Associate Speechwriter

Company Description

Job Description

The Agency You’ll Join:
The New York City Mayor’s Office is responsible for overseeing city services throughout the five boroughs, coordinating public agencies and departments, and managing public property. The administration is leading the fight in making the city more affordable, reducing inequality, improving public safety, ensuring delivery of efficient and effective services, and working to make New York City’s economy stronger. We value leadership, transparency, fairness, and efficiency as we actively seek diverse talents from various sectors to join our team. For current job opportunities, visit our careers page.

The Team You’ll Work With:
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s speechwriting team is responsible for translating the Mayor’s voice into the written word and for shaping his agenda of affordability, good governance, and safety into a narrative that is compelling to countless audiences in New York City.

The Problems You’ll Solve:
The Associate Speechwriter will play a central role in advancing that work drafting remarks, performing research, providing editing and fact-checking support, managing internal systems and processes, and ensuring the Mayor’s message is articulated with clarity and creativity across the five boroughs.

The ideal candidate for this role will possess a deep comfort with the written word, highly developed organizational skills, an ability to grasp complex policy and political dynamics quickly, strong judgment and discretion, and an eagerness to work closely within a team. This is a fast-paced, high-intensity role candidates should be prepared for the possibility of working evenings and weekends.

Key Responsibilities:
Speechwriting:
- Write remarks in Mayor Mamdani’s voice.
- Support the senior speechwriting team on major addresses.
- Work closely with digital and video teams on video scripts, social media copy, op-eds, and other written content.

Research, Editing, and Fact-Checking:
- Draft research memos on key areas that incorporate high-level statistics, anecdotes, validators, and compelling narratives.
- Seek out a scholarship that supports a Democratic Socialist approach to good governance.
- Monitor news and social media for rapid response speechwriting needs.
- Copy edit and proofread all written content.
- Maintain version control and liaise with the wider communications team.

Internal Management:
- Support team on updating assignment tracking software.
- Track internal deadlines and evolving speechwriting needs.
- Communicate with the wider City Hall team on the review process and policy guidance.
- Maintain team style guide and approval processes.

About You:
- You are comfortable writing under short deadlines.
- You have a commitment to advancing Mayor Mamdani’s agenda and vision of Socialist governance.
- You have a strong interest in and familiarity with government and the political landscape.
- You can manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.

Additional Information
- In addition to the resume, a cover letter is required to apply.

Special Assistant (MA)-MGRL - 0668A

Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree required.
- 2+ years of experience in either political communications, journalism, speechwriting, or writing-forward roles.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.