University of Massachusetts Amherst

About UMass Amherst

UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth’s flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region.

Job Summary

The Marketing & Communications (Marcom) group leads and coordinates strategic marketing efforts for the University of Massachusetts Amherst to raise the institution’s global visibility and reputation as one of the nation’s great public research universities. It tells the university’s stories across a wide array of platforms and builds strong relationships with important audiences through a variety of traditional and new marketing tactics. Additionally, the Marcom group provides leadership, consultation, partnership, and coordination for marketers and communicators across campus, collaborating with all colleges, schools, and units.

The Marcom Senior Writer will play a critical role in the Marketing and Communications team. This individual will create all forms of written content, including feature stories, campaign content, email communications, brochures, web content, and social posts, using skill to write content that achieves desired outcomes. UMass is a fast-paced environment that demands excellence and efficiency, while making room for autonomy, innovation, and creativity.

Essential Functions

• Oversees the operational and editorial direction of all forms of content ensuring the brand of the university is advanced through consistent messaging.
• Ensures that our storytelling is consistent across audience touch points, while nuanced to reach relevant audiences, identifying and developing appropriate multicultural and inclusive language, tone, voice, and message based on medium, target audience, and primary content subject.
• Develops missions, themes, and content for publications including multimedia and print.
• Operate as a brand and content expert, demonstrating ingenuity, creativity, leadership, and collaboration with multiple university stakeholders.
• Manages and maintains Editorial Style Guide.
• Receives, solicits, and evaluates ideas from campus colleagues.
• Provides creative and strategic direction to multimedia designers on the content layout and editorial process, ensuring overall consistency of voice.
• Identifies and prioritize assignments to ensure deadlines are met; reviews work for accuracy; determines staffing and consulting needs.
• Collaborates with campus partners, including Admissions, Advancement, and communicators in the schools and colleges, to identify interesting stories that fully reflect the UMass experience.
• Manages and mentors in-house copywriter and freelance writers/editors.

Other Functions

• Stays up to date on industry trends.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 5-7 years of experience writing in environments that require versatility, speed, high quality standards, and careful attention to detail.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
• Must be able to communicate in the English language, writing with excellent storytelling capabilities and a demonstrated ability to achieve desired outcomes through content creation.
• Detail and deadline oriented, accurate and efficient, and must be able to manage multiple content responsibilities at once.
• Excellent editor and proofreader.
• Fluent in the Chicago Manual of Style.
• Must partner and collaborate well with various stakeholder groups and understand how to map content creation with the nuances of varied and unique audiences.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in higher education.
• Experience managing staff.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

Typical office environment.

Work Schedule

• 37.5 hours/ week.
• 8:30AM-5:00PM, Monday-Friday.
• This position has the opportunity for a hybrid work schedule, which is defined by the University as an arrangement where an employee’s work is regularly performed at a location other than the campus workspace for a portion of the week. As this position falls within the Professional Staff Union, it is subject to the terms and conditions of the Professional Staff Union collective bargaining agreement.

Salary Information

PSU Level 28

PSU Salary Ranges

Special Instructions to Applicants

Along with application, please submit a resume, cover letter and contact information for three (3) professional references. The search will remain open until filled.

UMass Amherst is committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military status, or genetic information in employment, admission to and participation in academic programs, activities, and services, and the selection of vendors who provide services or products to the University. To fulfill that policy, UMass Amherst is further committed to a program of affirmative action to eliminate or mitigate artificial barriers and to increase opportunities for the recruitment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. It is the policy of the UMass Amherst to comply with the applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity and affirmative action.