Senior Editor

Company: Harvard University
Location: Cambridge
Posted on: April 9, 2021

Job Description:

The senior editor is the principal professional responsible for assuring the quality and consistency of Harvard Magazine texts. On this small, closely knit staff, the senior editor engages with all the magazine's contents (staff-written and freelanced) from the inception of assignments through production and publication. This broad span of responsibility encompasses fundamental review of drafts for structure and organization, logic, completeness, clarity, order, voice and tone, and house style, through revisions, copyediting and fact-checking, and print or online production and publication. As a proxy for the magazine's educated, intellectually engaged readers, the senior editor will work with a wide variety of writers, covering an exceptionally broad range of subjects (across the academic disciplines and the spectrum of professions), to deliver outstanding journalism, profiles, essays, and other contents. Those contents range from short news posts to 5,000-word features; successful production requires meeting deadlines that range from the requirements of immediate, breaking news to long-form articles that evolve over many months. Job-Specific Responsibilities Job characteristics. The senior editorship requires demonstrated experience with in-depth, high-volume editing and publication production; a passion for comprehensiveness and clarity in expression-and a zeal for accuracy and fairness; attention to detail; and ability to fulfill multiple overlapping assignments on deadline. Ability to work very closely with all editorial staff members, the art director, and multiple outside writers; and with business staff colleagues on their written materials-all of whom rely on the senior editor. Ability to reach out to sources throughout and beyond the University to access materials and check facts. Supervisory responsibilities. The senior editor supervises the assistant editor/special sections manager (who reports, edits, and assigns the contents of the alumni and Harvard Squared sections in each bimonthly printed issue); supervises the contractors who compile and prepare the class notes and obituaries published in each issue (preparation of which involves interaction with Harvard Alumni Association staff and College class secretaries in particular); shares mentoring of and works closely with undergraduate editorial fellows; and hires and supervises the work of term-time editorial interns as needed. Basic Qualifications Candidates must have a liberal-arts bachelor's degree and a minimum of five years of professional editing experience-preferably in a magazine, book-publishing, or academic environment. Candidates must have had some experience fulfilling management/supervisory responsibilities. Essential strengths include strong grasp of fundamental characteristics of strong writing (organization, logic, structure, etc.), plus English grammar, diction, and style, and outstanding interpersonal skills; ability to carry on multiple, overlapping assignments simultaneously; attention to detail; and demonstrated ability to work under frequent deadlines, take initiative, set priorities, and work collaboratively in a team environment. Additional Qualifications and Skills InCopy, InDesign, and Web competencies are strong pluses. Familiarity with content-management systems (Drupal, WordPress) a positive. Candidates will be asked to complete editing exercises before interviews. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Keywords: Harvard University, Cambridge , Senior Editor, Advertising , Cambridge, Massachusetts