Durham Academy is accepting applications for a Writer/Content Strategist. This is a full-time 12-month position beginning August 14, 2023.

The person in this position serves as Durham Academy’s primary brand journalist — a key member of the Marketing & Communications team and a seasoned storyteller who advances the mission of the school. They produce compelling and strategic content to create emotional connections that help attract and retain students and their families, inspire philanthropic support for the school, reflect the school’s diverse culture and maximize engagement with students, parents, prospective families, faculty/staff, donors and alumni. This person is fluent in writing, editing and proofreading best practice and storytelling trends and can also apply those skills to a school environment in creative, fun ways. Projects vary widely in scope, but mainly include storytelling/photography/videography for the school’s website, e-newsletters and an annual print magazine, as well as marketing to support admissions, fundraising and alumni engagement. The person in this role is both a content strategist and a content creator — developing strategies for engagement and contributing to communications plans that support departmental and institutional goals, but also executing those plans through the articulation of key messages and themes across constituency groups and via various digital and print platforms. They will join a dynamic, inclusive, deadline-driven team that sets a high bar in the pursuit of excellence in a fast-paced environment.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Content Creation

Generate story ideas and write content for the weekly digital newsletter for families and employees, quarterly alumni digital newsletter and annual magazine that accentuate the school’s values, faculty and staff, innovative facilities, academic departments, student and alumni accomplishments, athletics and the arts, in order to highlight Durham Academy as a leader among K-12 educational institutions.
Collaborate with fellow members of the MarComm team to plan content and publish the weekly all-school newsletter; coordinate with other content contributors.
Conduct research and interviews with members of various school constituencies for use in original content.
Assist with producing content for and editing/proofreading various digital and print marketing materials and creative collateral (Enrollment Management, Philanthropy, Athletics, strategic initiatives, DA Summer, Family Association), as well as school-wide communications, website-related projects, infographics or school resources.
Establish KPIs for content, track engagement and measure effectiveness of original content in ways that inform overall strategy.
Bring an inclusive lens to storytelling.

Collaboration

Work with the Assistant Director to review, revise and refresh website content annually and edit/proofread the annual magazine.
Collaborate with the Digital Content Specialist to create content for strategic social media campaigns and amplify original storytelling.
Work with Enrollment Management, Philanthropy and Alumni to develop themes and story ideas to support their communications.
Collaborate with the Assistant Director and Creative Services Manager to maintain and update the DA Brand & Style Guide, ensuring consistency of style, voice, language and grammar across the school. Update guide annually.

Community

Develop a deep understanding of the DA community — its mission, vision and values — in order to reflect a “one school” brand voice for target audiences.
Cultivate and maintain relationships with faculty/staff across the school, attend school activities and events to reflect the life of the school and support newsgathering/storytelling purposes.
Attend school events occasionally on evenings or weekends to cover stories, including photography or videography as needed.
Engage in annual professional development and ongoing Diversity, Equity and Engagement training.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

Strategic, curious, creative visual storyteller and photographer/videographer.
Strong work ethic; a proactive self-starter with the ability to meet deadlines, and the ability to work both as part of a team and independently.
Mission-aligned communicator who can produce engaging, authentic stories on a variety of platforms; ability to approach storytelling with a digital-first, multi-channel approach.
Excellent writing, editing and proofreading skills; familiarity with AP Style preferred.
Familiarity with journalism norms; demonstrated ability to stay up-to-date on new trends in storytelling, journalism, platforms and technological tools.
Adept at prioritizing, managing and balancing multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment with frequent changes in priorities. A flexible, versatile problem-solver.
Outstanding interpersonal, written, verbal and visual communication skills; ability to work successfully with a wide and diverse array of individuals and across teams.
Extremely detail-oriented and highly organized, with an emphasis on accuracy and thoroughness in daily work.
Team player with a good sense of humor.
Community-oriented, with a knowledge and passion for the field of education, particularly K-12 environments.

Qualifications And Experience

Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism, or other related field or equivalent experience.
3-5 years of professional experience in communications or marketing environment as a writer, journalist or content producer.
Independent school, nonprofit experience or prior work in an educational setting preferred.
Excellent copy editing skills.
Experience interviewing and editing.
Portfolio/recent examples of mid-form, long-form, online and multi-channel content required.
Knowledge of photography, videography, website CMS/content management and basic HTML, social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), email marketing, Google Workspace and Adobe Creative Suite.
Experience with project management software.

Other Information

Ability to work flex hours when needed, including some nights and weekends
Enjoys working with children and adolescents

Durham Academy is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of Durham Academy to make employment decisions on the basis of qualifications for a specific job without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national or ethnic origin, age, veteran status, or the presence of a disability, except where such is a bona fide occupational qualification.

Durham Academy

New Jobs

Writer/Content Strategist