Senior Editor, White House

Intro to Position

NPR’s Washington Desk produces sophisticated yet accessible coverage of the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court and Department of Justice as well as electoral politics. Our focus is on the nexus of policy, politics and culture. We draw connections between the places political leaders come from, the people they represent and the policies they embrace. We consider the role of cultural and demographic change as we aim to illuminate governance and politics. Fact-checking and explanatory journalism are vital to our mission as well as breaking news and ideas with clarity and context. Known for our work ethic, the Washington Desk aspires to great storytelling both on air and online. Our coverage is featured on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, NPR.org, the NPR Politics Podcast, and UpFirst. 

This full-time White House Senior Editor will direct NPR’s news and enterprise coverage of the White House and contribute to projects across the desk. The editor should bring energy and sophistication to our White House coverage, thinking expansively about content and the best ways to deliver it. The job requires attention to legislative detail, big picture thinking, and concern about craft. The editor must have excellent news judgment; the ability to coach reporters on breaking news, source development, and rich storytelling; and the ability to work collaboratively with editors across the network. The editor should have experience and a passion for covering political and policy news.

This is a union represented role covered under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with SAG-AFTRA

This is an NPR editorial role covered under the terms of the NPR Ethics Handbook. All editorial staff are bound by this guidance. Editorial staff are defined as staff members who play a role in shaping the journalistic or creative direction of NPR's content, including events.    

Responsibilities

• Plan news and enterprise coverage of the President, the presidency and the administration for all platforms;
• Coordinate coverage plan with shows and other desks;
• Generate story ideas and review story pitches, help develop storytelling approaches and sources, and determine the best platform for news coverage, including making suggestions for interviews and establishing contacts;
• Assign, develop and edit original stories from other NPR staff;
• Protect the editorial integrity and quality of news online and on the air, ensuring that all stories meet NPR program standards and practices, including standards of fairness, objectivity, and balance;
• Provide feedback to supervisors to help inform team performance evaluations

The above duties and responsibilities are not an exhaustive list of required responsibilities, duties and skills. Other duties may be assigned, and this job description can be modified at any time.

Minimum Qualifications

• At least 10 years of White House and/or political reporting and/or editing experience
• Strong oral and written communication skills; 
• Experience in editorial decision-making, including assigning reporters/correspondents;
• Ability to handle multiple and complex projects simultaneously under stringent timeframes and changing priorities/conditions;
• Ability to work quickly and efficiently under deadline pressure;
• Ability and willingness to work varied shifts;
• Demonstrated team collaboration and leadership skills;
• Knowledge of audio production;
• Experience in Digital Media, including editing copy.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience editing for radio
• Familiarity with content management systems and collaboration tools such as Google Docs, Slack, etc.
• Familiarity with NPR member stations and public media system 
• Expertise in writing, with excellence in news writing, copy-editing and headline writing.
• Demonstrated ability to generate and execute complex creative ideas, to assimilate and organize large amounts of information

Education Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university or equivalent required.

Work Location & Requirements

• On-site: This is an on-site role based in Washington, DC .

Job Type

• This is a full time, exempt position.

Compensation

Salary Range: The U.S. based anticipated salary range for this opportunity is $140,000-$160,000 annually plus benefits. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salaries NPR expects to provide for new hires for the position across all US locations.

Benefits: NPR offers access to comprehensive benefits for employees and dependents. Regular, full-time employees scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week are eligible to enroll in NPR’s benefits options. Benefits include access to health and wellness, paid time off, and financial well-being. Plan options include medical, dental, vision, life/ accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability, short-term disability, and voluntary retirement savings to all eligible NPR employees. 

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