The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) is seeking a Writer/Content Specialist. Reporting to the Vice President of Public Affairs, the Writer/Content Specialist will produce, edit, and repurpose content in a variety of formats, including news releases by the trade association, blog articles that build our case and rebut critics, op-eds and letters to the editor for placement in news outlets, and multimedia formats promoted on our social media channels. This position will be responsible for recommending distribution strategies to achieve the widest impact; meeting productivity goals for writing and placement of opinion content; reviewing others’ drafts; and assembling regular collections of links and quotes for greater reach.
The incumbent will take the lead in posting content to AWEA’s website and social media channels, and share in drafting news releases and speeches. Maintaining good relationships with a wide variety of partner organizations, media outlets, writers and bloggers for other media in cross posting content is an essential part of this job.
Essential Functions/Major Responsibilities:
- Write opinion copy on an agreed-upon schedule (currently 3-5 blog articles a week, 5-10 letters to the editor a week, and at least one newspaper op-ed a week), in addition to online comments, following agreed-upon messages and style points.
- Respond to significant attacks on wind energy in the same news cycle whenever possible.
- Assemble brief excerpts and collections of links for testimonials, News Roundups, and the Wind Energy Weekly.
- Must review drafts of AWEA’s internal clipping service, the Daily WindClips, between 8:30 and 9 each morning, and the Wind Energy SmartBrief between 1:30 and 2 each afternoon, and suggest edits.
- Assist with the department’s daily media monitoring of wind power-related news.
- Take part in drafting certain news releases and speeches, and other special-purpose content as needed.
- Post the resulting material to AWEA’s website, using an online content management tool, and assist in editing and updating content that others have written for the web.
- Promote our content on our Twitter and Facebook accounts, encourage others to retweet and repost it, and work with colleagues who post to LinkedIn, other social media, and the AWEA private branded community.
- Write requests for editorial board briefings and/or ed board memos as needed to get newspaper editorial writers what they need to form opinions about our industry.
- Maintain and service a network of allies who form an “echo chamber” for our message, doing their own writing and posting, including for AWEA channels and their own; and crossposting our content.
- Participate in special-purposes listservs, including by posting links to AWEA and other useful content.
- Join in planning and implementing AWEA’s major legislative and issue campaigns.
- Contribute creative ideas for strategies and tactics to gain wider viewership and readership of our content, and to have a wider impact as an association and industry.
- Contribute to cross-departmental projects and products.
- Conduct frequent outreach to member companies and partner organizations to learn their needs and issues, and obtain their participation in the above work.
- Join the rest of the department’s staff in carrying out administrative duties, such as: weekly board and Public Affairs Committee reports; vendor and intern supervision; timely invoice and expense reporting; maintaining master calendars and checklists of standard operating procedures; and monthly Dashboard reports on agreed-upon metrics.
AWEA is a fast-paced, high-energy organization with a very ambitious agenda and a staff that is highly motivated. This position may experience high work demands under tight timelines and will frequently interact with member companies, staff members for allied organizations, and outside experts and writers. Customer service, multi-tasking and detailed-oriented skills are necessary. Occasional travel, including weekends, is required.
Qualified applicants may possess any combination of education and experience enabling them to successfully perform the responsibilities of the position. Preferred qualifications are: Bachelor’s degree in related field and 4-6 years of relevant experience in communications or media relations. Must be: a fast, accurate and highly productive writer; proficient with MS Office; familiar with basic web content management platforms; self-starter, detail-oriented, proactive, able to multi-task and prioritize; able to adhere to timelines for phone and email responses, project deadlines, and very familiar with the Associated Press Style Guide. Strong collaborative, organizational and communication skills (both written and verbal) are required. A passion for renewable energy and the tenacity for quality, time-sensitive work is a plus.
For more info: http://awea-jobs.jobtarget.com/c/job.cfm?site_id=770&job=19539691