Senior Storyteller

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.

A DAY IN THE ROLE

Expect a mix of writing, research and conversation. A morning might start with an introductory call with a Foundation partner ahead of an interview, move into drafting a feature for the Annual Report, and end with the social team planning how a story will run across channels. There is no fixed story quota. The goal is to balance volume with quality and impact, and to know which stories deserve a slow, careful build and which need to move in a day or two.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• An exceptional writer and interviewer who can turn raw material, interviews, data and notes into narratives that are clear, engaging, fact-based and emotionally compelling, while adhering to brand standards.
• 7+ years of experience in storytelling, journalism, editorial or communications roles, with a portfolio of published work.
• A bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, English or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Experience telling impact stories for nonprofit, civic or philanthropic organizations, or for a range of clients.
• Range as a writer: you can move between voices and formats, and you know that people no longer read the way they used to, so you look for creative ways to tell a story.
• An understanding of and enthusiasm for cities and the built environment. Industry experience is a bonus, not a requirement. If your background is in another dense, technical or multifaceted field, show us how you made complex subjects approachable, and that you are eager to go deep on urbanism, housing, climate resilience and community development.
• Experience interviewing a wide range of people, from senior executives and donors to community members, and earning their trust. You are comfortable and professional in rooms with high-profile stakeholders.
• The maturity and judgment to handle sensitive subjects and senior relationships with care, and to tell what matters most when priorities compete.
• Experience leading multi-stakeholder publications or projects, managing freelancers and contractors, and working to a budget.
• Experience working within editorial and brand standards and taking feedback well, while still bringing your own point of view.
• Genuine curiosity and a love of learning. You want to dig deeper into the programs and people behind the work, and you get excited about finding new, more powerful ways to tell a story.

Salary Range: $78,986 to $85,898; Actual compensation will be based on experience, education, skills, and other job-related factors.

Tagged as: Research/Writing/Journalism