Senior Storyteller

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Integrated Marketing Department Regular Employee Washington, DC, US

2 days ago Requisition

Salary Range: $78,986.00 To $85,898.00 Annually

ABOUT ULI

The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit research and education organization with 45,000+ members across every discipline of land use and real estate. Our members are shaping how cities grow, how communities respond to housing and climate challenges, and how the built environment serves the people who live in it.

The work is remarkable, and it deserves stories that match it. Behind every ULI program, District Council initiative, and Foundation investment are people and places whose lives have changed because of it. We need an experienced writer who can find those people, ask the right questions, and tell their stories in a way that moves readers, makes ULI more visible to the audiences we serve today, and reaches new ones.

THE ROLE

The Senior Storyteller is ULI's lead writer and interviewer for impact stories. You will work closely with the Vice President, Strategic Narratives and Storytelling, who sets ULI's narrative direction and has final say on which stories we tell. Within that direction, we want you to bring a point of view and bring those stories to life. You will identify the right people to talk to, conduct the interviews, understand the impact behind the work, and write stories that are compelling, accurate, and emotionally resonate.

Your stories will show the impact of ULI's work across our members, research, the Impact Lab, the Foundation and District Councils. They will reach audiences through Urban Land magazine, ULI's website, podcast, member app and social channels, our virtual and in-person events, executive communications, and the media. This is not about writing a story once. It is about pulling different threads out of the same story and telling it more than once, in different ways and formats.

This role is focused on writing and producing content. Success will be measured by greater awareness of ULI and its impact.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Finding and reporting the story

• Work with the Vice President to turn ULI's narrative priorities into a storytelling schedule, propose the stories within each program that are most worth telling, and keep each one moving from idea to publication on time.
• Identify the right people to interview for each story, from members and District Council leaders to researchers, Foundation partners, donors and the communities ULI's work reaches.
• Plan and conduct interviews, from introductory conversations to formal on-the-record interviews, and ask the questions that get to the heart of the story and the impact behind the work.
• Research and make sense of reports, data, policy content and technical detail so the story is accurate and grounded in evidence.
• Follow the impact over time, returning to programs, events and Advisory Services panels a year or more later to capture what actually changed.

Writing and producing stories

• Write stories, member profiles and case studies that show the measurable impact of ULI's work and connect with readers on a human level: not just what happened, but what changed and why it matters.
• Lead ULI's Annual Report from start to finish: manage the project, work with an external copywriter and design team, help shape the content plan with the Vice President and senior leadership, and select the stories that bring it to life.
• Write in several voices, from the formality of the Annual Report to a personal profile of an architect or planner, and adapt stories for different audiences, lengths and formats, from long-form features to short pieces for social, events and the member app.
• Balance long-form projects with fast-turnaround opportunities.
• Edit and shape stories contributed by staff across ULI so they meet the same standard.
• Work within ULI's editorial and brand standards through a collaborative review process, with the Vice President as final sign-off and program leads, subject matter expert,s and Foundation colleagues reviewing technical or funder-related pieces.

Publishing across ULI's channels

• Collaborate with colleagues to publish stories through ULI's existing and emerging channels, including Urban Land magazine, ULI's website, podcast and member app, virtual and in-person events, press releases and media pitching.
• Partner with the social media team on…