Deputy Editorial Director, Colorlines

Title: Deputy Editorial Director, Colorlines

Reports to: Senior Editorial Director, Colorlines

FLSA Status: Exempt

Salary Range: $83,640-92,820

Location: Remote

Tentative Start Date: January 11, 2021

Note: Please review the applicant instructions carefully in the "How to Apply" section. Incomplete submission packages will not be considered.

About Race Forward

Race Forward's mission is to catalyze movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Race Forward imagines a just, multiracial democratic society free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose.

Since 1981, Race Forward has brought a systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. In 2017 Race Forward united with the Center for Social Inclusion to become the new Race Forward. 

About Colorlines

In 1998, Colorlines was created to fill a particular niche: to popularize a race-centered cultural and political analysis in an approachable way and to stage an intervention in the popular discourse. Colorlines became a vehicle for elevating innovative thinking about race in the public sphere with a deliberate embrace of popular culture and voices from communities of color. In 2010, Colorlines re-launched as an exclusively digital publication. There are now more voices in the media marketplace covering race than when Colorlines was created, and Colorlines has played a significant role in influencing this development and shaping how the media cover race. Yet, there is still only one Colorlines. Colorlines stands alone among its peers as the essential destination for understanding what is happening in the world from a perspective that explicitly centers people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, community organizers, culture-makers, and voices from the frontlines. We are a daily, nonprofit news site where race matters, featuring award-winning in-depth reporting, news analysis, opinion and curation. 

Position Summary

The Deputy Editorial Director (DEP) is the Senior Editorial Director's right hand and second in command. The DEP will manage the daily editorial workflow, which includes editing daily news stories, features and op-eds. The DEP is the primary top editor for the site. From monitoring the news cycle, to managing the workflow, to thoroughly editing daily copy, to evaluating pitches and tracking reporter progress, to assisting with long-term editorial planning, the Deputy Editorial Director is essential in keeping the digital wheels turning. The DEP will be well-versed in the current news cycle, especially as it relates to people and communities of color; the LGBTQ+ community, and those people, projects and stories that are not widely available in "mainstream media." The DEP will be familiar with the Colorlines Style Book and be proficient in editing in AP Style. Being able to apply the Colorlines' analysis to any relevant "mainstream" news story is a critical part of the job.

Duties and Responsibilities

• 70% Monitoring news cycle; editing daily staff- and freelancer-contributed content including news stories and some features; approving pitches; working through story ideas that view news through the lens of racial justice and centering people of color; homepage decision-making.
• 15% Administrative tasks, supervising contributors, maintaining a team atmosphere, staying calm under pressure; working with audience engagement manager; working with editorial assistant to create and manage systems and various publishing-related activities
• 10% Consistently developing and refining content strategy which includes identifying and commissioning new writers; columns; features; videos and innovative ways to move the site forward. Writing stories on an as-needed basis. 
• 5% Contributing to Colorlines' development asks, including contact with donors, and participating in our membership cultivation plan.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in print, digital or broadcast journalism and/or equivalent work experience
• Proven track record of management, leadership experience 
• 10+ years editing experience with short and long-form storytelling or equivalent
• 7+ years' reporting experience 
• Working familiarity with AP style
• Hands-on experience with a Content Management System such as Drupal
• An established working relationship with writers of color 
• Ability to center Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, LGBTQ+ people (and any intersection thereof) in story ideation, and edits.

Additional Information

This position requires long periods of time at a desk and on a computer (up to 6 hours per day).

How to Apply

External Applicants: To apply for this position, please click the link below. To ensure full consideration, please be sure to include both a cover letter and resume with your application.

https://raceforward.isolvedhire.com/jobs/

EEO Statement

Race Forward provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.