Education Editor Fellowship

Job Description

                 The Conversation Education Mid-Career Editor Fellowship

Salary: $80,000-$85,000 (annual salary)

Benefits: 401(k) matching, PTO, sick days, health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, parental leave, vision insurance, paid holidays

Position: Full-time, Hybrid/Remote

Experience: Minimum 5-7 years

Educational qualifications: College/university degree 

Location: U.S.

Reporting manager: Director of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative and Senior Religion & Ethics Editor

The Conversation U.S. is a national nonprofit newsroom that collaborates with academics to produce daily explanatory journalism and analysis in the public interest and distributes this work to over 1,000 news outlets.

Our aim is to have our newsroom look like the America we cover. To do so, we are launching our first two-year education editor fellowship, designed to support underrepresented, mid-career editors through mentorship, interdisciplinary work and a community of like-minded journalists. Our goal is to inspire, promote and learn from the successful candidate to ensure they become a newsroom leader at The Conversation or elsewhere after the two-year fellowship. We are deeply committed to creating a successful opportunity for fellows. 

The Conversation U.S. has become a trusted resource for readers looking for evidence-based information on education, as well as for scholars who want to reach the general public with their research. We are looking for a journalist/editor with excellent news judgment and sharp ideas, with a minimum of five to seven years of experience, to be The Conversation’s education editor. The successful candidate will commission and edit stories on a range of topics − higher education attainment and AI in education - as well as larger trends in education, STEM, interesting research and new ideas from scholars in those fields that are important for the public to know about. 

The ideal candidate will have knowledge of the main issues and trends in K-12 education, particularly in high school and after, as well as experience working in a news environment as either a reporter/writer or editor. 

The Conversation U.S. (TCUS) is an independent, nonprofit media organization that publishes daily news analysis and commentary written by academics, edited by journalists and aimed at the general public. Our editorial team works with scholars across the U.S. to help the general public make sense of important news and research. We take our work seriously, but we also offer a fun and flexible work culture with lots of opportunity to shine.

We will consider candidates working remotely in locations across the U.S. We currently have offices in Boston and New York and can offer a hybrid of in-person and work-from-home for candidates in those cities. 

Daily Responsibilities

• Work closely with a supervising editor to develop timely, insightful explanatory pieces tied to new research and emerging issues in education.

• Respond to pitches from academic authors and work closely with them to develop compelling, research-driven stories for the general public.

• Commission and edit at least three explanatory articles from leading academic experts for a general readership every week.

• Discover leading researchers in K-12 education, especially in post-secondary attainment and AI, and recruit them as authors.

• Help identify breaking news stories and trending topics in education; candidates with a particular interest and knowledge base have the opportunity to create a specialization within the beat.

• Participate in daily staff meetings and team discussions around story idea generation, editorial strategies and opportunities for growth and fresh approaches.

• Carry out photo research to illustrate articles. 

• Attend conferences to enhance knowledge on important education topics and visit universities to engage with scholars.

• Train scholars as laid out in any grant-related documents.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.

• Minimum of five to seven years as a working journalist.

• Highly organized, meticulous and insightful editor with the ability to meet fast-paced daily deadlines; manage multiple tasks and work as part of a diverse, talented, collaborative team with high editorial and ethical standards.

• Ability to be highly productive while working independently and remotely.

• Skilled at developing compelling story ideas of interest to the public.

• Experience in online media.

• A commitment to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.

• Experience covering education.

How to apply for this job:

Send your resume and a cover letter telling us why you are interested in this role to us-jobreplies@theconversation.com with the words “Education Editor Fellowship” in the subject line. We are eager to fill this position as soon as possible and will close applications by March 1, 2025.

Job Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.

• Minimum of five to seven years as a working journalist.

• Highly organized, meticulous and insightful editor with the ability to meet fast-paced daily deadlines; manage multiple tasks and work as part of a diverse, talented, collaborative team with high editorial and ethical standards.

• Ability to be highly productive while working independently and remotely.

• Skilled at developing compelling story ideas of interest to the public.

• Experience in online media.

• A commitment to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.

• Experience covering education.

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