Managing Editor, Content Strategy

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Why join Harvard Medical School?

Harvard Medical School's mission is to nurture a diverse, inclusive community dedicated to alleviating suffering and improving health and well-being for all through excellence in teaching and learning, discovery and scholarship, and service and leadership.

You’ll be at the heart of biomedical discovery, education, and innovation, working alongside world-renowned faculty and a community dedicated to improving human health. This is more than a job - it’s an opportunity to shape the future of medicine.

About Harvard Health Publishing:

The Office for External Education provides health care professionals, corporations, and lay audiences with broad access to Harvard Medical School’s peerless and constantly expanding body of medical knowledge. Our educational offerings are created in collaboration with members of the school’s almost 12,000-member faculty and reflect firsthand, expert clinical insights based on breakthrough research and best practices. Our portfolio of innovative medical education opportunities is available to learners around the world and includes live in-person programs, hybrid courses, self-paced online learning, digital products, educational webinars, podcasts, and printed materials.

Job Description

Harvard Health Publishing (HHP) is the consumer health information division of Harvard Medical School (HMS), the graduate medical school of Harvard University. HHP brings trustworthy, accessible, and actionable health information to the general public. HHP's team carries out in-depth research to create and maintain health content that is compelling, accessible, and useful to a broad audience.

This role defines and operationalizes the content maintenance (review, revision, retirement) strategy for Harvard Health Publishing’s health content library, overseeing the ongoing maintenance, quality, and performance of more than 11,000 pages of clinically reviewed content. The Managing Editor is responsible for ensuring that all content remains accurate, current, and aligned with audience needs and business priorities. This includes establishing clear editorial standards, building scalable workflows, and leading cross-functional planning to prioritize updates, consolidations, and retirements across a large and complex content portfolio.

By driving a disciplined, data-informed approach to content lifecycle management, this role directly supports and protects a multi-million-dollar licensing business that depends on the delivery of current, reliable health information to long-term partners. In parallel, the role plays a critical part in shaping the organization’s transition from a .edu to a .org model, ensuring that core content is optimized for discoverability, audience growth, and future advertising revenue. Serving as the central point of coordination across writers, editors, Harvard Medical School faculty, and business stakeholders, the Managing Editor translates content maintenance strategy into actionable plans and ensures consistent, high-quality execution at scale.

Key responsibilities include:

• Own and execute the content maintenance strategy for the health content library, translating strategic priorities into clear, actionable editorial plans and workflows. Works closely with the Director of Editorial Operations to dovetail the content maintenance strategy with HHP’s multi-pronged content strategy.
• Oversee content lifecycle management across 11,000+ pages, including the prioritization and execution of updates, consolidations, and retirements based on clinical risk, user need, SEO performance, and business value.
• Design and manage content maintenance editorial and clinical review workflows and production processes, ensuring efficient throughput, clear roles and responsibilities, and adherence to timelines and quality standards.
• Lead cross-functional content planning, partnering with licensing, marketing, product, and clinical stakeholders to maintain a prioritized and continuously updated content roadmap.
• Manage day-to-day content operations, including assigning work, tracking progress, resolving bottlenecks, and ensuring deadlines and service expectations are consistently met.
• Provide editorial leadership and direction to writers, editors, and Harvard Medical School faculty reviewers, ensuring all content meets standards for clinical accuracy, clarity, tone, and consistency. Supervise and mentor editorial staff and/or freelancers, fostering a high-performing, collaborative editorial team.
• Partner closely with the licensing team to maintain and enhance the value of the licensed content portfolio, ensuring contractual obligations for currency and quality are met.
• Support and shape the .edu to .org transition, aligning content structure, quality, and prioritization with evolving audience, SEO, and revenue strategies.
• Monitor and analyze content performance and health metrics, using data to inform editorial decisions, refine priorities, and continuously improve content quality and impact.

As part of your application, we recommend including a cover letter that will help us better understand your qualifications and background. This can provide valuable insight into your experience and interest in the role.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience required.
• 7+ years of experience.

Additional Qualifications and Skills:

• Advanced writing and editing skills with experience in health content created for consumers.
• Demonstrated ability to work across diverse teams.
• Proven ability engaging with senior-level stakeholders and faculty.
• Experience managing contracted talent.
• Strong organizational, project management, and interpersonal skills; flexibility and an ability to manage processes and people within a changing business environment.
• Experience with website development/digital content creation.