Chief Washington Editor

Full Time Job
OVERVIEW

The Chief Washington Editorof NPR’s Washington Desk is the network’s chief editor for sophisticated yet accessible multi-platform coverage of the federal government and national politics. We aim to illuminate policy and legislation and to pull back the curtain on the political process. We draw connections between the places political leaders come from, the people they represent, and the policies they embrace. We explain why policy and politics matter. Known for its work ethic, the Washington Desk aspires both to break news, with rapid and insightful coverage, and deliver great storytelling. The award winning desk covers the White House, Congress, the Justice Department, the Supreme Court, the federal agencies, and national electoral politics.

This full-time leadership position will direct NPR’s overall news and feature coverage and projects across the desk and with other parts of the newsroom. This editor will have primary responsibility for driving the reporting on the 2020 campaign. The editor is responsible for managing a staff of at least 35 people of diverse skills and areas of focus. Hiring and developing a diverse staff is a network imperative. The editor must have excellent news judgment and the ability to work collaboratively with editors across the network. He or she should bring energy and sophisticated ideas, think expansively and creatively about content and the best ways to deliver it. The job requires attention to detail, concern about craft, and an interest in nurturing reporters at various levels of career experience. The editor should have experience and a passion for covering political and policy news. The position reports to the Executive Editor, with whom all hiring decisions are coordinated for approval.

Responsibilities:

• Set desk priorities for coverage beats and themes with a keen focus on audience.
• Drive the overall strategy and reporting for the 2020 presidential campaign.
• Lead the editing team in planning contextual multiplatform news and feature coverage of government, politics and elections.
• Work collaboratively with Head of Investigations team to drive enterprise reporting on government and politics.
• Align the network’s strategic goals with the varied products developed, produced and maintained by the desk- from daily and enterprise journalism on the magazine programs and the web to NPR Politics Podcast, the NPR Politics newsletter and the NPR politics social channels.
• Ensure the desk’s products are integrated with programming, communications, NPR One, marketing and other departments and divisions within NPR.
• Ensure Politics Podcast remains a signature platform for the network.
• Protect the editorial integrity and quality of news online and on the air, ensuring that all stories meet NPR program standards and practices, including standards of fairness, objectivity, and balance.
• Provide regular and constructive feedback and career development for performance evaluations.
• Hire and develop a diverse staff.
• Generate story ideas and review pitches, help develop creative storytelling approaches and sources, and determine the best platform for news coverage, including making suggestions for interviews and maintaining contacts.
• Assign, develop and edit original stories from other NPR staff- as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university or equivalent required.

Required Skills:

• 10 years of experience editing political and Washington news stories at the national level.
• 5 years of supervisory and managerial experience leading complex teams and breaking news coverage.
• A record of multi-platform leadership.
• Experience in editorial decision-making, including assigning reporters/correspondents.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to handle multiple and complex projects simultaneously under stringent timeframes and changing priorities/conditions.
• Ability to work quickly and efficiently under deadline pressure.
• Ability and willingness to work to work varied shifts.
• Demonstrated team collaboration and leadership skills.
• Knowledge of audio production.
• Experience in Digital Media, including editing copy.
• Experience editing for radio.
• Familiarity with content management systems and collaboration tools such as Google Docs, Basecamp, etc.
• Familiarity with NPR member stations and public media system.
• Expertise in writing, with excellence in news writing, copy-editing and headline writing.
• Demonstrated ability to generate and execute complex creative ideas, to assimilate and organize large amounts of information.
• Understanding of changing landscape in media business and audience choices in finding reliable sources of information on multiple platforms.

All applications must include a resume and cover letter to be considered.

NPR offers a competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits package including health and wellness benefits, retirement, and work/life balance programs, as well as opportunities for career growth and development.

NPR is an Equal Opportunity Employer that affirmatively seeks to hire veterans and people with disabilities. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex or national origin.