Development Writer Jobs in Washington, DC (NOW HIRING)

Job Title: Associate Manager, Development Writer (EN-8)

Organization Unit: Development
Reports To: Global Director of Development

Supervises: This position does not supervise staff.

Location:Remote, with applications accepted only from candidates based in the United States or the United Kingdom. For U.S.-based applicants, eligible states include: Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

ABOUT EQUALITY NOW:

At Equality Now, we aspire to create a world in which women and men have equal rights under the law and full enjoyment of their human rights. Our mission is gender equality. And how we get there matters. Here are the values behind everything we do.

Founded in 1992, we are an international human rights organization that works to protect and promote the rights of all women and girls around the world. Our campaigns are centred on four program areas: Legal Equality, End Sexual Violence, End Harmful Practices, and End Sexual Exploitation, with a cross-cutting focus on the unique needs of adolescent girls. We are truly global, and we have a team of 80+ people located all around the world. We have team members in Benin, Beirut, London, Geneva, San Jose, El Salvador, Argentina, Nairobi, Tbilisi, New York and Washington, DC among others. We offer a great experience for talented people who are passionate about equality. To work here, you'll need to share our core values of integrity and accountability, inclusiveness, resilience, and empathy. For more information, visitequalitynow.org

MISSION OBJECTIVE:

The Development Writer is responsible for producing high-quality donor-facing written materials, including program overviews, concept notes, impact updates, and related collateral, that compellingly communicate Equality Now's mission, global programs, and impact. The role ensures that all development writing is strategically aligned with organizational messaging, tailored to diverse funder audiences, and translates complex human rights and legal reform work into clear, accessible, and engaging narratives that strengthen donor confidence, drive resource mobilization, and advance the organization's strategic priorities.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The following is a general outline of duties and responsibilities for this role. It is not an exhaustive list, and additional duties may be assigned or removed at the discretion of the Global Director of Development to meet organizational needs and priorities.

Purpose: Apply Foundational Knowledge

• Lead the independent writing and development of high-quality program overviews, concept notes, LOIs, donor briefs, impact updates, prize submissions, and case-making materials for a wide range of prospective and current donors.
• Translate Equality Now's complex legal advocacy, movement-building, and programmatic initiatives into clear, compelling, and accessible narratives for non-expert and specialist audiences.
• Produce donor-ready materials that strategically frame funding opportunities in alignment with funder interests while safeguarding programmatic integrity, human rights principles, and organizational priorities.
• Develop and maintain a deep, working mastery of organizational strategy, global program areas, and advocacy initiatives, exercising professional judgment to ensure accuracy, cohesion, and strategic alignment across all written products.
• Maintain and actively curate an up-to-date institutional content library (core descriptions, program summaries, boilerplate language, and impact messaging) for use across all development communications.
• Draft and refine internal and external messaging, ensuring consistent narrative positioning across proposal submissions, donor updates, talking points, and campaign materials.
• Provide grant writing and narrative review support as needed, applying independent judgment to strengthen strategic framing, clarity, and competitiveness.

Engagement: Knowledge Building & Collaboration

• Coordinate closely with development colleagues to shape funder-specific content aligned to diverse philanthropic priorities, directly advancing cultivation strategies and donor engagement.
  
• Collaborate with global programme, impact, and communications teams to source, validate, and synthesize high-quality data, stories, and results that strengthen donor-facing written products.
• Build and sustain trusted working relationships with program leadership, ensuring continuous information flow and shared understanding of objectives, implementation progress, outcomes, and impact.
• Synthesize technical, multi-country program detail into persuasive, donor-friendly narratives that accurately reflect Equality Now's feminist values and legal advocacy strategy.
• Represent development writing needs in internal planning, coordination, and prioritization forums, contributing professional judgment on message framing, narrative emphasis, and timing.
• Provide editorial leadership, content guidance, and writing support to colleagues to elevate the overall quality, consistency, and effectiveness of donor-facing materials.
• Work closely with Communications to ensure alignment in tone, voice, visual identity, and brand positioning across platforms and audiences.

Delivery: Operational Awareness & Action

• Build and maintain subject-matter fluency across Equality Now's evolving portfolio of geographies, issue areas, and strategic priorities, enabling rapid development of timely, high-impact donor communications.
• Deliver high-quality written products on deadline, regularly managing multiple concurrent workstreams and competing priorities with minimal supervision.
• Ensure all donor-facing materials consistently meet high standards of clarity, factual accuracy, relevance, and narrative cohesion.
• Conduct ongoing review and refresh of written materials to ensure continued alignment with current program priorities, strategic direction, and organizational voice.
• Support the refinement and editing of grant proposals, donor reports, and related materials to ensure narrative alignment with fundraising strategy and positioning.
• Maintain document version control and content accessibility, ensuring development colleagues are always working from current, approved materials.
• Incorporate feedback from internal stakeholders efficiently and with sound professional judgment, balancing donor needs with programmatic accuracy and risk management.
• Track deadlines, deliverables, and writing workflows, ensuring disciplined execution, coordination, and reliability across development operations.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS & TARGET SKILLS PROFILE :

Substantive Knowledge

• Strong and applied understanding of international women's rights, human rights, gender equality, or closely related social justice fields, with the ability to contextualize this knowledge for donor audiences.
  
• Demonstrated ability to independently translate complex legal, policy, and programmatic work into compelling, accessible narratives for diverse funder audiences, from non-expert to highly technical.
• Solid working knowledge of advocacy-oriented nonprofit organizations, including institutional funding landscapes, donor compliance expectations, and narrative requirements across foundations, governments, and high-net-worth donors.
• Ability to quickly build subject-matter fluency across new geographies, issue areas, and advocacy strategies to support evolving program priorities at Equality Now.

Communication Skills

• Exceptional writing and narrative development skills, with a demonstrated ability to craft clear, persuasive, and strategically positioned donor-facing content.
• Advanced ability to tailor messaging to different audiences, cultural contexts, and funding priorities while maintaining technical accuracy, political sensitivity, and organizational integrity.
• Strong editorial judgment and meticulous attention to detail, combined with creative storytelling skill and confident narrative voice.
• Highly skilled at synthesizing information from multiple complex sources, including legal documents, technical program materials, monitoring and evaluation data, and consultations with subject-matter experts.
• High emotional intelligence and interpersonal effectiveness, enabling the role to build trust-based working relationships across a global, multicultural, and cross-functional team.

Execution Skills

• Proven ability to manage multiple deadlines and produce high-quality written content in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills, with exceptional attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to work independently while collaboratively engaging with program, communications, and development colleagues for inputs and guidance.
• Comfort working remotely and coordinating across time zones with global staff.
• Ability to handle sensitive information with discretion.
• Operates effectively both independently and within cross-functional, multicultural teams.
• Provides clear direction, structured delegation, and constructive feedback to build accountability and support professional growth.
• Willing and able to travel internationally and domestically, sometimes on short notice, to support the mission of Equality Now.

Targeted Specialized Knowledge

• Bachelor's degree in a related field (international relations, gender studies, human rights, journalism, communications) or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 6+ years of experience in development writing, grant writing, donor communications, or related roles.
• Demonstrated experience crafting donor-facing materials for international programs, advocacy and movement building organizations/NGOs.
• Familiarity with fundraising and donor engagement strategies; experience with grant writing and reporting highly preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Google Suite, and collaboration/project management tools.
• Experience with CRM systems (Raiser's Edge/NXT preferred) is a plus.

COMPENSATION:
At Equality Now, our compensation philosophy reflects our commitment to advancing the human rights of all women and girls through lasting legal and systemic change. We approach pay holistically, recognizing base salary as one component of a broader total rewards package designed to support well-being, growth, and long-term engagement.

Base Salary Range:

$62,755 - $80,000 USD (if based in the US), 36,511 - 43,812 (if based in the UK)

The final offer within this range will be determined based on factors such as geographic location, relevant experience, demonstrated skills, and qualifications.Beyond base salary, Equality Now offers a comprehensive total rewards package that includes health and retirement benefits, generous leave, and ongoing professional development. Our goal is to attract, retain, and empower a talented, mission-aligned team equipped to deliver on our strategic priorities with excellence and impact.

HOW TO APPLY

Please visit: and submit a resume/CV, cover letter.

Deadline for applications is June 5, 2026.
Due to the volume of applicants anticipated for this role, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.

Equality Now is strong because it is diverse. We actively seek a diverse applicant pool and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. Equality Now offers a competitive compensation package, including base salary, savings, health and vacation benefits, and is an Equal Opportunity employer. Equality Now employees are selected on the basis of ability without regard to race, colour, religious beliefs, sex, gender identity and expression, language, political or other opinion, nationality, ethnic or social origin, disability, pregnancy, mental status, HIV status, age, marital status, or sexual orientation.

We welcome all kinds of diversity. Candidates are selected on the basis of ability, in accordance with all country and location-specific laws.