Managing Editor, Science and Environment
Application instructions for this and all current OPB employment opportunities are available at OPB's careers page.

About OPB

OPB is a leader in public media, serving diverse communities of the Northwest with fact-based, in-depth news and information about politics, the environment, science, arts, history, and cultures; business, education and more. Powered by the generous support of members, OPB seeks out a variety of voices in our communities and lifts up authentic stories of the people, places, events and issues of the region, providing context and a deeper understanding. OPB’s independent journalism and programs are available at opb.org, on OPB Radio and OPB TV. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. 

The Opportunity

The managing editor will oversee one of the largest and most effective science and environment reporting teams in the Western U.S. This is an opportunity to lead an experienced team and create a meaningful impact with your journalistic skills. Your editorial insights will be put to work every day as you assign and edit daily news and feature stories and manage enterprise work similar to our recently completed Timber Wars project. Your leadership will help reporters shape and deliver deeply reported, thought-provoking stories that impact our community in the Pacific Northwest. The managing editor works closely with the Executive Editor and has wide authority to make decisions independently and to generate project ideas that amplify the impact of important issues like climate change, environmental racism, public lands management and more.

Position Details

The Managing Editor leads a team of science and environment reporters and producers and is responsible for the delivery of content and daily news output across OPB’s radio, web, social media and video platforms for the department. The Managing Editor will advance OPB’s values and strategic priorities and prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion when providing editorial guidance and deploying team projects. The Managing Editor will contribute to successful digital-first workflows related to OPB’s media asset management system, content management system and related technologies.

Supervises

The Managing Editor plans, assigns and approves work, responds to grievances, disciplines and rewards, recommends hiring and hires, recommends salary adjustments, prepares and signs performance reviews and leads project teams about 30% of the time. The Managing Editor works with and provides guidance to a team of science and environmental journalists within OPB and also manages occasional partnerships with journalists and organizations outside of OPB.

Responsibilities

50% - Make assignments and edit all content produced by journalists on the Science & Environment team.

• Provide guidance, feedback and supervision to the team
• Plan coverage and assign journalists to both story concepts and platform-specific editorial coverage
• Lead efforts to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in story selection and team priorities.
• Edit multiplatform work produced by the team
• Provide editorial oversight of published web content and social media activity
• Plan and execute special reporting projects, supervise investigative reporting and coordinate responses to breaking environmental and science news.

20% - Manage, execute and provide guidance to department staff on content management tools and workflows.

10% - Work collaboratively with OPB News editorial staff and journalism partners outside of the Science & Environment unit to boost the impact of our content. 

10% - Provide structured measurement and tracking of story content, output, analytics, feedback and deliverables across the unit.

10% - Supervise team members.

• Conduct regular performance reviews of project team.
• Provide ongoing guidance, direction and support for journalists.
• Ensure that team members adhere to their employer’s existing editorial and ethics policies, as well as maintaining high journalistic standards for all project activity to ensure that accuracy, thoroughness, and fairness are central characteristics of all content presented.
• Leads team in a way that fosters an environment of belonging and in which diverse backgrounds, experiences, ideas and work styles are valued. 
• Supports the growth and development of team members offering coaching, recognition, and feedback to optimize performance and employee engagement. 

Working Conditions

Most work is done in an office, studio or other indoor location with extended periods of working at a computer. There is occasional local or regional travel required to attend events and visit bureaus as well as some evening, early morning and weekend work to ensure coverage.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education, training and experience that provides the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities for this position. 
• Five years of reporting, producing and/or editing experience. 
• Supervisory experience including leading and fostering a sense of belonging, guiding team through change and supporting the growth and development of employee(s).
• Ability to lead, direct, motivate and inspire a team working remotely.
• Experience in online journalism, including comfort with technical aspects of web publishing and social media tools and trends.
• Familiarity with environmental and science issues.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and drive.
• Exceptional time management, organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Ability and willingness to work a varied schedule.

Preferred Qualifications

• A voracious news consumer.
• Basic understanding of search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.
• Experience integrating social media tools into newsroom workflow.
• Desire to lead this team of journalists to significant achievements in coverage of science and the environment.
• Enthusiasm for the role of public media in a changing journalism environment.

Additional Information

• This position reports to Executive Editor, Science & Environment and is benefits eligible.
• The hiring range for this exempt position is between $92,000 and $102,000 annually, depending on qualifications.
• This position requires a valid driver's license and will requires consent to OPB conducting a driving record check. Employees will not be allowed to use a company or personal vehicle for work purposes without completion and satisfactory results of this check.

How to Apply

For application instructions, please visit OPB's careers page. You will be asked to create an account, upload your cover letter and resume and answer a few position related questions. Once you click “submit” you cannot make changes to your application.

Your application materials are due by 8:59 PM Pacific Time on December 6, 2021.

OPB is an Equal Opportunity Employer.