Job no: 514631
Work type: Staff Full Time
Location: UMass Amherst
Department: MarCom
Union: PSU
Categories: Public Relations, Marketing, Communications

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 UMass Amherst to raise the institution’s global visibility and deepen its 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 university is in the process of bringing all the main forward facing website properties onto a unified technical platform that is supported by a robust content management system (Drupal) and clear web governance. As a result, we are looking for several key positions to round out our existing team.

UMass Amherst is looking for an experienced content writer to join our digital team. In this role, you’ll help drive search traffic and awareness through editorial content and website copy. You’ll create engaging content based on university goals and high search volume topics. The ideal candidate has some technical proficiency, digital marketing experience, web writing, an understanding of SEO, and an appreciation for results measurement. Along with writing for the main institutional sites, you’ll be working directly with university partners to write and edit content for their sites. UMass is a fast-paced environment that always demands excellence and efficiency, while making room for autonomy, innovation, and creativity.

Essential Functions

• Work with university partners (schools, colleges, and units) to revise existing pages and create new web content, ensuring that all information posted is accurate and conforms to university editorial standards and brand guidelines.
• Working with university partners and Marcom team members, write or edit long- and short-form content that is on brand in voice and tone.
• Produce engaging content titles, meta descriptions, and content structure ideas with SEO best practices in mind.
• Translate print and electronic documents into formats suitable for web-based presentation.
• Edit existing evergreen website copy with new keywords or topics following the brand messaging strategy and UMass voice.
• Ensure overall consistency of voice and identity aligned with the university’s established brand guidelines.
• Ensure all content is grammatically correct and reflects the appropriate tone and objectives for the university.
• Stay up-to-date on best practices and overall web content trends to bring new ideas forth to position UMass as a leader in web content.
• Demonstrate a multicultural awareness and contribute to cultivating an inclusive, diverse and respectful university community.

Other Functions:

• Performs other duties as assigned.

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

• Bachelor's degree in journalism, English, communications, or other relevant field.
• 3+ years' experience in content writing.
• Experience with entering content into content management systems (Drupal, WordPress, etc.).
• Ability to handle multiple tasks at the same time with adherence to deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work independently or in a group setting.
• Ability to collaborate with others, including incorporating constructive feedback.
• Outstanding creative ability and positive problem-solving approach.
• Experience with modern collaborative tools such as MS Teams, SharePoint, Wrike, or Basecamp.

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

• A solid mix of public/private industry, higher-education, and nonprofit experience.
• Exceptional editing skills.
• Strong proofreading skills.
• Strong commitment to working collaboratively with campus colleagues and external constituencies to advance the overall strategic goals of the University.

Salary Information

Level 26

Salary Chart

Applicant Instructions

Along with the application, please submit a resume, cover letter, and contact information for three (3) professional references. 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.

Advertised: Jun 17 2022 Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close: