Editor, Future Perfect

Job Description

Vox Media employees thrive on innovation and change while ambitiously seeking to master their subject areas, hone their craft, and improve their communities. We help smart, talented, creative professionals make a meaningful impact in media, technology, and the world around them.

Vox.com is a user's guide to the news, helping readers make sense of everything from the Covid-19 pandemic to the protests against police brutality to the Biden administration's policy agenda. We want to create the single best resource for news consumers anywhere.
Our Future Perfect section is an especially exciting place for that mission to come alive. Future Perfect covers the world through a particular prism: What are the best ways to do good in this world? Inspired and informed by effective altruism, Future Perfect strives to shine a light on neglected stories that have, or will have, a profound impact on the lives of billions of humans and animals.

Among our key subject areas include global poverty and public health, the catastrophic and existential threats that we face, animal welfare and factory farming, the philosophies and practices surrounding philanthropy and altruism, and the moral and ethical questions that underpin individual and policy choices.

Since its launch in 2018, Future Perfect has developed a loyal following for its idiosyncratic, mission-driven approach to news. Our coverage is animated by a baseline question: what's truly important that we need to cover -- not what's in the news, not what's trending on Twitter, but the stories that we think truly matter for human and animal lives? True to the name of the vertical, we constantly ask ourselves: In 10, 20, 30 years, what will we look back on and wish we devoted more time covering? Then we go ahead and do those stories today.

We are looking for an experienced editor to lead Future Perfect. We are seeking someone who has the skills and temperament to run the site day-to-day -- assign and edit stories, manage a team of writers and editors, scan the horizon for coverage priorities, come up with headlines that pop, etc. -- and to chart our course and steer the site over the long haul.

What you'll do:
• Set the broader editorial vision and daily coverage priorities for Future Perfect
• Conceptualize, assign, and edit pieces rooted in reporting and research, including explainers, argument-driven essays, Q&As, and features
• Stay on top of developments in our spheres of coverage and in the effective altruism community more broadly
• Lead and guide the talented Future Perfect team
• Find opportunities for collaboration with the audience team, audio, video, and other editors across the Vox newsroom

What you'll bring:
• 5 years' experience editing
• Strong managerial, editing, and communication skills
• Excellent news judgment
• A demonstrated ability to bring analysis and sharp angles to news stories
• Familiarity with or interest to learn more about effective altruism, as well as a broader background covering global poverty and public health; climate change, pandemics, and other catastrophic threats to humanity; and/or philanthropy is desirable
• Experience in and enthusiasm for diving into research literature, particularly in economics, psychology, sociology, political science, biology/medicine, and computer science is desirable

To apply, please submit a résumé, cover letter, and 3-5 clips that you've edited or written (clips can either be linked in your cover letter or included as additional pages to your cover letter) by August 13th, 2021.

In your cover letter, please be sure to address the following questions: What appeals to you about working at Vox's Future Perfect? What's your approach to editing? What Future Perfect pieces stand out to you? What kind of pieces/angles do you want to pursue? Feel free to go longer than you usually do on the cover letter - we'd love to get a sense of how you think, write, and edit.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-g33e7x-3-149-233-97-42 in your application.