Ideal candidates will possess a blend of advocacy, educational and marketing skills to develop persuasive materials that cities find inspiring, helpful and motivational. They should be able to put themselves in the shoes of city leaders, able to conduct research and write content in an authoritative yet genuinely helpful tone.
Introduction to the Smart Cities Council
Join the Smart Cities Council, where you can make a meaningful difference by helping cities and companies that seek to change the world!
The Council draws on best practices and scientific expertise from its extensive network of companies and expert advisors. Together, the Council’s member companies employ well over 1,500,000 people in 150+ countries. Over the past five years, they have completed more than 10,000 smart city projects all over the world.
In 2017, the Council’s Readiness Program educated city leaders in metropolitan regions with over 69 million residents in the US, 33 million residents in India and almost one million residents in Australia. Our 2018 goal is to expand our reach globally.
The Smart Cities Council is headquartered in Reston, VA with regional councils in Australia New Zealand, Europe, India and North America. The Council works virtually across multiple time zones and locations, encouraging a strong team culture using Agile and Scrum methodologies to prioritize and complete projects.
Job Description
The writer will be expected to contribute to the full range of the Council’s publications that are designed to inspire, educate and motivate cities to use technology for the benefit of the community. These include the Council’s newsletters and website, as well as the Smart Cities Readiness Guide, a smart cities action-planning manual relied on by cities worldwide. The writer will also be expected to produce related social media posts.
The writer will work with the Council’s Global Managing Editor to identify article topics, angles and approaches. The writer will be expected to conduct research, identify opportunities to highlight relevant case studies from the Council’s member companies, and produce clear, accurate copy.
Responsibilities
- Produce well-researched, well-written, authoritative content that’s helpful to cities
- Create social media posts to promote Council content
- Research offerings from Council member companies to identify relevant success stories that can be used to help cities build business cases and use best practices
- Write marketing copy and other collateral for Council programs as assigned
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in journalism/communications, marketing, political science, program management, or a combination of education and experience that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.
- Polished communications skills, including the ability to write clear, concise, authoritative copy that’s free of errors.
- Ability to quickly research technologies and applications of them to be able to write knowledgeably about them.
- Familiarity with and an ability to write in AP style.
- An understanding of the various social media platforms and best practices for engaging their respective audiences.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite applications (Word, PowerPoint and Excel) and Adobe Creative Suite.
- Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
- Ability and aptitude to pursue several tasks in parallel; prioritize; handle tight deadlines; and expand the scope of work and responsibilities as needed.
- Willingness to embrace feedback in an effort to continuously improve the product.
Desirable Qualifications
- While most work is virtual, preference would be given to candidates in the Washington, D.C., Metro area.
- A basic understanding of content management systems (especially Drupal) is preferred.
Compensation
The Council’s plan herein is to hire one or more qualified candidates with about five years of relevant experience. Initial offers will be for part-time freelance work and if agreed, there is the possibility of full-time employment at some future date. The Smart Cities Council is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination with regard to race, sex, color, age, religion, creed, class, sexual orientation, national origin, and disability.
Responding to this opportunity
We do not accept phone calls about open positions. If you are interested in this position, please contact hr@smartcitiescouncil.com and send (i) cover letter expressing why your experience is relevant to the Council’s mission, (ii) resume, and (iii) samples of your writing work.
