Assistant Editorial Director, Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk

Hiring Department

Journalism

Job Description

The Missouri School of Journalism hosts the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an innovative, independent, award-winning environmental reporting network covering agriculture, water, climate and other issues across America’s largest watershed. Through a partnership with Report for America, we have journalists in more than 15 outlets across the region working collaboratively to cover critical issues. In three years, our reporters have produced more than 2,000 stories, including more than 200 collaborative pieces. Our work has been published by more than 400 news outlets, from small rural newsrooms to large national media.

The Job

The Desk is hiring its second full-time position, an Assistant Editorial Director with an emphasis on digital skills, to help with editing, content distribution, internal and external communications and training. The Assistant Editorial Director will have primary responsibility for the Desk’s audience engagement efforts, including its social media and newsletter.

We seek a versatile editor who can handle a variety of tasks for our small but growing newsroom. This position will report to the Editorial Director and work collaboratively with other team members, including the Executive Director, Operations Manager, mentor journalists, and other specialists.

The Assistant Editorial Director is a staff employee of the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO. The location is remote within the United States, with a preference for candidates residing in or familiar with the 10 mainstem states of the Mississippi River Basin (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana).
The Desk is funded by private grants and gifts, including from our lead funder, the Walton Family Foundation. Regardless of the source of funding, the Desk is editorially independent.

Duties

• Assist with editing, fact-checking and creating content as needed.
• Assist in maintaining the Desk’s website.
• Develop and manage the Desk’s engagement strategy, including social media and newsletters, to build our audience and foster a sense of trust. This includes working with the rest of our team to create short videos and slideshows.
• Use and stay abreast of the latest audience analytics tools.
• Write reports, newsletters and press releases as needed.
• Assist in expanding our distribution network through outreach to newsrooms.
• Spearhead selection and submission of journalists’ stories for nomination to annual awards.
• Assist with training journalists and communicating with partners.
• Fill in for the Editorial Director occasionally.
• Other duties as assigned.

Shift

Full-time, Monday-Friday, 8-5, Central Time, with occasional weekend and evening hours.

Minimum Qualifications

A Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least 3 years of experience from which comparable knowledge and skills can be acquired is necessary

Preferred Qualifications

• Skillful communication, strong organizational skills, ability to be a team player.
• Experience working with news collaborations and remote teams.
• Excellent AP style and grammar skills and solid editorial judgment.
• Experience editing news stories on a variety of platforms.
• Knowledge of environmental issues, especially within the Mississippi River Basin.
• Experience managing audience engagement strategies and products, including social media and newsletters.
• Experience using tools such as Google Drive, Excel, Microsoft Office, WordPress and BlueLena.
• Aptitude with Adobe Suite, Canva and other design and editing software.
• Skilled in shooting and editing photo, audio and video.
• Ability to learn quickly with attention to detail.

Anticipated Hiring Range

Salary Range: $55,000 - $70,000/year
Grade: 010
University Title: Senior Strategic Communications Associate

Internal applicants can determine their University title by accessing the Talent Profile tile in myHR.

Application Materials

Required application materials are (a) a cover letter describing why you want to work with the Ag & Water Desk and how your skills can contribute to our team; b) a CV/resume; c) a list of three references; d) 3-5 relevant work samples. Applications must be made online and will not be considered without all application materials. For questions, please contact Professor Sara Shipley Hiles at hiless@missouri.edu.

Benefit Eligibility

This position is eligible for University benefits. As part of your total compensation, the University offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental and vision plans, retirement, paid time off, short- and long-term disability, paid parental leave, paid caregiver leave, and educational fee discounts for all four UM System campuses. For additional information on University benefits, please visit the Faculty & Staff Benefits website at https://www.umsystem.edu/totalrewards/benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of Missouri is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

To request ADA accommodations, please call the Director of Accessibility and ADA at 573-884-7278.