Managing Editor, Autos

U.S. News & World Report is a multifaceted digital media company dedicated to helping citizens, consumers, business leaders and policy officials make important decisions in their lives. We publish independent reporting, rankings, data journalism and advice that has earned the trust of our readers and users for 90 years. Our platforms on usnews.com include Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars, News and 360 Reviews.

We reach more than 40 million people monthly during moments when they are most in need of expert advice and motivated to act on that advice directly on our platforms. Our signature franchises include our “Best” series of consumer guides on colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, diets, cars, financial services and more. These guides provide an easy-to-digest list for consumers to better understand and compare when making their decisions. We continue to publish annual guides of the authoritative Best Colleges and Best Hospitals rankings on our website and in print. And our U.S. News Live flagship conferences highlight important national conversations including Healthcare of Tomorrow and Healthiest Communities.

We believe in having a broad range of talent and backgrounds at U.S. News. We strive to maintain a welcoming workplace where everyone is given an opportunity to succeed and contribute to their fullest. Learn more about our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative.

Your role in helping us shape the future

U.S. News Auto’s mission is to educate and empower car shoppers with the information they need to make the best automotive purchase decisions. Our vision is to be the No. 1 in-market, new car automotive research site in the U.S. in terms of content quality and scale.

The Managing Editor, Autos will focus on developing an editorial vision, an in-market car shopping strategy, and successfully executing that strategy to compete in the marketplace. You will be responsible for defining the organizing principles necessary to outpace our competitors with compelling in-market content and traffic growth. This includes helping car shoppers choose the right vehicle for them, maximizing value for their trade-in vehicle, and navigating the car shopping process.

You will manage an in-house team of writers, editors, digital producers and vehicle testers. You will work with the Autos senior editorial team to define and create helpful, actionable review and advice content, new and used car rankings and awards. You’ll also work closely with SEO, product and business team members.

As Managing Editor, you will also leverage media appearances to increase brand awareness and foster strategic insights to develop thought leadership with consumers, OEMs and dealers to scale our business. You’ll also work with our communications team to leverage social media and other media outlets to grow our consumer and industry presence. You will serve as spokesperson for our automotive awards, so you should be an automotive expert and feel comfortable being interviewed by TV, radio and online outlets to talk about our rankings, industry trends and car shopping advice.

Are you up to the challenge?

You should be an automotive expert, a strong leader, an experienced editor and a skilled communicator. You have the desire to help build a great company and are a change agent. You are comfortable multitasking and leading a team of talented writers and editors. As part of the job, you’ll:

Oversee and optimize the content strategy for one of the largest in-market audiences in the space.
Lean into first-person experiences across our content, as well as original photography and video.
Manage a team of in-house writers, editors and vehicle testers.
Recruit and manage freelance writers with expertise in the automotive space.
Edit articles, slideshows and car reviews for flow, consistency, tone, audience, brevity, accuracy and SEO.
Oversee the editorial calendar, working with senior editors to set run dates and assigning content to writers and freelancers.
Help develop industry-leading vehicle reviews to help consumers better navigate the car shopping process.
Employ SEO best practices to determine topics to cover and optimize content for search.
Use Google Analytics to monitor performance of content and inform decisions - ensure our content is positioned to support our consumers and the business strategy.
Work with the product team to assess our vehicle ratings, rankings and awards and make improvements as needed.
Leverage our car shopper data to develop insights into automotive brands, shopping trends and vehicle segments to elevate the U.S. News brand in Autos.
Help oversee and improve the performance of our newsletter strategy to registered users.
Work with SEO and UX teams to drive best-of-breed content experiences based on deep understanding of user needs.
Conduct site audits, gap analyses and competitive analyses as part of content strategy.
Collaborate with Autos leadership on best practices, strategies and operating plans.
Present to executive leadership on strategies and operating plans.
Uphold a positive work environment that fosters teamwork, communication, innovation, professional development and integrity.

Please submit a resume and cover letter for consideration.
POSITION REQUIREMENTS

You should definitely have:

10+ years of professional editorial experience for an automotive website publisher, digital media company covering the auto category or related publication, inclusive of 7+ years of experience managing a team of in-house writers and editors
Expertise in the consumer automotive space, and prior experience writing and editing this content
Experience recruiting and managing freelance writers and editors
Experience managing editorial calendars
Experience developing and refining content strategy, and identifying opportunities to improve content and better engage our audience
Experience employing SEO best practices and using SEO tools to inform content strategy decisions
Ability to prioritize assignments and meet deadlines
Expertise and prior experience using AP style
Experience with traffic analytics tools like Google Analytics
Comfortability with media interviews and spokesperson opportunities
Excellent communication and organization skills
Ability to collaborate with multiple teams
Journalism or related degree or equivalent experience

It would be nice if you had:

Experience with video production and related traffic strategies
Experience developing and growing newsletter strategies
Media training and interview/spokesperson experience across media outlets
Prior experience editing and publishing content in a CMS
Familiarity with SEMRush

What it’s like to work with us:

Talent is our best asset!

We invest in people with passion and potential who understand U.S. News’ dedication to our consumers.
Entrepreneurial, mission-driven culture with core values of quality and integrity
Focus on fostering personal and professional growth
Competitive benefits including paid vacation time, medical, tuition reimbursement, and training
Collaborative Work Environment ~ Fun, diverse, inclusive and ambitious co-workers

Other Job Info:

These statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this job. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of employees assigned to this job.
U.S. News & World Report strongly encourages all employees to be fully vaccinated (including boosters).
Preference for New York, Washington, DC, Detroit or Southern California applicants
In New York City, the anticipated base salary for this position is $100,000 to $140,000. The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of factors, including without limitation, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, interview performance, and if applicable, the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job.