Managing Editor, Editorial Review

Overview

A thriving, mission-driven multimedia organization, NPR produces award-winning news, information, and music programming in partnership with hundreds of independent public radio stations across the nation. The NPR audience values information, creativity, curiosity, and social responsibility – and our employees do too. We are innovators and leaders in diverse fields, from journalism and digital media to IT and development. Every day, our employees and member stations touch the lives of millions worldwide.

Across our organization, we’re building a workplace where collaboration is essential, diverse voices are heard, and inclusion is the key to our success. We are committed to doing the right thing in our journalism and in every role at NPR. This means that integrity, adherence to our ethical standards, and compliance with legal obligations are fundamental responsibilities for every employee at NPR.

This posting will close on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.

The Managing Editor, Editorial Review (aka The Backstop) will be an NPR leader with a critical mission: to help bolster our content and our journalists to ensure that NPR maintains and strengthens its status as a trusted source of news and information for the American public.

In collaboration with other NPR Content Division leaders, this Managing Editor will build and oversee a formal yet efficient system through which all of our journalism can get a final editorial review before air or publication. In standing up a division-wide editorial review structure, this editor will maximize existing editing, legal and standards and practices protocols and facilitate additional editing support for critical content.

This system will be staffed 24/7 by a team of senior-level managers and editors reporting up to the Managing Editor. This team will be tasked with ensuring excellence, accuracy, fairness and consistency of individual works across platforms, recognizing that formats, story selection and story-telling techniques for different platforms and audiences will vary.

The ideal candidate is an experienced, transformative leader. They must have a wide range of experience and deep curiosity; be skilled at working collaboratively in a large, complex media organization and be a talented people manager. They’re someone with an entrepreneurial mindset, who’s excited to launch something new and knows how to execute. At the same time, they must have a track record of building consensus and leading staff through change.

The Managing Editor will report to the Senior Vice President/Editor-in-Chief and Senior Vice President of Podcasting Strategy and Franchise Development.

This position is an on-site role based in Washington, DC; the employee will be required to work at NPR headquarters at a frequency set by their managers. There will be some flexibility to work remotely on occasion with manager approval.

Responsibilities

• In collaboration with other Content Division leaders, build a division-wide system to provide consistent final editorial review of journalism content.
• Develop workflows that are both rigorous and flexible, depending on the type of content being created and the existing practices of a given team.
• Develop standards and parameters for such editorial reviews, as well as metrics to understand how the reviews are being done. Iterate as needed.
• Hire, onboard and train as needed the other members of this review team.
• Supervise the five-member team, including overseeing their work as well as their job performance.
• Work closely with the VP/Executive Editor, VP for News Programming, the Managing Editors for News and Planning, the newsroom Deputy Managing Editors and podcast and broadcast show Executive Producers to integrate your team’s work with their story/coverage planning and curation processes. In other words, know what’s in development, for who and for when, so that you can plan your team’s workload most effectively.
• 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.
• Work closely with content analysts and the Editor-in-Chief to understand the division’s collective body of work and this team’s impact on it, acting on relevant findings.
• Along with other senior division leaders and the training team, work to develop learning sessions on editorial matters. Consider what curricula could be developed for Member stations, as capacity allows.
  
  

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

• Minimum of 15 years of relevant experience as an editorial leader in a journalism organization preferably at the national level.
• At least 7-10 years of people management experience in a newsroom at the national level, including management of high-profile talent such as on-air hosts.
• Experience working and leading in journalistic organizations where stories are told on multiple platforms (such as broadcast, podcast, digital) and a demonstrated understanding of how formats and audiences differ across platforms.
• Track record of editorial leadership both in breaking news environments and on longer-term enterprise, narrative and in-depth work.
• Demonstrated record of successfully developing and implementing significant new initiatives across a large newsroom or other sizable, multifaceted staff.
• Knowledge of the rapidly changing, competitive media environment, its strategic challenges and implications for NPR, Member stations, the public radio system, the media business and society.
• Demonstrated commitment to data analysis and its use in understanding the division’s work and in service of audiences.
• Decisive, dynamic and collaborative leadership style with high emotional intelligence, excellent communication and presentation skills and a passion for the mission of the organization.
• Commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of the editorial work, in workplace culture and in hiring.
  
  

EDUCATION REQUIREMENT

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in work experience

WORK LOCATION

On-site: This is an on-site role based in Washington, DC. The employee will be required to work at NPR headquarters 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 $190,000 - $225,000 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.

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.

The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salaries NPR expects to provide for new hires for the position across all US locations.

NPR Pay Range

$190,000—$225,000 USD

Want more NPR? Explore the stories behind the stories on our NPR Extra blog. Get social with NPR Extra on Facebook and Instagram. Find more career opportunities at NPR.org/careers.

NPR is an Equal Opportunity Employer. NPR is committed to being an inclusive workplace that welcomes diverse and unique perspectives, all working toward the same goal – to create a more informed public. Qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, lactation, and reproductive health decisions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, transgender status, gender non-conforming status, intersex status, sexual stereotypes, nationality, citizenship status, personal appearance, marital status, family status, family responsibilities, military status, veteran status, mental and physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, genetic characteristics of yourself or a family member, political views and affiliation, unemployment status, protective order status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or any other basis prohibited under applicable law.

You may read NPR’s privacy policy to learn about how NPR may handle information you submit with any application.