Deputy Washington Editor

NPR’s award-winning Washington Desk produces sophisticated yet accessible coverage of the White House, Congress, national security, the Supreme Court, and Department of Justice as well as electoral politics. Our focus is on the nexus of policy, politics and culture. We draw connections between the places political leaders come from, the people they represent and the policies they embrace. We consider the role of cultural and demographic change as we aim to illuminate governance and politics. Fact-checking and explanatory journalism are vital to our mission as is breaking news and ideas with clarity and context. Known for our work ethic, the Washington Desk aspires to great storytelling both online and on air. Our coverage is featured on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, NPR.org, the NPR Politics Podcast, and UpFirst.

This full-time editor will edit desk coverage of the Justice Department, and legal affairs more broadly, and be the backup editor for NPR’s congressional team. This editor will also be responsible for overseeing daily news coverage on the desk, as well as manage a team of reporters. This editor will work closely with the Chief Washington Editor and the other Deputy Washington Editor, who oversees special coverage, and two other managers running a staff of about 50 people of diverse skills and areas of focus.

This role calls for someone who is nimble, collaborative, and possesses the ability to identify gaps in coverage and quickly works to fill them. In addition, the editor must have excellent news judgment and the ability to work collaboratively with editors across the network. The editor should bring energy and sophisticated ideas, think expansively and creatively about content and the best ways to deliver it. The job requires attention to detail, concern about craft, and an interest in nurturing reporters at various levels of career experience. The editor should have experience and a passion for covering political and policy news.

Responsibilities

Refine, communicate and execute coverage plans for breaking news.
Work with the beat editors to plan daily contextual multi-platform news and feature coverage of government, politics and elections.
Work with the Chief Washington Editor to maintain the highest quality for the varied products developed, produced and maintained by the desk- from daily and enterprise journalism on the magazine programs and the web to NPR Politics Podcast, the NPR Politics newsletter and the NPR politics social channels.
Protect the editorial integrity and quality of news online and on the air, ensuring that all stories meet NPR program standards and practices, including standards of fairness, objectivity, and balance.
Provide regular and constructive feedback and career development for performance evaluations.
Generate story ideas and review pitches, help develop creative storytelling approaches and sources, and determine the best platform for news coverage, including making suggestions for interviews and maintaining contacts.
Assign, develop and edit original stories from other NPR staff- as needed.
Other duties as assigned.

The above duties and responsibilities are not an exhaustive list of required responsibilities, duties and skills. Other duties may be assigned, and this job description can be modified at any time.

Minimum Qualifications

7+ years of experience editing political and Washington news stories at the national level. Experience covering/editing legal affairs is preferred.
3+ years of supervisory and managerial experience leading complex teams and breaking news coverage.
Experience with multi-platform planning and editing.
Experience in editorial decision-making, including assigning reporters/correspondents.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Ability to handle multiple and complex projects simultaneously under stringent time frames and changing priorities/conditions.
Ability to work quickly and efficiently under deadline pressure.
Ability and willingness to work varied shifts.
Demonstrated team collaboration and leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience covering/editing legal affairs is preferred
Knowledge of audio production.
Experience in Digital Media, including editing copy.
Experience editing for radio.
Familiarity with content management systems and collaboration tools such as Google Docs, etc.
Familiarity with NPR member stations and public media system.
Expertise in writing, with excellence in news writing, copy-editing and headline writing.
Demonstrated ability to generate and execute complex creative ideas, to assimilate and organize large amounts of information.
Understanding of the changing landscape in media business and audience choices in finding reliable sources of information on multiple platforms.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENT

Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university or equivalent required.

WORK LOCATION

On-site: This is an on-site role based in Washington, DC .

JOB TYPE

This is a full time, exempt position.