VP, Speechwriter

We’re looking for someone to lead our growing speechwriting team who is as comfortable writing a first draft from scratch as they are sharing their work in a room full of executives.

About Us

Codeword is a communication design agency that helps brands create breakthrough comms, content, and community experiences.

We’re a fast-moving team of writers, editors, designers, strategists, videographers, PR mavens, and even a few traditional marketers.

Our incredible roster of big and small tech clients trust us to launch their startups, run multi-channel campaigns, grow their user bases, and lead comprehensive PR and marketing initiatives. We're storytellers and brand engineers, and we love big ideas that serve a real purpose.

Codeword is a remote-first agency, though we have physical offices in NYC and SF that we won’t make you visit.

About You

12+ years of writing experience
A savvy wordsmith who can develop speeches of varying lengths for high profile clients (e.g. executives, national politicians)
A digital culture enthusiast (“Very Online”)
Not shy about sharing your opinion, including with very senior executives at large organizations
Comfortable writing about technology topics, and knows how to get up to speed quickly on new subject matter

About This Role

This VP, Speechwriter will report to VP of Editorial Ted Brown and work closely with Codeword’s founding partner and executive creative director Kyle Monson . The VP, Speechwriter will be responsible for developing speech drafts directly with clients, as well as refining and editing those drafts based on feedback. They’ll also be on the ground on the day of and the days running up to the speech taking place, so there will be some travel involved.

You won’t be flying solo, though. You’ll be working alongside a great team of writers and creative strategists, who will help with narrative refinement and get extra eyes on copy when needed.

The role will be a visible and vital one to Codeword as we’re becoming one of the go-to speechwriting shops for major tech executives. You’ll need to be comfortable in a room of clients and be able to communicate and explain your ideas in real-time. You’re someone who knows the “what” in a good speech is just as important as the “why.”

What You’ll Be Doing

Develop and write speech drafts that are able to blend technical knowledge with narrative expertise for some of the world’s most high-profile tech companies.
Navigate sometimes demanding turnaround and edit schedules, especially in the days leading up to the events.
Collaborate with executives and their support teams to develop speech drafts that hit all their key points.
Develop and nurture relationships with clients.
Explain your thinking and narrative to clients in real-time.
Cultivate Codeword’s junior speechwriters.
Giving toasts at Codeword happy hours is compulsory, sorry.

Your Compensation

People – that's you! – are the heart of our business, and we believe in pay transparency.

Our budget for this role is $160K-$180K, depending on experience.

Your Benefits

Flexible work hours
Minimum 20 days paid vacation annually
401k + financial wellness support
Health Insurance (medical, dental, life, pet, mental health services)
Home office allowance
Bi-annual Wellness Credits
Monthly Technology Credit (to offset internet / phone costs)
Comprehensive Parental Leave Policy

About

A few more things you should know about Codeword:

The Codeword dream: Make good money doing work you care about with people you like.
We love our clients (they write the checks!), which means maintaining a high bar for the creativity, smarts, responsiveness, and communication skills we offer them.
We’re around 100 people, big enough to handle large-scale marketing programs, small enough that you’ll have an impact on our culture.
We’re a friendly team, we look after each other, and we grow our careers together.
We respect everyone’s personal life. After-hours emails are strongly frowned upon, night and weekend work is very rare, and employees are encouraged to pursue their side-hustles.
We’re all grownups here, and we trust each other to get the work done, whether at home or in an office or a time zone on the other side of the world.
We believe in defaulting to openness. Our calendars, our salary tiers, and our doors are open for all to see. (Except for secret client stuff, which we guard with our lives.)
We’re a proud member of the global WE Communications family.

Equal Opportunity

Codeword provides equal employment opportunity and doesn’t discriminate against employees or applicants because of age, race, color, religion, gender, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, or other legally protected class status.