Job Description

Lead Writer/Editor, News & Marketing Publications
USC Marshall School of Business
Marketing and Communications
The University of Southern California Marshall School of Business seeks a Lead Writer/Editor to join the Marketing & Communications team. The Lead Writer/Editor finds and writes stories that highlight the work and achievements of faculty, students, alumni, and people across the Marshall community. The successful candidate should be comfortable talking with a wide range of people and turning those conversations into accessible, engaging copy designed for a business audience. The role includes interviewing faculty experts about their research, attending/covering marquee school events, and crafting important public announcements for the school.
The Lead Writer/Editor will create articles for distribution across the Marshall News Engine channels including website, newsletters, annual reports, and publications. This role leads our digital newsletter publication from concepting to execution to distribution. This role reports to the Associate Director, Public Relations and News and works closely with all members of the marketing team, especially related to copy for key channels like the website, social media, and print media.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Discover, pitch, and write news and feature stories for USC Marshall media and publications.
• Interview and maintain positive relationships with faculty, staff, researchers, students, alumni, and other USC Marshall community members. Convert interviews into engaging stories and posts.
• Research, verify, and proof copy. Ensure accuracy and completeness.

• Interpret technical, specialized, and/or academic material from a wide variety of business disciplines to produce written pieces for a general audience.
• Select and determine artwork (i.e., photos, illustrations, charts/graphs) to accompany stories considering context, audience, style, format, etc.
• Write announcements about school initiatives, milestones, conferences/events, and community outreach efforts.
• Copywrite and copyedit marketing materials such as print ads, brochures, flyers, catalogues, letters, press releases, proposals, speeches, scripts, etc.
• Lead Marshall Monthly (newsletter publication), recommending content, overseeing accuracy, and ensuing timely completion and distribution. Distribute and review assignments to freelancers or other team members when needed.

• Collaborate with counterparts across the University to share and cross-promote stories on broader USC media such as USC News and Trojan Family Magazine.
• Remain up to date on current events and breaking news to match faculty with opportunities to share their expertise.
• Submit and file stories via website CMS (content management system).
• Manage projects using project management software (GoogleSheets, ServiceNow, Asana).
• Maintain editorial writing quality/style guidelines according to AP Style/USC Style guide. Monitor appropriate style standards for newsletters and publications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor\xe2\x80\x99s degree in journalism, English, public relations, communications, or related writing or communications field.
• 5 years paid writing experience in professional media organization (news, magazine, digital media) and/or communications department.
• Experience covering topics related to business, technology, research, and higher education.
• Established body of work around these topics with a portfolio that demonstrates story-telling ability and style/tone appropriate for business audiences.

• Professionalism and attention to schedules, detail, and accuracy.
• Sound news judgment and demonstrated experience writing engaging articles.
• Knowledge of AP Style and experience with different forms of writing and different writing voices (e.g., long-form journalistic features; web content; internal announcements).
• Comfort with (or desire to learn) technology related to the role including project management tools (ServiceNow), email newsletter creation (Salesforce Marketing Cloud), and content management (website CMS).
• Familiarity with telling stories through photography, video, audio, and social media-native content.

• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Experience in a higher education environment, preferably in the area of business

Minimum Qualifications
Minimum Education:
Bachelor\'s Degree
Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education


Minimum Experience:
3 Years
Minimum Field of Expertise:
Experience with writing, editing, proofreading, and the preparation of materials for
publication.


Preferred Field of Expertise:
Experience writing and editing of materials closely related to University or department activities. Thorough knowledge of desktop publishing, word processing, graphics, design, printing, and binding.
Anticipated Hiring Range:

The hourly rate range for this position is $40.30 - $50.82 . When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate\xe2\x80\x99s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.


Required Documents and Additional Information

• Resume and cover letter required (may be uploaded as one file). Please do not submit your application without these documents.
• Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended, so please apply on the same business day if interested.
• USC is requiring all students, faculty, and staff to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination and flu vaccination in order to access campus facilities for the fall semester. There is exemption process available for medical and religious reasons. Your safety is our top priority.

• USC has excellent benefits, including health benefits for staff and their family with access to the renowned university medical network; eligibility for retirement plans with employer contributions*; tuition benefits for staff and their family; free Professional Development classes; central Los Angeles location with easy access to commuter trains, buses and free tram pick up services; discounts to sporting and other campus events.
• The University of Southern California is an Equal Opportunity Employer that Values Diversity.

• University employer contributions may be subject to change due to financial impact of COVID-19

Why join the USC Marshall School of Business?
The USC Marshall School of Business is ideally positioned to address the challenges of a rapidly changing business environment and is ranked as one of the country\xe2\x80\x99s top schools for accounting, finance, marketing, consulting, entrepreneurship, and international business studies.
USC Marshall builds on the unique opportunities that stem from its Los Angeles location on the Pacific Rim, its interdisciplinary and impactful research, the momentum generated by the University of Southern California, and the unparalleled engagement of the Trojan Alumni Family. With ready access to industries defining the new business frontier, including bio-technology, life sciences, media, entertainment, communications and healthcare, this vast network offers USC Marshall graduates exceptionally strong support for success in the global marketplace.

For more information on the USC Marshall School of Business, visit: www.marshall.usc.edu.
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Minimum Education: Bachelor\'s degree Additional Education Requirements Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education Minimum Experience: 3 years Minimum Skills: Experience with writing, editing, proofreading, and the preparation of materials for publication. Preferred Experience: 5 years Preferred Skills: Experience writing and editing of materials closely related to university or department activities. Thorough knowledge of desktop publishing, word processing, graphics, design, printing and binding.