Senior Storyteller / Writer

Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association•Madison, WI

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA), the private fundraising and alumni relations organization for UW–Madison, is seeking a Senior Storyteller / Writer to help shape some of their signature publications. This position, contributing to the WFAA communications team, will serve as coeditor of On Wisconsin, the university’s award-winning quarterly alumni magazine that reaches more than 500,000 alumni worldwide through its print and digital forms. The position also serves as editor of WFAA’s awards publication, among other storytelling work. In this role, you’ll collaborate with colleagues and freelancers to produce compelling stories that celebrate the people, ideas, and impact of UW–Madison. This is a hybrid position based in Madison, Wisconsin, requiring at least two days per week in the office.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in journalism, English, communications arts, or of a similar field.
7 + years of experience in journalism, writing, publishing, communications, or a similar field
Knowledge of magazine publishing
Knowledge and experience in multimedia and digital publishing and social media content development
Experience working with writers and designers
Expertise with Word, Teams, Zoom, or similar conferencing software
Familiarity with InDesign and Adobe Creative Suite, WordPress, Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Familiarity with MS Office software and Mac operating systems.
Strong interviewing skills
Strong sense of initiative
Understanding of marketing and journalistic concepts
Experience creating content about diverse constituencies
A passion for UW–Madison.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in Higher education.
Experience with hiring and managing freelancers.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with staff at WFAA and the Office of Strategic Communications (OSC) to produce On Wisconsin, UW–Madison’s quarterly alumni magazine.
Partner closely with the OSC coeditor and design team to plan and execute each issue.
Hire and manage freelance writers and secure photography and other visuals.
Lead strategy for On Wisconsin’s digital channels.
Consider storytelling from concept to completion as a multimedia effort, working with social media and video storytellers to create compelling, break-out content.
Collaborate on and develop digital content distribution strategies with broader WFAA communications and OSC.
Use SEO and GEO principles to maximize On Wisconsin’s readership online.
Serve as key point of contact with magazine printer to ensure high-quality production and timely mailing.
Ensure the magazine is produced on time and within budget.
Share story ideas and success metrics with leadership at WFAA and OSC.
Work closely with the alumni awards team to develop stories about award recipients.
Coordinate with freelance writers and photographers.
Lead production of a publication highlighting award recipients.
Support marketing efforts related to the awards program, as needed.
Write for On Wisconsin and other WFAA publications.
Maintain 4WARD records for people featured in On Wisconsin and constituents who write to the magazine.
Perform other duties as assigned.