Senior Editor, Editorial Review

Application Instructions

• Application Deadline: Monday October 19th, at 5:00 pm ET.

• Submission Instructions: Please submit a cover letter in addition to your resume answering the following question: How would you describe yourself as an editor?

Intro to Position

The Senior Editor, Editorial Review is part of a critically important team at NPR committed to providing additional editing support to our journalism and our journalists; to ensure that NPR maintains and solidifies its status as a trusted source of news and information for the American public. 

As part of a team, the Senior Editor will review journalistic work from across the Content Division as a final look before air or publication. The focus is on ensuring excellence, fairness, accuracy and consistency of individual work and work across platforms, recognizing that formats, story selection and story-telling techniques for different platforms will and should vary, in service of specific audiences. 

The ideal candidate is an  experienced journalist and editor with wide-ranging editorial experience, including expertise across different platforms and subject matter. They must be deeply curious, open-minded and flexible; be skilled at editing in a large, complex media organization where the topics and journalists vary greatly and where the deadlines and volume of content can be intense. 

This editor will work a Sunday through Thursday shift, for the general hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., although some flexibility is required for breaking news. 

This role is an on-site role based in Washington, DC. The editor will be required to work onsite at a frequency set by their manager. There will be some flexibility to work remotely on occasion with manager approval. 

This is a union-represented role covered under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with SAG-AFTRA. 

This is an NPR editorial role covered under the terms of the NPR Ethics Handbook. All editorial staff are bound by this guidance. Editorial staff are defined as staff members who play a role in shaping the journalistic or creative direction of NPR's content, including events. 

Responsibilities

• Edit journalistic content for accuracy, fairness and consistency, as a final editorial review before air or publication. The level/kind of review will vary depending on the type of work it is, for what platform and the circumstances surrounding it; for example, is this a breaking news situation or a long-term enterprise story?
• Copy edit digital news stories, breaking news, long-form features and multiplatform pieces, digital videos for grammar, general factual accuracy, as well as AP and NPR style.
• Determine what kind of additional editing may be needed for specific stories, depending on their complexity or subject matter, and depending on what kind of review has already been done by legal, standards and practices editors or others. 
• Collaborate closely with the main editors for all content you’re reviewing, as well as with the show/platform leads for which this content will appear. 
• With guidance from the Managing Editor or Deputy Managing Editors for Editorial Review, understand the expected content coming through for review on a day-to-day basis so as to effectively manage your workflow.
• Work closely with the Managing Editors for News and Planning and the newsroom Deputy Managing Editors who are managing both coverage planning and breaking news coverage so that your work is integrated with theirs, and you can effectively work as partners. 
• Work closely with the Managing Editor for Standards and Practices and other leaders to develop guidance on editorial matters and best practices for the division. 
• Review and understand data provided by content analysts about the division’s collective body of work and the review team’s impact on it; act on the findings as appropriate.  

The above duties and responsibilities are not an exhaustive list of required responsibilities, duties and skills. Other duties may be assigned, and this job description can be modified at any time.

Minimum Qualifications

• At least 8 years of distinctive, original news reporting or editing experience on a national level.
• Demonstrated experience editing on multiple platforms and a familiarity with the different audience needs of individual platforms.
• Demonstrated excellence in editing breaking news, explanatory journalism and feature stories. 
• Excellent communication skills and a track record of working on collaborative projects.
• Proven experience in editorial decision-making.
• Ability to handle multiple and complex projects simultaneously under stringent timeframes, with changing priorities/conditions.
• Ability to work quickly and efficiently under deadline pressure.
• Demonstrated commitment to data analysis and its use in understanding the division’s work and in service of audiences. 
• Deep understanding of NPR’s core values and public service mission.
• Passion for connecting with diverse audiences on a range of platforms.
• Proven ability to consistently work well with others.
• Positive approach to embracing change.
• Well-developed interpersonal skills, ability to get along with diverse personalities.
• Ability to respect input but ultimately be confident enough to take decisive action and take responsibility for said action.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in work experience

Work Location & Requirements

• On-site: This is an on-site role based in Washington, D.C. The editor will be required to work onsite at a frequency set by their manager. There will be some flexibility to work remotely on occasion with manager approval. 

Job Type

• This is a full-time, exempt position.

Compensation

Salary Range: The U.S. based anticipated salary range for this opportunity is $130,000-147,000 plus benefits. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salaries NPR expects to provide for new hires for the position across all US locations.

NPR Benefits: NPR offers access to comprehensive benefits for employees and dependents. Regular, full-time employees scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week are eligible to enroll in NPR’s benefits options. Benefits include access to health and wellness, paid time off, and financial well-being. Plan options include medical, dental, vision, life/ accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability, short-term disability, and voluntary retirement savings to all eligible NPR employees. 

Does this sound like you? If so, we want to hear from you.

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