Policy Staff Writer (Remote)

The Position

Ballotpedia seeks a full-time, 100% remote Staff Writer to join our Policy Team. Ballotpedia’s Policy Team researches, curates, and neutrally presents the basic facts, key terms, and core arguments surrounding many important public policy debates in America. As a Policy Staff Writer, you will be part of a team helping Ballotpedia focus on becoming a complete Encyclopedia of American Politics. As we seek to expand our coverage of various public policy verticals and close the political information gap, you will strive to understand and help our readers understand the true nature of complex policy debates. This may include building indices of key arguments for an issue on all sides of the political spectrum or participating in large, 50-state research projects on policy areas in question.

Applicants should know that the day-to-day work is generally balanced between writing and research. In this role, you will write encyclopedic pages and promotional content to break down complex policy terms, court cases, arguments, reform proposals, and other concepts for the average reader. You will also research, compile, and present information in various formats, including spreadsheets and databases.

To succeed at Ballotpedia, you must be self-aware and personally invested in constant improvement. You must have a passion for creating a delightful experience for Ballotpedia’s readers and donors, and you must strive to develop expertise in your subject and the inner workings of your project.

Responsibilities

As Policy Staff Writer, you will be:

• Generating content about complex topics in a neutral, clear, and concise manner.
• Reading as much as possible about the policy coverage areas and becoming a content expert in the coverage areas.
• Creating and editing articles on noteworthy and upcoming court cases, laws, executive orders, key terms, influencers, and scholarly work related to our policy coverage areas.
• Identifying and curating arguments for and against proposed policy changes.
• Identifying and curating proposed policy reforms.
• Tracking news events to keep policy coverage up to date.
• Participating in recurring team book clubs.
• Efficiently reading scholarly work with an eye to what’s missing in our related content and finding a way to incorporate that into our content.
• Finding the most compelling feature of a story and promoting it with a strong headline.
• Hosting and leading webinars and drafting presentations, incorporating feedback in preparation.
• Contributing ideas to recurring newsletters.
• Drafting recurring newsletters, incorporating feedback as needed.
• Producing educational outreach opportunities, including Learning Journeys and Learning Expeditions.
• Contributing to topical webinars on breaking news related to the topic.
• Proofreading content effectively, efficiently, and consistently.
• Analyzing court decisions and tracking legislation across the 50 states to identify policy trends and developments.
• Traveling to and attending related events as needed.

Skills

An effective Policy Staff Writer will:

• Interact with customers, including but not limited to donors, external and internal stakeholders, and media, in a professional, helpful, and pleasant manner.
• Use and generate complex procedure checklist documentation to perform key tasks.
• Edit content from multiple perspectives to unearth new improvement opportunities.
• Learn and master Ballotpedia’s taxonomy of bias and Style Guide. 
• Learn from and apply feedback others give, such as in Master Classes.
• Identify trends in policy developments that span multiple areas.
• Work with breaking news, including having an eye for developing stories.
• Apply proper judgment when monitoring news to know which stories merit coverage.
• Conduct research efficiently and seek out the best possible sources.
• Collaborate professionally and effectively with coworkers and external partners.
• Innovate to improve work processes and enhance content quality.
• Think creatively beyond standard article components to include additional content.
• Use and master complex tools such as templates and spreadsheets.
• Have an interest in or experience using AI tools to increase productivity

Environment

The Policy Staff Writer will work remotely from their home location. All Ballotpedia staff work remotely. To join Ballotpedia, you must have a computer with Internet access. Ballotpedia utilizes Google Workspace (including Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive, and more), Slack, and Asana to achieve our goals. Some familiarity with Google Workspace, Slack, and Asana is helpful.

Ballotpedia offers a flexible w