Senior Public Affairs Opinion Writer

USP•Rockville, MD

About The Position

The Senior Public Affairs Opinion Writer will play a critical role in driving USP’s external voice by producing quality editorial content that supports public and regulatory policy reforms. Some of the areas of focus include expediting patient access to quality medicines, advanced therapies, building a more secure and resilient medicine supply chain, and global health topics. This role is designed for a seasoned writer with experience in the life sciences and public health sectors who can translate complex issues into clear, credible, compelling, and persuasive narratives that convey a point of view to influencers and decision makers. This role requires a strong understanding of the policy, regulatory, and market forces shaping life sciences and the pharmaceutical supply chain. The writer will consistently surface editorial influencing opportunities that align to USP’s mission and strategy translating them into crisp, credible editorial content. This is not a science writing role. Instead, the focus is on editorial, issues driven content that conveys USP’s point of view to policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, trade associations, patient organizations and others to expand stakeholder perspectives and enlist them in USP’s work. The ideal candidate is a strong writer first — someone who can work under ambiguity, manage multiple stakeholders, and shift between issues and points of view — while also working with executives and learn to communicate in their voice while serving as a thought partner to communications managers in shaping and executing messaging strategy.

Requirements

7+ years of experience as a writer in one or more of the following environments: Public affairs or issues-focused communications agency. Corporate issues or external communications. Government or legislative communications. Reputable news service or journal.
Demonstrated experience writing for highly scrutinized industries (e.g., healthcare, life sciences, policy, energy).
Experience writing about policy, regulatory, or scientific issues related to public health, pharmaceuticals, medicine quality, or supply chain resiliency strongly preferred.
Exceptional writing and editing skills, with the ability to: Write under ambiguity. Shift tone, issue framing, and point of view as needed. Capture executive-level voice and intent.
Strong interviewing and synthesis skills — able to “pull the story through” from conversations and source materials.
Ability to quickly understand and articulate USP’s perspective on priority issues and translate them into accessible, persuasive narrative frames.
Exceptional judgment in navigating nuance and accuracy when writing for policy-sensitive or highly scrutinized environments.
Demonstrated ability to capture the unique voices of multiple executives and leaders, ensuring each piece reflects both individual perspective and USP’s organizational narrative.
Strong stakeholder management skills and comfort navigating complex review processes
Ability to manage multiple topics and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
The ideal candidate brings a strategist’s instincts: anticipating narrative needs before they are requested, pushing thinking forward, and identifying opportunities to shape external conversations rather than reacting to them.
This role sits within the External Communications team and works closely with colleagues across policy, regulatory, scientific, and executive functions.
The role requires strong sense of urgency and editorial judgment, paired with an understanding of broader communications strategy.
Success requires curiosity, flexibility, and the ability to operate effectively in both planned and reactive communications environments.

Nice To Haves

A self-directed thinker who thrives on ambiguity and proactively finds clarity.
A builder of ideas who connects dots, not just words.
Experience supporting advocacy, public affairs, or thought leadership campaigns.
Comfort working across multiple issue areas simultaneously.
Ability to balance strategic understanding with hands-on execution.

Responsibilities

Proactively scan the policy, regulatory, and public health landscape to identify emerging issues, risks, opportunities, and moments that align with USP focus areas where USP can shape or inform the dialogue.
Establish a steady, reliable cadence of high-quality editorial content that advances USP’s point of view.
Bring greater consistency and clarity to how USP tells its story across issues, initiatives, and channels.
Support both proactive editorial planning and reactive writing needs during fast-moving policy or issue moments.
Persuade and help influential audiences understand, engage with, and support USP’s perspectives on relevant priorities.
Develop content that is credible, insight-rich, and compelling enough to be picked up, referenced, or shared by policymakers, regulatory bodies, trade associations, think tanks, and influencers in the field.
Propose and shape thought leadership themes and content based on what influential policymakers, regulators, and global health leaders need to understand about implications of policy developments, regulatory proposals, supply chain vulnerabilities, and medicine quality challenges.
Write and edit a wide range of public affairs and thought leadership content, including: Bylines and op-eds. Blogs and LinkedIn thought leadership. Talking points, presentations, and executive remarks.
Develop supporting public affairs materials such as backgrounders, FAQs, and issue briefs, as needed.
Partner closely with External Communications and Global External Affairs leaders to drive editorial strategy for key policy issues by recommending narrative frames, positioning, and content types most likely to influence external dialogues.
Build and maintain an editorial calendar, proactively pitching topics and story ideas aligned with advocacy and thought leadership priorities.
Balance proactive content planning with the ability to respond quickly to emerging issues or short-turn requests.
Regularly interview internal subject matter experts and review source materials to extract clear, compelling narratives.
Navigate review and approval processes involving legal, regulatory, policy, scientific, and executive stakeholders.
Incorporate appropriate feedback while maintaining clarity, neutrality, and narrative coherence.
Ensure content aligns with USP’s brand narrative, voice, and tone —credible, and appropriate for audiences.
Apply sound judgment in communications, avoiding overstatement and maintaining accuracy and balance.
Manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities.