Senior Copywriter — Craft the Voice of an Inside-Led Justice Lab

California, USA (On-site)

Salary Not AvailableSenior Level5+ years expVolunteer

Posted 4 months ago

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Job Summary

Drive accessible, national-audience writing for an incarcerated-led innovation lab by turning complex policy into clear public language.

  • Lead op-eds and longform pieces with incarcerated writers and partners
  • Must-have: 5+ years in copywriting, editorial, or brand writing with a strong portfolio
  • Standout: Build a reusable voice guide and cross-functional workflows with design and comms teams

Job Description

Responsibilities

  • Co-develop op-eds and longform pieces with incarcerated writers, senior communications advisors, and our brand agency
  • Shape drafts from interviews/transcripts into publishable narrative
  • Build repeatable workflows for voice, review, approvals, and fact-checking
  • Write and refine website copy in partnership with design, UX, and branding teams
  • Create reusable messaging blocks (About, initiatives, FAQs, calls to action, partner language)
  • Build a compact voice guide and phrase bank to keep writing consistent across the organization
  • Write crisp copy for campaigns, one-pagers, decks, and digital assets
  • Support the graphic design team with headlines, microcopy, and narrative structure
  • Turn complex work (policy, programs, research) into clear public-facing language

Requirements

  • 5+ years in copywriting, editorial, communications, journalism, or brand writing
  • A portfolio that shows range, clarity, and strategic writing
  • Strong collaboration instincts with designers and comms teams
  • Ability to translate complex or sensitive material into accessible, powerful language
  • Comfort working asynchronously and meeting deadlines
  • Familiarity with Monday.com (or willingness to learn quickly)

Preferred

  • Experience with op-eds, campaigns, nonprofit communications, or journalism is a plus
San Quentin SkunkWorks logo

San Quentin SkunkWorks

Our MissionWe research, craft, and build transformative criminal justice programs, positioning incarcerated people at the heart of our initiatives.Our VisionWe work on the big issues of criminal justice reform – facilitating reentry success, empowering incarcerated people, and reducing recidivism. However, by relying on incarcerated people to execute our programs, we're changing prison culture, building agency, and redefining what it means to be confined.

Founded in 2022
San Quentin, California, USA
12 employees (4 in marketing)

Traffic Signals

Monthly Visitors
1.3K
Traffic Source Mix
Search
38.2%
Direct
25.4%
Referral
23.7%
Social
11.6%
Paid
1%

Headcount Trend

Current headcount: ~12

Marketing Team

Marketing Team Size
2 (17% of company)
Median Career Experience
22 years
Median Tenure
1.3 years