Statewide IL - Editorial Writer

University of Illinois Chicago; Springfield (IL); Hybrid; USD 45,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Illinois Chicago is seeking a communications specialist for the Division of Specialized Care for Children in Springfield, IL. The role focuses on writing, editing and posting content across websites, newsletters and social channels to support external and internal communications.

The position emphasizes clear, accessible messaging aligned with our mission, with duties spanning translation coordination, content calendars, and collaboration with designers and translators.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in communications, public relations, journalism, English, or a closely related field.
• Two years of experience writing for public-facing communications settings.
• Experience with content development for multiple platforms is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop, write and post content for the organization’s websites, emails, newsletters and social channels.
• Review, edit and craft copy for various communications ensuring clarity, accessibility and brand voice.
• Coordinate translation of digital communications as needed and maintain content calendars.
• Support outreach by sharing opportunities, coordinating staff participation and distributing materials.
• Assist with photography, video and graphic design needs for digital channels.
• Maintain and update the communications style guide and assist with project coordination.

Education

Bachelor's Degree in communications or related field

Tools

SharePoint

Teams

Microsoft 365

CMS platforms

Job description

Hiring Department: Division of Specialized Care for Children

Location: Springfield, IL USA

Requisition ID: 1042334

FTE: 1

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8am - 4:30pm

Shift: Days

# of Positions: 1

Workplace Type: Hybrid

Posting Close Date: 8/19/2026

Salary Range (commensurate with experience): $45,000 - $56,000

About The University Of Illinois Chicago

UIC is among the nation’s preeminent urban public research universities, a Carnegie RU/VH research institution, and the largest university in Chicago. UIC serves over 34,000 students, comprising one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation and is designated as a Minority Serving Institution (MSI), an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPSI) and a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Through its 16 colleges, UIC produces nationally and internationally recognized multidisciplinary academic programs in concert with civic, corporate and community partners worldwide, including a full complement of health sciences colleges. By emphasizing cutting-edge and transformational research along with a commitment to the success of all students, UIC embodies the dynamic, vibrant and engaged urban university. Recent “Best Colleges” rankings published by U.S. News & World Report, found UIC climbed up in its rankings among top public schools in the nation and among all national universities. UIC has nearly 260,000 alumni, and is one of the largest employers in the city of Chicago.

This position is intended to be eligible for benefits . This includes Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, a Retirement Plan, Paid time Off, and Tuition waivers for employees and dependents.

Position Summary

This position supports the organization's external and internal communications efforts by writing, reviewing and editing copy and developing content for the organization's digital communication channels, ensuring all messaging is clear, accurate, accessible and aligned with the organization's mission and goals.

Duties & Responsibilities

• -Develop, write and post content for the organization’s website, social media channels, internal SharePoint site and Microsoft Teams, including news posts, events, resource listings, family stories, announcements and more.
• Review, edit and write copy for email blasts, newsletters, reports, forms, letters, promotional materials, reports, and other documents for both internal and external audiences, ensuring proper grammar, clarity, brand voice, accuracy, readability and accessibility
• Maintain and update the organization’s email distribution lists, and coordinate the translation of digital communications as needed.
• Support the organization’s community outreach efforts by helping share outreach event opportunities with team members, coordinating staff participation as needed, staffing events and providing guidance on available promotional materials, outreach supplies and more.
• Assist with curating and scheduling social media and website content, monitoring social media channels and tracking the organization’s posts by content type, and helping maintain the organization's content calendar and messaging schedule.
• Help coordinate responses to website inquiries and form submissions.
• Help maintain and update the organization’s communications style guide, ensuring that all DSCC communications and documents follow its best practices, and provide guidance and feedback to staff as needed.
• Assist with photography, video and graphic design needs for the organization’s website, social media, publications and digital channels.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in communications, public relations, journalism, English, or a closely related field
• Two (2) years (24 months) of experience writing for a newspaper, magazine, trade publication, news organization or writing in a public relations, research, or business communications environment

Preferred Qualifications

Demonstrated experience writing, editing and proofreading clear, accurate and audience-appropriate content for public-facing communications, preferably in health care, public health, human services, family services, disability services, education, nonprofit or government settings.

Experience developing content for multiple platforms, such as websites, publications, newsletters, email communications, social media, fact sheets, presentations and other digital channels.

Strong knowledge of plain-language writing, readability, health literacy or audience-centered communication practices, including the ability to simplify complex information without losing accuracy.

Familiarity with Associated Press style, organizational style guides, editorial review processes and quality-control practices such as fact-checking, link checking, consistency review and proofreading.

Familiarity with digital accessibility best practices, including accessible web and document content, heading structure, descriptive links, alternative text and WCAG/Section 508/ADA accessibility concepts.

Experience using content management systems, web publishing tools, Microsoft 365 applications, SharePoint/Teams or similar collaboration tools; familiarity with social media publishing, email/newsletter tools, analytics, SEO or project-tracking tools is a plus.

Ability to collaborate with subject-matter experts, designers, web staff, translators and reviewers to produce accurate, accessible and publication-ready content on deadline.

Knowledge of inclusive, person-first/person-centered and culturally responsive communication practices, with the ability to respect individual language preferences.

Strong attention to detail, project organization, collaboration skills and the ability to incorporate feedback constructively.

Experience reviewing, adapting or coordinating bilingual English/Spanish content is a plus.