Job Description

SUMMARY: This Editor in Chief will work with a team of projects that promote innovative ways to understand and engage with the American past. The Editor in Chief, most specifically, will coordinate Bunk and the History News Network, working with those projects to define direction, recruit authors, shape contributions, write pieces, and build audience. Engagement with current issues involving history and new interpretations of the past will be central concerns. The Editor in Chief will author original content for the hub and its various brand extensions, including newsletters and social media.

The Editor in Chief, reporting to the Executive Director of New American History, will collaborate with him and with the Director of Education and Outreach to promote engagement with those who teach and promote history.

Requires advanced degree in history or a related area of the humanities and 2-4 years in a supervisory editorial role.

JOB DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Editorial Management & Acquisitions [30-35%]

• Cultivation and recruitment of contributing authors
• Commissioning pieces
• Top-editing of guest-authored pieces

Distribution & Promotion [20-25%]

• Shape content strategy and provide weekly oversight of all HNN/Bunk channels, including Mailchimp, Substack, and other social channels. 
• Serve as lead authorial voice in newsletters and other syndicated content

Bunk oversight and management [20-25%]

• Database maintenance and metadata oversight
• Supervise Associate Editor, offering guidance, coaching, and support as needed

Strategic Visioning [15-20%]

• Collaborate with Executive Director and Director of Education and Outreach to coordinate work across all New American History platforms and activities

• Lead ongoing strategic planning for HNN, Bunk, Continuum, and/or future instantiations of these projects
• Oversee partnerships with contract designers, developers, designers, consultants, and editorial partners, providing budgetary, strategic, and technical direction for all ongoing collaborations
• Conduct periodic metrics-based evaluations of audience reach/impact, incorporating findings into future strategic plans

Administration [5%]

• Coordination of budget and payments for relevant projects with UR offices

CONTACTS: 

• National and international content providers
• Freelance contributors: Hires and works with freelance writers and contributing editors as necessary
• Institutional partners
• Professional service providers, including web design and development, communication and task

SUPERVISION EXERCISED: 

• Associate Editor, Bunk (bunkhistory.org)
• Features Editor and other contractors, History News Network

WORKING CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL EFFORT:

• Office environment. May be required to work weekends or nights if to meet deadlines. Monitors social and online media regularly via mobile device when not in the office.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Knowledge, skills & ability: 

• A demonstrated understanding of modern web content best practices
• Demonstrated experience in and strong knowledge of creating a vision for online content, including writing, editing and managing integration
• Demonstrated ability to effectively work with other interested parties, resolve conflict constructively and coordinate an editorial board or a small number of reviewers/approvers (as appropriate)
• Excellent skills in balancing storytelling with marketing the university
• Substantial experience researching, writing and editing stories that are journalistic in style, and an ability to make the online content engaging
• Strong interviewing/negotiating/people skills
• Solid project-management experience, including the ability to set and enforce deadlines and manage a project timeline, updating it as necessary

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

• Advanced degree or equivalent experience in history or a related area of the humanities
• 2-4 years in a supervisory editorial role.

WORK SCHEDULE:

• Full-time; Exempt
• Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5:00PM

PAY STRUCTURE:

Grade 8 Salary ($68,474 to $90,730 annually)