Specialist, News & Editorial

asco; Alexandria (VA); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, vision, and dental insurance

401(k) with generous contribution

Health and wellness benefits

Family forming benefits

Education support program

Generous leave

Job summary

ASCO, a leading oncology organization in Alexandria, VA, seeks a Specialist, News & Editorial to research, write, edit, and manage patient-facing and scientific content, including ASCO Meeting abstracts. You will partner with ASCO and ACS on collaborative content projects.

This hybrid role is based at the Alexandria headquarters and requires residing within 75 miles. The ideal candidate has 4–5 years of healthcare writing experience and strong plain-language skills using Microsoft 365 tools.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in communications/journalism or equivalent experience.
• 4–5 years of healthcare or patient education content writing.
• Clear plain-language, patient-friendly medical writing style.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 apps (Word, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive).

Responsibilities

• Research, write, edit, and update patient-facing content for diverse audiences.
• Manage content review workflow with reviewers and partners.
• Support development of press releases and patient summaries for scientific abstracts.
• Ensure accuracy, timeliness, readability, and SEO in content and meet deadlines.
• Identify news stories that align with partnerships and editorial calendars.
• Demonstrate strong client service when working with external partners.
• Support management of volunteer advisory committee communications and surveys.
• Contribute to crisis communications and high-volume content management strategies.

Skills

Healthcare writing

Plain-language writing

Content management

SEO

Education

Bachelor's degree in communications/journalism

Tools

Microsoft 365

Job description

Who we are:

ASCO is a flexible, high-performance membership organization where employees collaborate to support our mission through evidence, care, and impact. Together with Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, we foster a culture that prioritizes customer-centricity, emphasizes teamwork, and commits to quality. Our culture, ASCO Works - Our Way of Working, has long enabled workplace flexibility and embraced technology to help us achieve balance. To learn what it's like to work at ASCO, click here .

Total Rewards:

At ASCO, we offer a competitive and comprehensive total rewards package. Our compensation philosophy and structure ensure that pay remains market-based, tied to performance, and aligned with our core values. The hiring salary range displayed accounts for a broad spectrum of factors, and the final offer will depend on an evaluation of the selected candidate's experience, training, and specialized skill sets.

In addition to base pay, this position is eligible for our robust total rewards package, which includes health, vision, and dental insurance, a 401(k) with generous contribution, health and wellness benefits, family forming benefits, education support program, generous leave, and much more!

Who we are looking for:

ASCO is in search of a high-performing Specialist, News & Editorial to join our Integrated Communications and Marketing (ICM) department. The successful hire will research, write, edit, and serve as content manager for patient-facing and scientific content and materials, including summaries of research presented at ASCO Meetings. The Specialist will also successfully manage the development and review of content in support of the collaboration between ASCO and the American Cancer Society (ACS).

This position is hybrid with a primary location at our headquarters in Alexandria, VA. The hire must reside within 75 miles of our headquarters.

Responsibilities

• Research, write, edit, and update patient-facing content, as assigned, working with team leaders and organizational partners and volunteers.
• Manage the content review process for their portfolio, which includes identifying potential expert reviewers from ASCO's volunteer advisory committee, reaching out to reviewers and following up, and monitoring, tracking, and reporting on the status of all portfolio content.
• Support development of press releases and patient-facing summaries for scientific abstracts from ASCO Meetings to highlight cancer advances to a variety of audiences.
• Comply with contemporary journalistic standards, including accuracy, timeliness, readability, and search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, while also meeting internal deadlines and quality expectations.
• Identify news stories that support content partnership needs and expectations, including with ACS, and stay aligned with external partners' objectives and editorial calendars.
• Demonstrate strong client service skills when working with external partners.
• Support the management of ASCO's volunteer advisory committee, including but not limited to developing and delivering communications, responding to questions, planning and participating in engagement sessions, and conducting surveys to gather input.
• Participate in time-sensitive responses involving crisis communications or other fast-paced content management, such as patient-facing content related to pandemics, environmental disasters, international affairs, and ASCO Guidelines.
• Contribute to ongoing team effort to maintain and enhance readability to ensure all of ASCO's patient-facing resources and content are accessible to a broad audience.
• Manage and engage with freelance writers and other vendors as needed.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in communications, journalism, or a related field, or equivalent years of experience
• At least 4 to 5 years of experience writing in a healthcare, medical, or patient care/education environment
• Strong command of plain-language and patient-friendly styles of medical/science writing
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 applications required, including Word, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive

Preferred Education and Experience

• Experience working with project and content management systems
• Experience in the nonprofit sector, a professional medical society, oncology, or other healthcare organizations
• Experience with using AI tools related to content development or operational efficiency

Competencies

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to clearly convey and receive information with all professional levels and diverse groups
• Ability to understand and simplify complex scientif