Career Center

Position Purpose:

The Senior Writer develops story ideas and provides superior writing to strategically support institutional goals of Bates College.

This position works under the guidance and support of the Editorial Director / Editor of Bates Magazine and BatesNews, our weekly news and storytelling website featuring coverage of students, faculty, staff, alumni, academics, and campus events, and programs. Working in a deadline-driven, newsroom-style environment, the Senior Writer will be flexible, curious, collaborative, and have a positive attitude. Wit is welcome; empathy valued. 

The Senior Writer will have a writing style that can reach multiple audiences, including Bates alumni, parents, and prospective students and their families, through the college’s flagship storytelling channels and related Bates social-media properties, including enrollment-focused channels. 

Job Duties:

Writing

• Develop story ideas and provides superior writing to strategically support institutional goals of Bates College.
• Conduct interviews and gather accurate information to write excellent deadline-driven news and feature stories for online BatesNews, print Bates Magazine, and related Bates social media properties.
• Providing occasional copywriting support for Bates clients.

Strategy

• Contribute to brainstorming and strategy discussions to support Bates Communications Office editorial work.
• Develop professional relationships with college offices to ensure strategic editorial coverage.

Editing

• Copyedit, proofread, and fact-check content produced by the Bates Communications Office as well as content generated by clients and internal communications.

Projects

• As requested by the Editorial Director, will have the opportunity to lead Bates Communications Office editorial projects in collaboration with BCO colleagues.
  
  

Digital

• Prepare digital images for web publication using photo-editing software.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education

•  Must have a bachelor’s degree, preferably in the liberal arts or communications.

Experience

• 5+ years of experience in journalism or the equivalent.
• Familiarity with a contemporary college campus environment preferred.
• Experience in text and page copyediting for both the academic and journalistic realms is strongly preferred, as is experience following editorial style and guidelines.

Skills and Knowledge

Required

• Keen attention to detail necessary for successful reporting.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Expertise in journalistic writing and newsgathering.
• Ability to work collaboratively and collegially with a wide variety of college constituencies.
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to develop and mainain collegial relationships.
• Must be flexible and have a positive attitude.
• Demonstrated ability to write for and about a diverse community/populations and whose writing has proven to be culturally responsive.
• Ability and willingness to work weekends, evening, on-call and other non-traditional schedules.
• Commitment to equity and inclusion, and serving the needs of a culturally and educationally diverse community.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Expertise in developing story ideas that strategically support institutional goals.
• Familiar with a contemporary college campus environment. 
• Skilled at reporting myriad topics.
• Skill at text and page editing for both the academic and journalistic realms, including a strong ability to follow editorial style and guidelines.
• Demonstrated flexibility to change the course of a project.

Benefits:  

Bates College offers competitive salaries, excellent benefits (health, dental, sick leave, 24 days of vacation, 2 personal days, 12 paid holidays, dependent care subsidy, free parking, access to library and athletic facilities & more) and a supportive, collegial environment in a drug- and smoke-free workplace.