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Writer

Department: Office of the Dean of Engineering Effective Date: March 1, 2005
Grade:

USG 9

35 hr/wk

Reports to: Director, Plann & Comm

General Accountability

The Writer, Office of the Dean of Engineering, is accountable to the Director, Planning & Communications for writing high-level communications pieces for the Faculty of Engineering.  Primary responsibilities involve researching, writing, editing, and co-ordinating a wide range of communications materials for a variety of internal and external audiences to support the advancement of the Faculty in national and international marketplaces. The overall objective is to advance the Faculty’s image through the production of professional, compelling, effective communications materials.

Nature and Scope

Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering is administered by the Dean and six Associate Deans (Undergraduate Studies; Co-operative Education and Professional Affairs; Graduate Studies and International Agreements; Research and External Partnerships; Outreach and Computing).The Faculty is comprised of eight academic units (Architecture; Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology; Chemical Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Management Sciences; Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering; and Systems Design Engineering) and two service units (Engineering Computing and Engineering Machine Shop).

 

This position operates out of the Dean of Engineering Office, and reports to the Director, Planning & Communications, who in turn reports to the Dean of Engineering.  The following positions report to the Director, Planning & Communications:

 

 

Approximately 50 per cent of the Writer’s work assignments support the fundraising and alumni relations portfolios of the advancement team and that the other 50 per cent of his/her work is in support of the Faculty’s more broad public relations/communications/marketing needs.  Due to the workload division of this position, the Writer will be accountable to the Director, Development & Alumni Affairs for fundraising and alumni projects, and feedback on the Writer’s performance in this area will be sought from the Director, Development & Alumni Affairs on a regular basis and in preparation for the Writer’s annual performance evaluation.

 

All projects will be assigned to the Writer through the Director of Planning and Communications or the Director of Development and Alumni Affairs, but many will require consultation or collaboration with a variety of individuals in Engineering, including:

 

The Writer, Office of the Dean of Engineering, will be assigned a wide variety of projects, many of which will require differing writing styles to suit the medium or audience for which they are being written.  Many will require extensive research through personal interviews and material review. 

 

These assignments will often overlap, and it will be the responsibility of the Writer to manage his or her time and priorities to ensure internal and external deadlines are met and that the Director is informed of the status of all ongoing projects.

 

Most projects assigned to the Writer will involve subjects of a highly technical nature.  The Writer will be required to research the subject sufficiently to thoroughly understand the topic personally and to be able to synthesize the technical information into factually-accurate text that is understandable, readable, and appropriate to the audience and medium for which it is being prepared.

 

Significant Internal Relationships

Statistical Data

Faculty of Engineering, Fall 2007

Total Research Funding: $44 million (06/07)

Total Undergraduate Enrolment: 5528

Total Graduate Enrolment: 1430

Total Faculty Members: 245

Total Staff Members: 187

Total Alumni: 29,752

 

Regular Faculty publications for which the Writer will prepare feature articles include:

Specific Accountabilities

The Writer researches and writes the Faculty of Engineering Annual Report:

 

The Writer researches and writes feature articles for WEAL:

 

The Writer will research, write, and/or edit fundraising materials at the direction of the Director, Development & Alumni Affairs.  Such material may include, but will not be limited to:

 

The Writer will research, write, and/or edit existing content to develop other communications material at the direction of the Director, Planning & Communications.  Such material may include, but will not be limited to:

 

Working Conditions

Located in a comfortable indoor area.  Much of the time is spent sitting in a comfortable position with opportunity to move about. There is a frequent need to give close attention to various stimuli such as written material and verbal information. The work is varied and priorities must be juggled to ensure all projects are completed successfully.  There are deadline pressures, while at the same time there is a demand for thoroughness and accuracy.