Editor-in-Chief

Job Description

Jewish Currents is seeking a full-time editor-in-chief to lead the magazine’s editorial team and guide its editorial content, vision, and strategy.

Interested individuals should submit a cover letter and resume using this application form. In the cover letter, let us know about your background and work experience, your orientation towards this role, and why you are interested in working at Jewish Currents. 

The application deadline is March 1st.

Position

The editor-in-chief is responsible for leading Jewish Currents’s editorial work. That includes curating the print magazine and website, commissioning and editing, mentoring editors, supervising staff, and shaping the editorial strategy and vision for the magazine. The editor-in-chief should have a strong sense of Jewish Currents’s role in the media landscape, and strong opinions about the kinds of stories that the magazine should pursue. They should be able to shape and edit various kinds of pieces, from lyrical essays to short news and analysis to features to conversations to reviews. They must be adept at managing a team; motivating staff and giving feedback for improvement; and building leadership and alignment around vision.

Who We Are 

Founded in 1946, Jewish Currents is a magazine committed to the rich tradition of thought, activism, and culture on the Jewish left and the left more broadly. We cover a wide variety of topics, including the uses and misuses of antisemitism, the inner workings of Jewish communal organizations, Israel/Palestine politics on the ground and internationally, race and racialization, strategies and horizons of American left movements, the global rise of the far right, diasporic cultural expression, labor, climate, incarceration, immigration, and feminism. 

We invite applications from candidates from a broad range of backgrounds who are invested in and familiar with our work.

Compensation 

The compensation for this position is $120,000 or commensurate with experience. We offer a competitive benefits package, including: 

• Health insurance (with options for fully employer-paid plans)

• Fully employer-paid vision and dental insurance

• 401(k) with 3% employer match

• 15-25 paid vacation days per year, depending on years of service

• Paid sabbatical after 5 years

• Two weeklong paid breaks (August and December)

Jewish Currents is under contract with the WGAE. The Editor-in-Chief is an excluded position.

Jewish Currents is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Jewish Currents are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to age, race, color, creed/religion, disability, or any other category protected by law. We highly encourage individuals from marginalized groups of any kind to apply.

Job Requirements

Responsibilities 

• Guide editorial strategy and interface with relevant stakeholders—staff, writers, designers, and others—as needed to ensure that strategy’s success

• Determine editorial content by developing and approving pitches and ideas with relevant staff members

• Manage a staff of editors and writers, providing mentorship and leadership development

• Oversee editorial content to ensure quality control, consistency, and fidelity to a guiding content strategy

• Edit across genres for print and web 

• Troubleshoot complex pieces, mentor writers through reporting and writing challenges, and manage difficult author relations

• Work in concert with the publisher on editorial hiring processes and decisions

• Collaborate with partners across the organization to ensure alignment between editorial content and programming, audio, and other organizational projects

• Represent the magazine in public

• Work with the management team to manage workflow, address organizational challenges, and ensure a healthy workplace culture

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in journalism or related field, with preference for editing experience 

• Experience supporting, mentoring, or supervising staff

• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills

• Ability to multitask and to thrive in fast-paced environments with shifting tasks and priorities

• Knowledge of our beats, be it (Jewish) art and culture; left politics; and/or Israel/Palestine

Location and Team Structure

This position will be part of the editorial management team, and based in New York City. 

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