Senior Strategic Writer

Job Description

Job Description

Location: Arlington, VA

Work Days in Office: 5 days in the office

Position Type: Full-time

FLSA Status : Exempt

About Spirit of America:

Spirit of America is a privately funded 501c3 nonprofit headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Our mission is to engage citizens in preserving the promise of a free and better life. We do this by working alongside US troops and diplomats and providing private assistance to defend freedom, and strengthen America’s national security, and save and improve lives.

Spirit of America leverages an unprecedented partnership with the US military based on a groundbreaking agreement with the Department of Defense. Our agreement with the Department of Defense allows the military to collaborate with us, identify needs, receive and distribute our assistance, and provide us with logistical support. No other nonprofit has such an agreement. Thus, every dollar invested in Spirit of America builds on and leverages investments made by the US government and military. That leverage — combined with our entrepreneurial, venture capital capability — provides philanthropic investments in Spirit of America with asymmetric impact and return on investment.

Our work saves and improves lives, prevents conflict, and strengthens America’s security. In the world’s toughest places, people experience the best of who Americans are and what we stand for.

About the Role:

Spirit of America is seeking an exceptional Senior Strategic Writer to serve as one of the organization's principal storytellers, strategic communicators, and proposal development leaders. This role is for someone with an extraordinary ability to translate Spirit of America's work, complex ideas, national security priorities, philanthropic opportunities, and human stories into compelling, persuasive, and inspiring written products.

The Senior Writer will serve as an enterprise-wide writing resource, partnering closely within Development and across International Programs, Marketing & Communications, and Executive Leadership to produce high-impact donor communications, proposals, reports, project descriptions, strategic narratives, and other mission-critical content.

The ideal candidate combines exceptional writing talent with intellectual curiosity, strategic thinking, editorial rigor, and the ability to synthesize complex information from diverse stakeholders into clear, compelling narratives. Experience writing in national security, international development, philanthropy, analytics, journalism, public affairs, or related fields is highly desirable.

This position offers a unique opportunity to help shape the narrative of an organization operating at the intersection of national security, philanthropy, and global impact.

Reports To: Managing Director, Development

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Writing and Proposal Development

• Lead the development of high-quality donor proposals, concept notes, donor reports, and funding requests for institutional and individual donors.
• Translate complex operational, geopolitical, and programmatic concepts into compelling donor-facing narratives.
• Develop persuasive funding cases that align organizational priorities with donor interests and strategic objectives.
• Support the creation of strategic business cases, organizational initiatives, and executive communications.

Donor Communications and Stewardship

• Draft donor reports, impact updates, stewardship communications, and campaign materials.
• Partner with Development leadership to strengthen donor engagement through compelling storytelling and strategic communications.
• Develop customized donor materials, briefing documents, and presentation content for executive leadership.

Organizational Storytelling

• Capture and communicate the impact of Spirit of America's work through compelling narratives and human-centered storytelling.
• Collaborate with program teams, regional leaders, and field staff to identify and develop stories that demonstrate mission impact.
• Translate operational achievements into narratives that resonate with donors, partners, board members, and external stakeholders.
• Identify and develop strategic thought leadership opportunities, including with media.

Editorial Leadership

• Serve as an organizational writing and editorial resource, contributing to and improving written products across the enterprise.
• Establish and maintain high editorial standards, ensuring clarity, consistency, accuracy, and quality across all written materials.
• Provide substantive editing, coaching, and guidance to colleagues developing written content.
• Support the development of organizational messaging frameworks and narrative strategies.

Publications and Knowledge Management

• Contribute to the development of reports, publications, white papers, thought leadership pieces, and other external-facing products.
• Support executive speeches, presentations, opinion pieces, and strategic communications initiatives.
• Help capture and institutionalize organizational knowledge, lessons learned, and impact narratives.

What Success Looks Like in This Role:

• An extraordinary writer and editor with exceptional intellectual curiosity.
• Able to absorb complex information quickly and transform it into compelling narratives.
• Equally comfortable writing a multimillion-dollar proposal, a donor impact report, an executive speech, or a project description.
• Highly collaborative and energized by working across functions and disciplines.
• Passionate about mission-driven work and storytelling that inspires action.
• Able to maintain the highest standards of quality, accuracy, discretion, and professionalism.

Key Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Communications, English, International Relations, Political Science, Public Policy, Marketing, or a related field required.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling ability demonstrated through a portfolio of published or professional work.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in writing, communications, proposal development, journalism, publishing, philanthropy, international affairs, or a related field.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex information and translate it into compelling narratives for diverse audiences.
• Outstanding interviewing, research, and analytical skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to editorial excellence.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting tight deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate effectively across teams and functions.

Preferred:

• Experience producing high-impact written materials for think tanks, advisory firms, policy institutions, philanthropic organizations, or other mission-driven organizations, including research reports, strategic analyses, white papers, thought leadership pieces, and executive-level communications.
• Experience in philanthropy, fundraising, grant writing, institutional giving, or donor communications.
• Background in national security, foreign policy, international development, humanitarian assistance, or related fields.
• Experience writing for senior executives, boards, or external stakeholders.
• Publications, journalism, public affairs, or editorial experience.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled writing and research tools.

Compensation Range: Salary ranges from $102,000 to $130,000 based on experience. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance, and 403(b) contribution match to 4%.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Spirit of America is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on merit and business needs without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, disability, or other protected characteristics in accordance with applicable laws.