Writer II (704041 - External)

Are you a talented writer who’s passionate about creating great user experiences? Do you want to create content that inspires people to use Windows Live in their everyday lives? Do you have the skill and talent to write quality content for a consumer audience about for a variety of purposes, including user interface text, inspirational columns and articles, marketing copy, and video scripts?
The Windows Web Services & Content team is looking for a content publishing writer to help us provide outstanding content for Windows and Windows Live. Our team creates a wide variety of content, including Help, web content, UI text, videos, columns, and marketing copy.
Writers work directly with the Windows and Windows Live product teams to deliver product text and the publishing and test teams to create content in XML, run a variety of QA and publishing tools, and publish content to our websites. In addition, the writer will own the assistance content plans for their assigned products, which include writing articles and columns for the Windows website, creating how-to videos, and supporting our customers in the Microsoft Answers forums. The writer will also create marketing content for his or her assigned products.

The core responsibilities for the writer II position are:
Author high-quality content for Windows Live products and services
Drive and own the assistance content plan for assigned products
Analyze statistics and customer feedback to inform content plans
Work with other writers on the team to ensure consistency with our voice, phrasing, and terminology throughout the suite of Windows Live products and services
Establish and grow relationships with partner teams, including product teams, publishing, test, and marketing
Work with editors to ensure text is of the highest possible quality
Understand and apply the Windows Web Services & Content style guide
Understand and apply the Windows voice guidelines
Manage schedules and deliverables for the content you ship

Our ideal candidate has these qualities:
Excellent writing skills with at least 3 years experience writing content for a consumer audience
Passion for creating great user experiences
The ability to learn new technologies quickly and be able to describe them clearly
The ability “get outside their own head” and approach their content with a fresh perspective
Knowledge and understanding of information architecture and design
Strong project management skills, which includes scheduling deliverables, clear communication with project partners, and consistently delivering high-quality content on or ahead of schedule
Proactive problem-solving skills, both with their own assignments but for overall team processes as well
Experience with HTML, XML, and content publishing tools