Presidential Speechwriter

Job Description

The University of Michigan seeks an exceptional speechwriter to bring the president's voice, ideas, and vision to life across the many audiences and moments that define the leadership of a great public university.

The Presidential Speechwriter will develop remarks for audiences ranging from students and faculty to alumni, civic and business leaders, policymakers, and national and global audiences. This role is for a writer who is intellectually curious, strategic, creative, collaborative, and agile-someone who can think beyond individual assignments, develop themes and stories over time, and recognize when a strong idea can travel across speeches and other thought-leadership platforms.

The position reports to the vice president for communications and works closely with the president, chief of staff, and senior university leaders.

How to Apply

For full consideration, please include a resume, cover letter, and the following writing samples:

• A speech or spoken remarks written for a senior leader, ideally designed to be delivered in approximately eight minutes.
• A second set of remarks for a distinctly different audience or occasion, demonstrating range in voice, tone, or style.
• A short-form piece-such as an op-ed, essay, letter, or other public-facing communication-that demonstrates the ability to make a compelling idea clear and memorable.
• Please briefly describe your role in creating each sample. Finalists will be asked to complete a writing exercise focused on spoken remarks for the president.

*Submit a cover letter, resume, and writing samples as one file (due to system limitations). You can email large files to ovpc-administration@umich.edu

Responsibilities

• Draft speeches, remarks, talking points, and other spoken communications for the president. 
• Capture and maintain the president's voice while adapting it for different audiences and settings.
• Translate complex ideas into clear, compelling, and memorable language and stories.
• Develop themes and narratives that build across the president's remarks and broader public platform.
• Conduct rigorous research and work across the university to surface the people, ideas, and stories that should inform presidential remarks.
• Identify opportunities to extend strong ideas into opinion pieces, interviews, digital communications, and other thought-leadership platforms.
• Support and attend rehearsals and events as needed, using experience and audience response to continually strengthen future remarks.
• Other related duties as assigned. 

Job Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in political science, history, communications, public relations, journalism, or related field. 
• At least seven years of experience in speechwriting, executive communications, journalism, or a related field.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, including demonstrated ability to write authentically in another person's voice.
• Intellectual curiosity, creativity, strong research skills, and rigorous attention to accuracy.
• Ability to move quickly across subjects, audiences, and formats while exercising excellent judgment and discretion.
• Experience writing for a university president, CEO, political or civic leader, or other highly visible principal is preferred.

Above all, we are looking for a writer who can find the story in complex material, the larger idea in an individual moment, and the language that makes an audience listen.

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