Managing Editor, EdNews Colorado

EdNews Colorado is seeking an experienced journalist to serve as managing editor, overseeing an award-winning digital news bureau as it expands.

The ideal candidate will have experience covering public policy issues for a major news organization. She or he will be mission-driven, entrepreneurial, creative, energetic, and a tenacious reporter and editor. The position involves leading a small team of journalists; crafting the short- and long-term strategy for developing and distributing stories; and working with the new Education News Network, as we build a national network of local education news sites.

About EdNews Colorado

EdNews Colorado is a nonprofit news site founded in 2008 to provide in-depth daily journalism about Colorado public schools, including policy and practice at the state and district levels. It is currently in the process of merging with GothamSchools, a similar site based in New York City, to form the national Education News Network. Over time, ENN will grow to include more local news bureaus like EdNews Colorado and GothamSchools, which will work together to sustain their operations and keep the quality of their journalism high.

We are mission-driven journalists who believe that an independent local press is vital to ensuring that education improves. We seek to provide deep local coverage of education policy and practice that informs decisions and actions, leading to better schools.

Job responsibilities

The managing editor, based in Denver, is responsible for the following:

• Leading a staff of two reporters and hiring a third
• Working with the ENN editor to create a short- and long-term strategy for developing stories that achieve our mission
• Working with the ENN editor to create a distribution strategy that ensures our stories reach the intended audience, including education insiders as well as the general public
• Daily oversight of the newsroom, including assigning, reporting, writing, editing, and publishing a variety of stories: Breaking news, analysis, investigative pieces, enterprise and features, newsletters and aggregation
• Working with the ENN editor to create and maintain customized, user-friendly databases containing publicly available education data
• Working with the ENN editor to build a reader advisory board aimed at supporting the quality and reach of EdNews Colorado’s stories
• Overseeing EdNews Colorado’s Voices section, which seeks to contribute to the informed discussion of education by publishing pieces by parents, researchers, policymakers and educators grounded in their own personal experiences and observations or informed opinions on important issues.
• Contributing to ENN’s work building a new WordPress-powered website designed to distribute our content efficiently across multiple platforms

Qualifications

We are seeking candidates who are energized by our mission and excited to help us build a news organization that re-imagines daily newsgathering without abandoning traditional journalistic values. Candidates should have strong reporting and editing skills, a passion for (and ideally, a strong familiarity with) the subject matter, and experience leading a team.

In particular, you should have:

• At least five years of journalism experience, with some management experience preferred
• A high level of comfort with the exciting opportunities and challenges inherent in helping to lead a start-up organization
• Demonstrated organizational skills and an ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously

Experience on the education beat, a familiarity with Colorado, and experience with running a WordPress website are pluses but not requirements.

Compensation depends on experience and is highly competitive.

To Apply

Please send a resume, five relevant clips, and a cover letter explaining your interest in the position to ENN editor Elizabeth Green at egreen@gothamschools.org no later than Dec. 1.