Narrative Advisor & Writer

About the Office of Commissioner Rodney Ellis

The Office of Commissioner Rodney Ellis serves Harris County, the largest county in Texas and the third largest in the United States. In a fast-moving policy environment, our decisions shape statewide and national conversations on democracy, justice, health, climate resilience, and economic dignity.

Commissioner Rodney Ellis is a nationally respected leader with a decades-long record of advancing civil rights, justice, and equity in Texas. Alongside a strategic leadership team, an expert policy division, and a community affairs team with deep ties across the county, we’re building one of the most sophisticated and values-driven communications shops in local government.

Our communications operation integrates narrative, press, digital, and creative into a unified engine that meets the moment, moves public organizing, and delivers results for the people we serve. We hold high standards and provide high support, offering candid feedback, teamwork without ego, strategic thinking, calm decision-making, and a shared commitment to human dignity and public service.

If you want to do work that leaves a mark—on your career, on this country, and on issues that shape our future—you belong here. We recruit nationally; relocation to Houston is required.

Harris County is the third-largest county in the United States and one of the most diverse communities in the nation. What happens here often shapes statewide and national conversations—from voting rights and public health to climate resilience and economic justice. Serving Harris County means working at scale, under real scrutiny, with real consequences for millions of residents. The Office of Commissioner Rodney Ellis operates at the intersection of policy, community, and national relevance—offering communications professionals an opportunity to do serious, values-driven public service work that travels far beyond local headlines.

You are the office’s principal writer—the person who turns complex policy and lived experience into clear, human stories in Commissioner Ellis’s voice. As Narrative Advisor & Writer, you plan and produce the high-stakes pieces that set the tone for everything else: major speeches and remarks, op-eds, flagship web pages, mailers, emails, video scripts, and long-form features that show what changed, who benefits, and how residents can act.

You work hand-in-hand with the Director of Narrative Strategy to carry the big idea through every draft. You gather proof points with Policy and Community Affairs & Advocacy, shape crisp arcs with memorable lines, and deliver clean copy under deadline. You also package approved text so it travels—quotes and talking points for press, a 150–300-word newsroom/email item, and short captions or threads for social—keeping language consistent across channels without stepping on lane owners.

In a typical week, you might build a keynote from scratch, sharpen talking points for a fast briefing, file an op-ed that advances the frame, and stand up a concise explainer for web and email. Throughout, you write in plain language, bake in accessibility, and coordinate timely Spanish versions for priority items—so our work is credible, usable, and worthy of the people we serve.

• Signature speeches & remarks:
  • Draft and edit keynote speeches, remarks for key public events, statements, and op-eds.
  • Deliver clean, on-voice drafts with a clear arc, proof points, and a concrete call to action.
• Voice & narrative alignment:
  • Carry the annual narrative and quarterly message maps from the Director of Narrative Strategy.
  • Keep tone, cadence, and key lines consistent; tailor for audience and medium.
• End-to-end speechmaking:
  • Run the full speech process—intake, research, interviews, outline, drafting, revisions—and align with run-of-show. Craft memorable opens/closes and quotable lines.
• Research & proof points:
  • Partner with Policy and Community Affairs & Advocacy to source data, examples, and resident-friendly metrics.
  • Maintain a living bank of stories, stats, and citations.
• Scripts, toolkits & explainers:
  • Write scripts for short video/explainers.
  • P…