Assistant Director, Writing and Content Strategy

Details•San Diego, CA

About The Position

The Assistant Director, Writing and Content Strategy, plays a critical role in shaping, refining, and ensuring the clarity and consistency of the Division of Student Affairs’ written communications. This position oversees content strategy for the University’s Knowledge Base in collaboration with ITS, the Torero Hub, and Marketing and Communications. This role also supports a wide range of writing needs for the Division of Student Affairs, including reports, brochures, and print/digital resources. This position leads efforts to uphold a cohesive USD brand tone across all materials and ensures content is accessible, inclusive, and reflective of the university’s mission. Reporting to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs Assessment and Research, this role collaborates closely with the Assistant Director of Student Affairs Technology and Integrated Communications, Marketing and Communications, and key campus partners including the Torero Hub and New Student Onboarding teams.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in Communications, Journalism, Marketing, English, or a related field is required.
Three years of professional experience in writing, editing, content strategy, or a similar communications role is required.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills required as well as exceptional critical listening and thinking skills.
Command of the English language, including AP writing style, and standard grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, and excellent proofreading skills
Project management ability to handle competing priorities.
Flexibility and versatility – able to adapt to and perform in new, changing or pressure situations
Strong interest in working at a mission driven, faith-based institution. The role of the assistant director in working with students and the responsibilities of the position are significantly tethered in the university’s contemporary Roman Catholic mission.
Sensitivity to values and procedures of an academic institution.
Strong interpersonal skills.
Ability to work well independently and with others in a team environment and under deadline pressure.
Must have strong initiative and ability to complete assignments without close supervision
Advanced knowledge of Google Suite
Ability to respond promptly to all questions and requests for information
Understanding of modern marketing communication techniques and heightened awareness of social media trends
Demonstrated commitment to student learning and development in the co-curriculum and experience assessing the impact of programs and related services.
Excellent skills in the use of tools and equipment as identified below

Nice To Haves

Master's degree is preferred.
Experience in higher education or nonprofit communications.
Familiarity with knowledge base systems, web content management systems (CMS), or CRM platforms such as Salesforce.
Knowledge of inclusive language practices, accessibility standards, and brand management.

Responsibilities

Knowledge Base (KB) Strategy & Management Lead the creation, review, and ongoing improvement of content within the USD Knowledge Base (KB), which is a repository of articles in Salesforce that answer questions a variety of audiences (e.g., prospective students, current students, and family members) may have.
Convene and facilitate quarterly meetings with campus partners who contribute content to the KB to ensure strategic alignment and consistency. This includes: the Torero Hub, New Student Onboarding, Enrollment Management, Registrar's, Parking Services, and Campus Card teams.
Create and maintain a yearly calendar to ensure all KB articles stay up to date and identify any duplicate articles that may be combined for clarity.
Serve as lead editor for all KB content to ensure clarity, consistent tone, and grammatical accuracy, and alignment with USD’s branding guidelines.
Train campus partners and content maintainers on how to make updates and new entries into the KB.
Design and implement effective tagging, categorization, and planning strategies to ensure content is clear and discoverable by end users.
Liaison with ITS to ensure correct categorization of all KB items.
Monitor search queries to identify gaps in content and improve search functionality.
Conduct keyword research to optimize content for relevant search terms used by students.
Gather and analyze user feedback to continuously improve the usability of the KB.
Collaborate with the Assistant Director, Student Affairs Technology and Integrated Communications to ensure the USD website maintainers update web content with relevant KB articles.
Strategic Writing and Editorial Oversight Serve as content reviewer for all Student Affairs website updates submitted by individual units.
Write, edit, and proofread divisional documents such as the Student Affairs Annual Report, brochures, websites, student-facing communications, staff newsletters, guides, and presentations.
Develop content that is accessible, inclusive, and aligned with the university’s brand tone and divisional messaging priorities.
Partner with the Assistant Director of Student Affairs Technology and Integrated Communications to align written content with visual and digital elements.
Cross-Campus Collaboration and Liaison Work Serve as a key liaison to USD’s central Marketing and Communications team to ensure divisional messaging is aligned with institutional campaigns, tone, and branding.
Collaborate with departments across the Division of Student Affairs to identify and fulfill content needs, including event coverage, campaign messaging, websites, or strategic storytelling.
Work in tandem with the Assistant Director of Student Affairs Technology and Integrated Communications on coordinated communications efforts that span writing, design, social media, and web platforms.
Innovation and Leadership Stay informed about best practices in content strategy, inclusive communication, and digital accessibility.
Contribute to or lead additional division/campus projects outside of typical duties to help further accomplish student or organizational goals.
Additional assignments may be seasonal, ad hoc or ongoing, depending on the project.