Lead Digital & Brand Copywriter - 90389189 - Washington

Your success is a train ride away!

As we move America’s workforce toward the future, Amtrak connects businesses and communities across the country. We employ more than 20,000 diverse, energetic professionals in a variety of career fields throughout the United States. The safety of our passengers, our employees, the public and our operating environment is our priority, and the success of our railroad is due to our employees.

Are you ready to join our team?

Our values of ‘Do the Right Thing, Excel Together and Put Customers First’ are at the heart of what matters most to us, and our Core Capabilities, ‘Building Trust, Accountability, Effective Communication, Customer Focus, and Proactive Safety & Security’ are what every employee needs to know and do to be most impactful at Amtrak. By living the Amtrak values, focusing on our capabilities, and actively embracing and fostering diverse ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives, together we will honor our past and make Amtrak a company of the future.

SUMMARY OF DUTIES:
The Lead Digital & Brand Copywriter is responsible for crafting pitch-perfect, compelling copy across owned and earned channels, defining and evolving Amtrak’s tone of voice to ensure it remains current, relatable, and engaging. This role handles a broad range of writing tasks, including digital content (e.g. home pages, landing pages, station pages, SEO content, and product UX copy) and brand-focused assignments (e.g. marketing offers, promotions, new product launches, advertising, email, co-brand, and loyalty copy). Other key responsibilities include generating copy and copy guidance for State partners, partnering with External Communications on crafting media releases, collaborating with Pricing & Revenue Management, Legal, Advertising, Digital Design, UX, Product, and other functions, and working with various agencies and third-party providers to execute assignments. Must have the ability to generate on-point creative concepts. Additionally, the Digital & Brand Copywriter serves as an Editor when needed and plays a crucial role in ensuring consistency and quality across all communications. We seek a highly skilled and established copywriter who can blend creativity with strategic thinking to elevate Amtrak’s brand presence.  

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
• Craft Compelling Copy: Develop engaging and pitch-perfect copy for Amtrak’s owned and earned channels, ensuring consistency in tone and style. This involves responding to Creative Briefs and Project Requests, creating copy that aligns to the request, exploring multiple options, taking feedback and adjusting/editing as needed.
• Define and Evolve the Amtrak Brand Tone of Voice: Continuously refine Amtrak’s tone of voice to keep it relevant, relatable, and engaging across all channels and form factors.
• Digital Content Creation: Write and optimize copy for digital platforms, including home pages, landing pages, station pages, SEO content, and product UX copy, email campaigns, social and blog posts.
• Brand-Focused Assignments: Create persuasive copy for advertising campaigns, marketing offers, promotions, new product launches, SMS and email communications, and loyalty programs. Partner with Legal, CRM and Pricing & Revenue Management Teams to ensure alignment and optimization. 
• State Support: Craft copy and provide editing and copy guidance as called upon. 
• Media Releases: Partner closely with External Communications to draft and refine media releases, ensuring alignment with Amtrak’s messaging and brand voice.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work collaboratively with teams such as Pricing & Revenue Management, Legal, Advertising, Digital Design, UX, and Product to ensure cohesive and effective communication strategies.
• Agency and Third-Party Coordination: Liaise with various agencies and third-party providers to manage and execute copywriting assignments, ensuring high-quality deliverables.
• Editorial Oversight: Serve as an Editor when needed, providing critical review and feedback to maintain consistency and quality across all written materials.
• Strategic Storytelling: Blend creativity with strategic thinking to craft stories that elevate Amtrak’s brand presence and resonate with diverse audiences.
• Content Quality Assurance: Ensure all content is accurate, engaging, and aligned with Amtrak’s brand guidelines and objectives.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
• BA in a related field: Essential educational background in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, English, or a related field.
• 6+ years of experience: Proven experience in writing/editing for a notable travel, hospitality, or retail brand.
• Experience with Creative Briefs: Demonstrated ability to respond to and write from Creative Briefs provided by requestors.
• Proven Track Record: Demonstrated success in creating compelling copy that drives engagement and achieves business objectives.
• Strong Portfolio: A robust portfolio showcasing a variety of writing styles and projects, particularly in digital and brand-focused content.

MINIMUM KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to think creatively and bring fresh ideas forward.
• Must be receptive and amenable to feedback and adjust copy accordingly.
• Must be able to work on tight deadlines as needed.
• Knowledge of SEO best practices to optimize content for search engines.
• Familiarity with content management systems (CMS) and basic HTML. Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) a plus.
• Experience working in cross-functional teams and managing relationships with external agencies and third-party providers.
• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to producing high-quality work.
• Ability to adapt writing style to different audiences and platforms.
• Strong organizational and project management skills to handle multiple assignments simultaneously.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Certifications or awards in writing and/or creative concepting

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
• Dynamic, fast-paced environment
• Occasional travel (up to 15%)

COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:
Must have excellent oral and written communication skills.

PAY TRANSPARENCY:

The salary/hourly range is $94,300-$122,256. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, internal equity, etc. Depending on an employee’s assigned worksite or location, Amtrak may consider a geo-pay differential to be applied to the employee’s base salary. Amtrak may offer additional incentive and pay programs to recognize and reward our employees, including a short-term incentive bonus based upon factors such as individual and company performance that is commensurate with the level of the position and/or long-term incentive plan compensation. In addition to your salary, Amtrak offers a comprehensive benefit package that includes health, dental, and vision plans; health savings accounts; wellness programs; flexible spending accounts; 401K retirement plan with employer match; life insurance; short and long term disability insurance; paid time off; back-up care; adoption assistance; surrogacy assistance; reimbursement of education expenses; Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility; Railroad Retirement sickness and retirement benefits; and rail pass privileges. Learn more about our benefits offerings here.

Requisition ID:164122
Posting Location(s):District of Columbia; New York; Pennsylvania

Work Arrangement:06-Onsite Click here for more information about work arrangements at Amtrak. 
Job Family/Function:Communications 
Relocation Offered:No 
Travel Requirements:Up to 25% 

You power our progress through your performance.
 

We want your work at Amtrak to be more than a job. We want your career at Amtrak to be a fulfilling experience where you find challenging work, rewarding opportunities, respect among colleagues, and attractive compensation. Amtrak maintains a culture that values high performance and recognizes individual employee contributions. 

Amtrak is committed to a safe workplace free of drugs and alcohol. All Amtrak positions requires a pre-employment background check that includes prior employment verification, a criminal history check and a pre-employment drug screen. 

Candidates who test positive for marijuana will be disqualified, regardless of any state or local statute, ordinance, regulation, or other law that legalizes or decriminalizes the use or possession of marijuana, whether for medical, recreational, or other use. Amtrak's pre-employment drug testing program is administered in accordance with DOT regulations and applicable law.  

In accordance with DOT regulations (49 CFR § 40.25), Amtrak is required to obtain prior drug and alcohol testing records for applicants/employees intending to perform safety-sensitive duties for covered Department of Transportation positions. If an applicant/employee refuses to provide written consent for Amtrak to obtain these records, the individual will not be permitted to perform safety-sensitive functions.

In accordance with federal law governing security checks of covered individuals for providers of public transportation (Title 6 U.S.C. §1143), Amtrak is required to screen applicants for any permanent or interim disqualifying criminal offenses. 

Note that any education requirement listed above may be deemed satisfied if you have an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

Amtrak is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race/color, to include traits historically associated with race, including but not limited to, hair texture and hairstyles such as braids, locks and twists, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions, such as lactation), national origin/ethnicity, disability (intellectual, mental and physical), veteran status, marital status, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, genetic information, citizenship or any other personal characteristics protected by law..