The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant societies whose governments are accountable and open to the participation of all people.
We seek to strengthen the rule of law; respect for human rights, minorities, and a diversity of opinions; democratically elected governments; and a civil society that helps keep government power in check.
We help to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights.
We implement initiatives to advance justice, education, public health, and independent media.
We build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information.
Working in every part of the world, the Open Society Foundations place a high priority on protecting and improving the lives of people in marginalized communities.
The Office of Communications plays a central role in the work of the Foundations by coordinating and strengthening the public presence of the global network and by helping to advance relevant issues. Communications works to raise the Foundations’ public profile by promoting the network’s many noteworthy achievements. The department employs media outreach, publications, and the web to assist dozens of Open Society foundations and programs in their communications efforts.
Purpose of Position
The Open Society Foundations seek a writer/editor who would focus on web and content strategy for Open Society web platforms. The content strategist will help us achieve our organizational objectives by maximizing the impact of our online content. In collaboration with the Communications team, the content strategist is responsible for creating actionable content strategies across a variety of digital project types.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
Essential duties and responsibilities include the following. The Open Society Foundations may add, change, or remove essential and other duties at any time.
- Edit, proofread, write copy and microcopy for blog posts, email, publications, multimedia, and other web pages, in keeping with our editorial style, voice, messaging, and digital content best practices;
- Ensure all web content is readable, findable, and effective;
- Curate and aggregate content to produce and maintain thematic landing pages that are compelling, cohesive, and on-message;
- Plan ahead for the development, maintenance, and revising of content throughout its lifecycle on the web; manage governance plans, content audits, editorial calendars;
- Build and manage social media strategies.
Education / Experience
- Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university and three to five years of relevant experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience;
- At least 3–5 years online editorial experience;
- NGO or foundation experience/interest in human rights preferred.
Skills Required
- Strong editorial and writing abilities;
- Solid understanding of how to structure and optimize content for the web;
- Exceptional attention to editorial detail;
- Able to express complex, abstract ideas in a straightforward, accessible way;
- Able to write compelling, clickable headlines, descriptions, and other micro copy;
- Familiar with using content management systems;
- Understanding of SEO and mobile best practices;
- Appreciation for design and an aptitude for user experience;
- Familiarity with using editorial style guides and the Chicago Manual of Style in particular;
- Able to work well in a fast-paced environment;
- Knowledgeable and passionate about human rights issues preferred;
- Excellent written, verbal, organizational, analytical and interpersonal skills;
- Excellent listening and communication skills with sensitivity to cultural communication differences;
- Show discretion and ability to handle confidential issues.
Work Environment and Physical Demands
Essential functions are typically performed in an office setting with a low level of noise. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Compensation
Commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits package.
Application Instructions
Along with your resume and salary requirements, please submit a cover letter written in the form of a persuasive campaign email designed to grab a reader’s attention and direct her toward a single focused action: hiring you for this position. Keep it engaging and short, and include 2–3 suggested subject lines.
Please submit via email to humanresources@opensocietyfoundations.org. Include job code in subject line: CS-Comms.
