Senior Copy Editor, NFL

This is a Full Time Job

Sr Editor, NFL (CBS Sports)

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Overview:
CBS Sports is seeking a skilled, creative and highly organized Senior Editor to lead key aspects of its NFL coverage across CBSSports.com and CBS Sports platforms. The Senior Editor will play a central leadership role within the NFL editorial team, helping set the coverage strategy and oversee its execution across breaking news, live games, analysis, features, rankings, previews, reactions and enterprise storytelling. This role requires more than strong editing skills: We are looking for an ambitious editorial leader who can establish a clear vision, generate distinctive coverage ideas, manage and develop writers, and bring structure and accountability to a fast-moving newsroom operation. The NFL Draft will receive special attention in this role.
The ideal candidate has exceptional news judgment, deep NFL knowledge and a proven ability to make confident editorial decisions under pressure. This person should be equally comfortable directing coverage during a major breaking-news event, developing an ambitious long-term editorial franchise and coaching an individual writer toward stronger work. The Senior Editor will directly manage a team of writers, with responsibility for setting expectations, assigning coverage, providing regular feedback and supporting each employee’s professional development. They will also help establish team priorities, evaluate performance and foster a collaborative, creative and accountable culture. This position is based in New York and requires schedule flexibility, including nights, weekends and holidays as NFL games, news cycles and editorial needs warrant.

Responsibilities:
• Help define and execute the overall editorial strategy for CBS Sports’ NFL coverage across daily, seasonal and long-term priorities
• Directly manage, mentor and develop a team of writers, setting clear expectations and providing consistent editorial and performance feedback
• Lead regular one-on-one meetings, contribute to formal performance evaluations and create development plans that help employees grow
• Hold writers accountable for productivity, quality, collaboration, audience performance and established editorial standards
• Establish clear daily and long-term coverage priorities, delegate assignments appropriately and ensure deadlines and deliverables are met
• Generate and develop original coverage ideas, franchises and enterprise projects that distinguish CBS Sports in a competitive NFL media landscape
• Assign and edit breaking news, analysis, features, rankings, previews, reactions and other stories that meet CBS Sports’ editorial, legal and ethical standards
• Lead coverage surrounding NFL games, trades, injuries, coaching changes, free agency, the NFL Draft and other major league events
• Make decisive editorial calls during breaking news, live games and other high-volume coverage periods
• Work closely with writers to strengthen reporting, sharpen analysis, improve story structure and develop more compelling headlines and presentation
• Evaluate the strengths, opportunities and workloads of individual team members and deploy staff strategically across the coverage operation
• Identify gaps in coverage or team capabilities and recommend solutions, including new assignments, developmental opportunities and potential staffing needs
• Create efficient workflows and communication systems that keep writers aligned and the broader NFL operation organized
• Use audience insights, SEO principles and performance data to evaluate coverage, identify opportunities and inform future editorial decisions
• Coordinate with leaders across fantasy, betting, social, video, newsletters, programming and other editorial teams to develop cohesive, multiplatform coverage plans
• Balance immediate audience opportunities with original work designed to build authority and long-term loyalty for CBS Sports
• Represent the NFL team in broader editorial planning conversations and communicate priorities clearly to senior newsroom leadership
• Foster an environment that values creativity, urgency, accuracy, collaboration and continuous improvement

Basic Qualifications
• At least three years of professional experience in a digital editorial or newsroom environment
• Meaningful experience directly managing writers or editors, including setting goals, delivering feedback and evaluating performance
• A demonstrated record of leading editorial coverage and making high-level decisions during major news or live-event windows
• Exceptional editorial judgment and the ability to prioritize coverage in a fast-moving, high-pressure environment
• A proven ability to generate original ideas and turn them into successful stories, franchises or multiplatform coverage plans
• Excellent editing, headline-writing and story-packaging skills
• Strong organizational and operational skills, with the ability to manage people, deadlines and multiple concurrent workstreams
• Deep knowledge of the NFL, its teams and players, and the major issues and trends shaping the league
• A comprehensive understanding of the NFL calendar and news cycle, including games, roster movement, injuries, transactions, coaching changes, free agency and the NFL Draft
• Experience using SEO, audience analytics and other acquisition and engagement tools to inform editorial strategy
• Strong leadership, communication and relationship-management skills
• An undergraduate degree, preferably in journalism, communications or a related field
• Ability to work from New York
• Schedule flexibility, including nights, weekends and holidays as games, news developments and editorial shifts warrant

Additional Qualifications
• A track record of improving employee performance and helping writers produce more ambitious, distinctive work
• Experience leading a team through organizational changes, evolving priorities or demanding coverage periods
• Experience developing major editorial franchises, special packages or enterprise projects
• Demonstrated success collaborating across editorial departments and platforms
• Familiarity with NFL Draft, fantasy football, sports betting, social media and emerging audience trends
• Experience working with content-management, analytics and editorial-planning systems
• Working knowledge of Photoshop or similar visual-editing tools

In addition, the division includes CBS SPORTS NETWORK, the 24-hour cable home of CBS Sports which televises live sports programming throughout t