Rest of World seeks a deputy editor

Rest of World is looking for an enterprising Deputy Editor to oversee the day-to-day editorial direction of our coverage and management of our editorial team, including our freelance reporting network. This editor, who will work alongside another deputy editor, will be responsible for supervising our assignment editors, reporters and regular contributors, and producing rigorous, ambitious and timely stories that serve our most loyal readers.

The ideal candidate for this role will be a seasoned editor who, in addition to elevating the quality of our stories, will advise and support the executive editor in crafting an ambitious editorial strategy for the publication’s future. This position will directly manage three editors, leading the team to assign and publish stories based on our editorial strategy and ensuring that our editorial pipeline is filled, organized, and locked for short and long-term planning.

We’re looking for an editor who can think within the parameters of our style and voice while also not hesitating to come up with outside-the-box opportunities to delight and surprise readers. While we don’t cover breaking news, we want this position to regularly follow news developments in technology, particularly within our prescribed coverage areas, and lead brainstorming exercises to commission stories with a unique angle for a Rest of World story. This editor is the final stop for publishing copy, and should be comfortable with making copy edits, line edits, and restructuring narrative when needed — while giving candid and consistent feedback to their editors and reporters on their work.

The Deputy Editor is also expected to work closely alongside the Editor-in-Chief and other department heads across the organization — including but not limited to audience development, grant brainstorming, editorial events and recruiting. They must possess effective communication skills and the ability and willingness to collaborate with team members working across time zones.

We’re seeking an editor to be based in the Western hemisphere. Candidates must possess the right to work in their current location, as Rest of World is unable to sponsor work authorization for this role.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the assigning, reporting and editing of Rest of World stories aligning with our vision of capturing people’s experiences with technology outside the West
• Manage at least two story editors and their international team of staff and freelance reporters. Provide day-to-day support to ensure deadlines and goals are met
• Identify and seize coverage areas, storylines, and exclusive opportunities, guiding editors and reporters to publish impactful stories. Originate and assign story ideas and provide feedback on staff and freelance proposals to ensure stories are aligned with Rest of World’s mission, coverage areas, and editorial strategy
• Attend industry events and conduct interviews with executives, academics, policy-makers and other experts to inform coverage
• Grow our reporting network and editorial goodwill in regions across the world
• Collaborate with senior editors, product managers, designers and audience team to shape content  and meet editorial goals
• Manage publication’s editorial projects that come through grants and partnerships
• Set a high bar for executing every story assuring quality, tone and sensibility.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in journalism, including managing editors and reporters in previous positions
• Knowledge of and interest in the topics related to technology, especially those covered by Rest of World
• A strong work ethic, and a record as a collaborative communicator who knows how to get buy-in and drive toward execution
• Be cognizant of and thoughtful about the Western gaze in a story’s framing; able to collaborate with editors to ensure the story reflects Rest of World’s ethos
• Ability to manage time and multiple projects in fast-moving deadlines across a globally distributed team

How to Apply

To apply, please send a resume and a short cover letter to jobs@restofworld.org with “Deputy Editor – West” in the subject line by November 15, 2024. In your cover letter, please share at least three stories published by Rest of World in the past six months and discuss what they got right, where they fell short, and how you’d edit and elevate them.

We will ask up to three selected finalists to take a paid editing test as a part of the interview process.

To apply, go here.