Editorial Director

About the job

The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the country’s first and foremost civil and human rights law organization. Founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, who subsequently became the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice, LDF was launched at a time when the nation’s aspirations for equality and due process of law were stifled by widespread state-sponsored racial inequality. From that era to the present, LDF’s mission has been transformative–to achieve racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society.

LDF’s litigation, policy advocacy, organizing, and public education programs in the substantive areas of criminal justice, economic justice, education and political participation seek to ensure the fundamental and basic human rights of all people to quality education, economic opportunity, the right to vote and fully participate in democracy, and the right to a fair and just judicial system.

Reporting to and in partnership with the Chief Communications & Marketing Officer (CCMO), the Editorial Director leads LDF’s Editorial Division to help capture and define the voice of LDF. They are responsible for managing the editorial direction, production and delivery of all written materials and will work closely across the Communications Department and with other departments in the organization.

The Editorial Director will be superbly organized and a skilled manager of people and projects, serving as a central manager for the development and delivery of products of all kinds and delivery of successful outcomes in pressured environments. They must have a love of storytelling and an appreciation of how an organization like LDF can use story to advance their work across a range of platforms. They will be responsible for developing and managing a stable of writers who understand LDF’s work and voice and can contribute at a high level to meet tight deadlines. The Editorial Director serves as a part of the CCMO’s strategic team.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the main editor for LDF, while contributing to the writing of content as well;
• In partnership with the CCMO, set LDF’s editorial direction and tone content;
• Build schedules for long-term projects as well as deliver efficiently on quick turnarounds;
• Serve as an editorial thought-partner across Communications department, including marketing, digital and media relations divisions;
• Oversee – and jump in to execute as needed – day-to-day editorial tasks including drafting and editing copy, creating blog and website content, helping to craft institutional messages, contributing to design products, digital and marketing campaigns;
• In partnership with the Director of Digital Strategy, manage the editorial content of LDF’s website and blog, ensuring the content is kept fresh and up-to-date;
• Work across departments to support writing and editing needs;
• Manage every detail of editorial projects and deliverables, create production and editorial schedules and manage teams to ensure a steady and timely flow of high-level work product;
• Manage all members of the Editorial Division, assist in developing work plans for each member and assessing their performance on a regular basis;
• Drive the adoption of processes and standards, including LDF’s editorial guidelines, and supporting best editorial practices;
• Train, mentor, and onboard new editorial team staff;
• Other responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications:

• A minimum of five years of experience in journalism, communications and/or the non-profit space;
• Commitment to the racial justice mission of LDF;
• Knowledge and familiarity with a range of social and economic justice issues and comfort level promoting its ideals;
• Superb editing and superior writing skills, with the ability to shape clear and compelling content with acute attention to detail;
• Excellent content judgment coupled with knowledge of the risk, legal, and ethical issues associated with publishing thought leadership on behalf of an organization;
• Managerial experience, including experience developing and mentoring a team;
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, maintaining schedules and enforcing deadlines in a cross-disciplinary environment with quick turnaround times;
• A proactive communicator and generator of ideas;
• Honed interpersonal skills – including the confidence to interact with and influence personnel at all levels – responsiveness, flexibility, initiative, decision-making, conflict resolution, and tact;
• Proven ability to build strategic working relationships with senior clients, peers and vendors
• Ability to think strategically and make innovative recommendations that drive LDF’s goals;
• Flexible schedule, including ability to work some evenings and weekends, if needed;
• Intermediate level proficiency with MS Office applications;
• A bachelor’s degree, preferably with a concentration in writing, journalism or communications is preferred.

The salary range for this position is $120,000 – $150,000 depending on geographic location and experience.

This is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts or requirements or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned. This description does not constitute a contract of employment and LDF may exercise its employment-at-will rights at any time.

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The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to you without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, age, veteran status, medical condition or disability, genetic information, gender identity, or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law.