Mission Local is hiring a senior editor

Mission Local is looking to hire a senior editor to shape news coverage and help manage a growing newsroom.

The senior editor will supervise four to six reporters and interns in news-gathering and reporting efforts. At present, we are expanding to different neighborhoods, and want to deepen our expertise in short-term investigative pieces.

The ideal candidate is thoughtful, innovative, ambitious, and fast. They are a strong manager — we are looking for an editor who can work closely with early- and mid-career reporters, stay on top of their stories, and ensure they are hitting deadlines. The editor will need to at times act as airline control for a newsroom where editors wear multiple hats, and they must be comfortable giving direct instructions, planning out a story schedule, and taking charge in the newsroom.

The ideal candidate sees urgency and strategy in turning breaking news situations into short investigative pieces. They are a thorough editor, familiar with and experienced in daily and enterprise journalism. They can restructure narratives, line edit and copy edit — and do so quickly, on deadline. They’re excited about data and visuals. And they are comfortable giving feedback and training a young staff. 

We are a team of 18 at present and will likely grow to 20 this year. 

Reports to

Executive editor

Core responsibilities

• Overseeing a team of reporters focused on neighborhood and citywide coverage.
• Helping to direct the daily operations of the editorial news team, including assigning and editing stories in coordination with other editors. 
• Owning and managing the newsroom’s editorial calendar in collaboration with other editors.
• Managing and helping to set goals for the reporters.
• Leading, directing and managing special coverage, and working with editorial staff on longer-term projects such as election planning, thematic coverage or experiments in storytelling.
• Helping to build a culture of feedback in the newsroom, and leading on collecting and responding to feedback on editorial operations.
• Participating in long-term strategic planning.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a newsroom with at least five years of full-time experience.
• A strong track record of publishing compelling short, medium and long-form stories. 
• The ability to think deeply about journalistic projects, uphold editorial standards and edit and coach journalists through any part of the pitching, reporting, writing, editing or production process.
• Enthusiasm for thinking and working creatively and collaboratively with journalists.
• Excellent verbal and written interpersonal communication.
• Experience with content management systems; WordPress is a plus.
• Ability to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
• Ability and a keen interest in developing young reporters.
• Reporting experience is a plus. The person in this role would benefit from an understanding of reporting values, methods and challenges.

There are great candidates who might not check all these boxes or who possess important skills we haven’t thought of. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself. We also encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.

Salary & benefits

• Salary range: $80K to $100K
• 15 days of vacation
• All federal holidays
• One week vacation between Christmas and New Year’s
• Health, dental and vision

How to apply

•  Apply to: applications@missionlocal.com with a cover letter and resume, Subject head: Senior Editor  

Mission Local is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.