Writers - Masters of Scale
Wait What, United States
Job Description
About WaitWhat
WaitWhat is a media invention company, recognized for the highest quality, most genre- defining content today. Founded by June Cohen and Deron Triff the executives who built and led TED’s media organization from its beginnings through its establishment as a global phenomenon with a billion annual views WaitWhat is building the most valuable, independent portfolio of premium IP, designed around essential human needs with a contrarian strategy to scale. In everything the company creates, it aims to elicit the contagious emotions of wonder, curiosity, and mastery infusing their content with Wait, what? moments that spark curiosity and change our understanding of the world.
WaitWhat’s properties each one profitable, each earning Webby Award honors and together downloaded more than 60 million times include the now-iconic Masters of Scale (hosted by LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock partner Reid Hoffman), the genre-defining hit Meditative Story (in partnership with Arianna Huffington’s Thrive), and the provocative and timely Should This Exist? (hosted by Silicon Valley pioneer Caterina Fake). In January, WaitWhat introduced Spark amp; Fire, an original series that takes audiences into the minds of famous creators who describe in an exquisitely crafted first-person story set to music the journey to bring their iconic works to life.
WaitWhat’s unmatched guest list ranges from Sir Richard Branson to novelist Isabel Allende; Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban to Trinity Church’s Pastor Otis Moss III; cellist Yo-Yo Ma to Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman to baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. to the producer at the legendary Apollo Theater, Kamilah Forbes.
Based in New York City, with a number of remote contributors, WaitWhat has built an exceptionally talented team of media inventors who are committed to the founders’ vision for first-of-their-kind media platforms that endure and scale. The company’s vibrant culture is rooted in optimism, possibility thinking, and an uncommon willingness to embrace risk with intention to push the outer bounds of creativity and experimentation. The team treats each other with kindness and respect, tolerant of differences and always supporting yes, and-style conversations (consistent with best practices of design thinking and improv).
Requirements
We’re looking for a full-time staff writer who is intellectually ambitious, creatively courageous, and passionate about sharing big, provocative ideas about business and leadership through the art of longform storytelling to work across all Masters of Scale properties, including our weekly podcasts, the signature Three-Act Ad format, our regular live events, and the new Masters of Scale Courses App.
You’re looking for a job where you can put your talents to work for meaningful media you actually enjoy. You must love startup culture, feel energized by collaborative team feedback, and have an all-hands-on-deck attitude toward working across many projects. You should get a creative charge out of making brand-new content from scratch and from turning legacy content into fresh products using original writing and research. If you share our passion for exceptional storytelling and ground-breaking media formats, we would love to hear from you.
Qualifications:
- 5 years experience in writing scripts for audio and/or video.
- Comfort with collaborative script-writing process
- Experienced storyteller: both a creative writer and an analytical thinker
- Organized and able to meet weekly deadlines; familiarity with schedule tracking software such as Asana
- Can pass our brief writing/editing test
- Enthusiasm and experience for business or tech stories is a plus
- Experience in writing educational content a huge plus
Duties:
- Write and collaborate on scripts for the weekly podcasts, ads and prerolls, live events and Courses for our app, matching the show’s signature style and the host’s voice
- Pitch additional story elements whether it’s unexpected guests, original reporting, creative sound design or music to push the creative boundaries of the show
- Listen to raw interviews, with an ear for stories, clips and ambient sound that can be repurposed on other products
- Conduct interviews
PLEASE SUBMIT BOTH A THOUGHTFUL COVER LETTER AND RESUME. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.
Benefits
This is a FT position, with the intention to be New York City and office-based as soon as it’s safe. We offer a benefits package that’s generous and competitive with larger companies. Benefits include 3 weeks of company holiday (2 weeks in summer + one week between Christmas and New Years), 5 personal days, healthcare (PPO, vision and dental), short- and long-term disability, life insurance and 401(k). We work startup h