Sr. Narrative Writer

We are looking for a senior storytelling leader and exceptional writer who can partner closely with the Creative Director to shape the narrative architecture of high-impact live events and experiences for universities. This role sits at the intersection of strategy, content, research, writing, speaker development, and production, helping transform institutional priorities, community voices, and philanthropic ambition into compelling programs that move audiences to feel, understand, and act.

THE ROLE:

You will serve as the Creative Director’s senior narrative partner, helping define the arc, emotional journey, and message strategy for marquee events, campaign launches, milestone celebrations, leadership moments, and other high-visibility programs. You will be responsible for understanding what needs to be said, why it matters, who should say it, and how each story fits into the larger creative vision.

This is a role for a writer who is also a strategic listener, a curious interviewer, a rigorous researcher, and a trusted creative collaborator. You will work across client teams, university leadership, faculty, students, alumni, production partners, and internal content resources to surface authentic stories, craft polished scripts, and ensure every spoken moment contributes meaningfully to the overall program experience.

Architect of the Narrative Arc

You will work with the Creative Director to develop the full narrative arc of each program, clarifying the beginning, middle, and end of the audience journey and ensuring the event builds with intention, emotion, and purpose. You will help translate strategic objectives, campaign themes, institutional priorities, and creative concepts into a cohesive content framework that guides scripting, speaker selection, screen content, transitions, and supporting presentation elements.

Story Hunter and Speaker Strategist

You will partner with the client team to identify, evaluate, and cast university community speakers, including faculty, students, alumni, donors, leaders, and other voices who can bring the institution’s story to life. Through interviews, research, and close collaboration with client stakeholders, you will uncover the strongest story each participant can tell, determine where that story belongs in the larger message, and shape it into a moment that feels authentic, memorable, and aligned with the event’s goals.

Master Writer for Stage and Screen

You will write scripts, remarks, speaker copy, transitions, voiceover, and other program content with clarity, polish, and emotional precision. You will understand how words live differently on stage than they do on the page, writing in a way that sounds human, performs well, and supports the pacing and production needs of a live event. You will also recommend screen content, visual storytelling opportunities, and other supportive elements that strengthen the speaker experience and help audiences understand, remember, and feel the message.

Client Partner and Review Lead

You will prepare thoughtful review documents for clients and manage the content review process with organization, diplomacy, and confidence. This includes helping clients see how individual scripts and speaker moments ladder up to the larger narrative, absorbing feedback while protecting the creative intent, tracking changes, and ensuring the right stakeholders are aligned at the right moments. You will be comfortable communicating with senior client teams and translating complex feedback into clear, actionable direction.

Speaker Coach and Onsite Story Steward

You will coach speakers ahead of events and during onsite rehearsals, helping them understand their role in the program, connect personally to the material, and deliver with confidence and authenticity. You will refine language as needed, adjust for timing and tone, and serve as a steady creative presence in rehearsal rooms, ensuring the story remains strong from the first draft through the final delivery.

Content Team Leader

You will supervise and deploy a content manager or other content resources as needed, setting priorities, clarifying assignments, reviewing work, and ensuring content development stays aligned with the creative direction, project timeline, and client expectations. You will bring structure to the writing and review process while maintaining the flexibility required in fast-moving live-event environments.

Key Responsibilities:

• Partner with the Creative Director to develop the narrative arc, message strategy, pacing, and emotional journey for high-profile university events and experiences.
• Collaborate with client teams to identify and cast faculty, students, alumni, donors, leaders, and other university community speakers.
• Conduct interviews and research to uncover speaker stories, institutional proof points, and human moments that support the larger program message.
• Write scripts, remarks, transitions, voiceover, speaker introductions, and other stage or screen-adjacent content.
• Recommend screen content, visual storytelling moments, and supporting presentation elements that strengthen the audience experience.
• Prepare client review documents, manage content feedback cycles, synthesize revisions, and maintain version control across scripts and related materials.
• Supervise and deploy content management resources, ensuring timelines, deliverables, and creative standards are met.
• Coach speakers before events and onsite during rehearsals, helping them deliver clearly, confidently, and authentically.
• Serve as a senior content voice across internal teams, ensuring narrative consistency from concept through show execution.

Qualifications:

• Exceptional Writing Ability: Demonstrated mastery of scriptwriting, speechwriting, editorial storytelling, and executive-level copy that is clear, persuasive, emotionally resonant, and performance-ready.
• Strategic Narrative Instincts: Ability to understand complex institutional priorities and translate them into compelling event narratives that connect strategy, story, and audience experience.
• Interview and Research Excellence: Strong ability to ask insightful questions, synthesize information quickly, identify the strongest story, and shape raw material into polished content.
• Higher Education Fluency: Experience with universities, philanthropy, advancement, alumni engagement, campaign communications, academic content, or mission-driven institutions strongly preferred.
• Client Confidence: Comfort working with senior client stakeholders, navigating feedback, preparing review materials, and guiding content conversations with clarity and diplomacy.
• Live Event Sensibility: Understanding of stagecraft, pacing, speaker delivery, rehearsal dynamics, show flow, and the relationship between spoken content, screen content, and production design.
• Collaborative Leadership: Ability to partner closely with Creative Directors, strategists, producers, account teams, designers, content managers, and client teams in a fast-moving environment.
• Experience: Significant experience in writing, storytelling, speechwriting, communications, content strategy, live events, theater, documentary, journalism, higher education, or a related field; 8+ years preferred.

The Right Person Will Be:

• A writer first, with the curiosity and discipline to understand deeply before putting words on the page.
• A trusted creative partner who can help the Creative Director sharpen ideas, structure stories, and elevate the overall audience journey.
• A confident interviewer who can make people comfortable, listen for meaning, and find the human truth inside complex institutions.
• A calm, organized review-process leader who can manage many voices without losing sight of the central story.
• A generous coach who helps speakers sound like the best version of themselves, not like someone else.
• A high-level collaborator who can move between big-picture narrative strategy and precise line-level writing with ease.
• An important voice on the creative team shaping the evolution of INVNT Higher Ed