Senior Health Writer

About the role

The Senior Health Writer plays a crucial role in the University of Arizona's communications strategy, focusing on health and research initiatives. They are responsible for identifying, composing, and editing engaging stories and news releases for the university's flagship channels.

Responsibilities

• Lead efforts to identify and curate impactful university health projects and write stories and news releases for the university's flagship communications channels.
• Serve as a senior institutional representative with external media.
• Generate story leads and media opportunities.
• Oversee the development of narratives and framing for complex, sensitive, or high-visibility topics.
• Conduct faculty interviews and produce compelling and accurate stories about newsworthy health research from peer-reviewed journals and similar sources.
• Pitch those stories to local, state, national, international news media, along with health-specific news organizations.
• Identify university experts and researchers across a variety of disciplines and assist in developing key messaging for media opportunities.
• Establish relationships with these key research faculty and college leadership to deliver a consistent pipeline of story opportunities.
• Keep track of publication timelines, embargoes, and editorial calendars.
• Cultivate relationships with health reporters, editors and producers to anticipate coverage and place and pitch stories and university experts.
• Create briefing sheets, talking points and assist with interview preparation.
• Advise senior leadership on emerging opportunities related to key health-related initiatives.
• Work with the wider University Marketing & Communications team and with campus partners to develop health stories, visual assets and cultivate expertise to generate interest in the university’s research portfolio.
• Provide coaching and direction to staff on advanced media practices.
• Serve as a resource for campus partners seeking to amplify their research initiatives.
• Lead media trainings and writing workshops.
• Tailor news releases and feature stories into short-form content for the university’s social media channels.

Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to translate complex health-related topics into compelling stories about the value and impact of the work for general audiences.
• Proven track record generating story leads.
• Excellent grammar, writing, editing, AP style and research skills; project management skills; ability to handle multiple projects with short- and long-term deadlines; excellent communication skills; an ability to work with various constituencies and audiences.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent advanced learning attained through experience required.
• Minimum of 8 years of relevant professional science and/or health writing and editing experience.