Senior Writer

Cartwheel•Cambridge, MA

3d•Remote

About The Position

Cartwheel is seeking an extraordinary Senior Writer to craft compelling narratives and persuasive content for government officials, including governors, legislators, and agency leaders. This role focuses on storytelling and persuasion, translating complex realities of school-based mental health care into actionable writing. The writer will be responsible for creating polished proposals, briefing documents, and other materials that demonstrate Cartwheel's impact and value, particularly in light of new state and federal funding for youth mental health. The ideal candidate is a skilled writer with a proven ability to make complex ideas clear, build narrative arcs, and write for diverse audiences, driven by a genuine interest in youth mental health, education, or public policy.

Requirements

5+ years of professional writing experience (journalist, freelance writer, editor, founder, executive, or operator) with a strong portfolio demonstrating clear, narrative-driven writing for a general audience.
Demonstrated ability to make complex, technical, or data-heavy subject matter accessible and compelling without oversimplification.
Experience writing for or communicating with busy, skeptical senior decision-makers who are not experts in the subject area.
Sharp editorial judgment to identify gaps, redundancies, and key messages in drafts.
Comfort working across various formats, from long-form pieces to briefings and one-page documents.
Background in journalism, freelance writing, magazine writing, book editing, or equivalent experience in public-facing writing, pitching, or storytelling.
Ability to tailor written content to specific audiences and political/institutional contexts.
Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments with multiple concurrent deliverables and strong self-editing skills.
Genuine interest in youth mental health, education, or public policy.

Nice To Haves

Experience writing government-facing content (RFP responses, grant proposals, legislative briefings, policy documents).
Familiarity with K–12 education, school-based mental health, or pediatric behavioral health.
Familiarity with state-level Medicaid, RHTP, or education funding mechanisms.
Experience supporting government affairs, public affairs, or policy teams in a growth-stage company.
Experience building or managing a content or asset library for a sales or partnerships team.
Prior work in healthcare technology, edtech, or mission-driven organizations.

Responsibilities

Lead the writing on high-stakes proposals and RFP responses for statewide partnerships and large school districts, structuring the narrative, drafting content, and ensuring clarity and responsiveness.
Collaborate with Government Partnerships, Sales, School Success, Marketing, and Clinical teams to gather information and translate it into persuasive prose.
Build and maintain a library of reusable proposal content, such as case studies, outcome narratives, and model descriptions.
Distill insights and stories from schools, students, and families into concise, emotionally honest content for policy conversations.
Develop state-specific impact narratives highlighting successes, learnings, and data through the lens of families and schools.
Write briefings, impact reports, and leave-behinds for legislators, governors' offices, and state agencies.
Serve as an editorial quality bar for all government-facing content, reviewing and refining work to ensure professionalism and impact.
Think strategically about messaging and audience based on local priorities and politics.
Collaborate with the marketing team to ensure consistency between government-facing content and the broader brand voice.