per week. It can be a semi-remote position, but the successful candidate must be able to be on Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus on an hour’s notice in order to cover events, assist with crisis communications, or attend meetings.

This position will report to the Director of News & Media Relations, with close collaboration with the Manager of University Internal Communications. The Senior Writer will also collaborate with other News Team members and Marketing & Communications colleagues. The position will require working in close partnership with faculty, staff and students across Embry-Riddle’s three campuses.

The primary goals of the Senior Writer are listed as follows:

• Build community through informative and engaging internal messaging.
• Streamline internal communications to better serve diverse audiences (students, faculty, staff).
• Enhance the visibility and reputation of Embry-Riddle by telling compelling stories.
• Raise awareness of Embry-Riddle among prospective students, industry and donors.
• Assist with crisis communications (i.e., hurricane preparedness), as needed.

Specific responsibilities of the Senior Writer will include but would not be limited to –

• Write/edit emails and announcements on a variety of topics (scholarship awards, meal plan updates, campus alerts, etc.);
• Launch a new “The Most Interesting Thing About Me” student-engagement series: weekly human interest spotlights + portraits to be published to the university intranet. (The most newsworthy stories could also be used externally / pitched to students’ hometown news outlets.)
• Use content management software (Sharepoint, Sitecore) to publish stories internally, as well as distribute emails;
• Track upcoming events and consolidate them in weekly campus emails, external news sites
• Write timely and engaging news stories (on topics such as grant announcements, new research/innovations, campus trends, student success stories, etc.) to post in Embry-Riddle’s online Newsroom and share with journalists to generate earned local and national media placements
• Enterprise newsworthy story ideas by creating a network of student, staff and faculty sources throughout the university;
• Help generate earned media by preparing external news releases and other materials, as feasible.
• Attend campus events for coverage/photography;
• Collaborate with colleagues at all levels, from peers to faculty, deans and executive leadership;
• Analyze open rates/analytics to hone content strategy.
• Brainstorm/participate in improvements that would make students feel more connected to Embry-Riddle’s internal communications — such as, enhance the intranet homepage by incorporating an Instagram widget, Microsoft Teams chat functionality, polls/surveys, etc.

Nature and Scope:

The Senior Writer will work in a team environment, in close collaboration with the Manager of University Internal Communications to build community internally to help retain current students, promote Embry-Riddle’s brand externally to attract prospective students, and generate earned media coverage to build the university’s global reputation. The position will involve collaboration with colleagues across the marketing and communications team on two residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, serving 9000 students, as well as the university’s growing global network serving an additional 22,000 students in 130 locations. The position is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or a related field
• 5+ years of professional experience working in a communications setting
• Exceptionally strong writing and editing skills, across a wide range of topics
• Knowledge of what is and is not news, and an ability to ferret out compelling stories
• Ability to work effectively, responsively and in close collaboration with colleagues
• Ability to post content online within a content management system
• Ability to confidently send email communications free of typos or grammatical mistakes to large audiences
• Keen attention to detail to ensure a high degree of accuracy of all content
• Proven track record for consistently meeting deadlines
• Ability to work quickly, prioritize tasks strategically and maintain a courteous, customer-service approach to colleagues who request communications

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working effectively in higher education communication
• Ability to create multimedia content to pair with stories
• Some familiarity with aviation and aerospace sectors
• Ability to leverage analytics to measure results

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Exceptionally skilled at identifying stories of interest to specific audiences
• Outstanding ability as a writer, editor, and proofreader – capable of handling a wide range of stories, from peer-reviewed research news and scientific or educational advancements by faculty, to events and evergreen profiles or other features.
• Ability to write for many different purposes, from news releases, to internal emails, to intranet announcements
• Strong, positive interpersonal skills; ability to work well with a diverse group of colleagues
• Strong team player who communicates with all colleagues with diplomacy, and seeks to build rapport and earn others’ respect
• Ability to calmly, effectively handle a variety of different projects and tasks, often under tight deadlines.