Senior Science Writer

Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges. Are you a creative and versatile Science Writer looking for a chance to make a real impact? Are you able to craft a story into a feature, and distil it down to a social media post?

We are looking for a talented writer to join the Communications Team at the Wellcome Sanger Institute on a Permanent Contract and be part of an organisation at the forefront of genomic research and innovation.

As a Senior Science Writer, you will create engaging content and lead on strategic planning for the Sanger Institute's blog. You will work across diverse areas of science - from human genetics to cancer, and across the tree of life. Alongside this, you will create social media posts to promote content and the Institute’s work. In addition, you'll have the opportunity to work on long-form feature articles, feature pitches for journalists, publications, reports, website and intranet content, all of which play a crucial role in disseminating the Institute's world-leading research.

Your primary responsibility will be to find and create compelling content about our pioneering science, innovative technologies, and the remarkable people driving progress at the Sanger Institute. Through your work, you'll contribute to our recruitment efforts, cater to stakeholder communication needs, support research strategies, and empower our researchers to share their discoveries with the wider public. In this role, building and maintaining strong relationships will be key.

You'll forge meaningful connections both within the Sanger Institute and externally with collaborators. You will work closely with members of the Communications Team to find, develop and write content for Sanger Institute channels. Your work will not only promote the cutting-edge science and people behind it but also reach diverse audiences, including researchers, collaborators, partners funders, and the wider public.

By showcasing the research that takes place at the Sanger Institute, you will contribute to its mission of advancing understanding of biology and improving health.

With experience in science writing, you will enjoy working to find and promote stories about people, data, science and technology. You will lead on strategic planning, creation and publishing of accurate and engaging science writing and content for a wide audience across all available channels. In addition to strong communication skills, you will have a creative approach and are open to new ideas.

You will have the ability to adapt your style depending on the intended audience.

• Experience of writing clear, accurate scientific communications
• Scientific degree or demonstrable equivalent understanding of biology
• Demonstrable ability to write blogs, media releases and social media content, and to write for the web
• Experience of using content management systems to build and publish content
• Excellent communication ability including written and oral skills
• Demonstrable ability to influence and negotiate with managers at all levels in an organisation
• Demonstrable ability to coordinate with external and internal contractors for delivery of agreed services/goods
• Strong information gathering and problem solving skills
• Able to manage multiple concurrent projects and work under pressure, and manage a high-volume workload with conflicting priorities

The Communications Team as a whole has a wide range of responsibilities. They manage media relations at the Sanger Institute, which entails writing and disseminating press releases and reactive statements, establishing connections with journalists, and facilitating media visits. Additionally, the team curates and manages content for the Sanger Institute's website, blog and publications. Beyond external communications, the team also nurtures internal connectivity.

They oversee the intranet and other internal channels, ensuring information flow within the Institute's vibrant community.