Editorial Director

The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the country’s first and foremost civil and human rights law organization. Founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, who subsequently became the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice, LDF was launched at a time when the nation’s aspirations for equality and due process of law were stifled by widespread state-sponsored racial inequality. From that era to the present, LDF’s mission has been transformative–to achieve racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society.

LDF’s litigation, policy advocacy, organizing, and public education programs in the substantive areas of criminal justice, economic justice, education and political participation seek to ensure the fundamental and basic human rights of all people to quality education, economic opportunity, the right to vote and fully participate in democracy, and the right to a fair and just judicial system.

About the Role:

Reporting to and in partnership with the Chief Communications & Marketing Officer (CCMO), the Editorial Director leads LDF’s Editorial Division to help capture and define the voice of LDF. They are responsible for managing the editorial direction, production and delivery of all written materials and will work closely across the Communications Department and with other departments in the organization. 

The Editorial Director will be superbly organized and a skilled manager of people and projects, serving as a central manager for the development and delivery of written products of all kinds and delivery of successful outcomes in pressured environments. They must have a love of writing, storytelling and an appreciation of how an organization like LDF can use story and narrative to advance the organization's work across a range of platforms. The editorial director will be responsible for developing and managing a stable of writers who understand LDF’s work and voice and can contribute at a high-level to meet tight deadlines. The Editorial Director serves as a part of the CCMO’s strategic team.

The salary range for this position is $120,000 - $150,000 depending on geographic location and experience.

Responsibilities include:

• Serve as the main editor for LDF;
• Contribute to the writing of copy, content and other written materials;
• Set LDF’s editorial direction and tone content in partnership with the CCMO;
• Serve as an editorial thought-partner across Communications department, including marketing and branding, digital, and media relations divisions; 
• Oversee and participate in day-to-day editorial tasks including drafting and editing copy for press releases; statements, speeches, etc.; creating website content, crafting institutional messages, contributing to graphic design projects, digital and marketing campaigns;
• Deliver rapid response/short-lead deadlines and adeptly build schedules for mid- and long-term projects as well as deliver efficiently on quick turnarounds;
• In partnership with the Director of Digital Strategy, manage the editorial content of LDF’s website, ensuring the content is kept fresh and up-to-date;
• Work across Communications departments (media, digital, branding) to support writing and editing needs;
• Manage workflow and all details of editorial projects and deliverables, create production and editorial schedules and manage teams to ensure a steady and timely flow of high-level work product;
• Manage all members of the Editorial Division, assist in developing work and professional development plans for each member, assessing performance on a regular basis;
• Refine and drive the adoption of processes and standards, including LDF’s editorial guidelines, and best editorial practices;
• Train, mentor, and onboard new editorial team staff;
• Other responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications include:

• Ten+ years of experience in journalism and/or communications (experience in the non-profit space is a plus);
• Superb editing and superior writing skills, with the ability to shape clear and compelling content with acute attention to detail; 
• Commitment to the racial justice mission of LDF;
• Knowledge and familiarity with a range of social and economic justice issues and comfort level promoting its ideals;
• Excellent content judgment coupled with knowledge of the risk, legal, and ethical issues associated with publishing thought leadership on behalf of an organization; 
• Managerial experience, including experience developing and mentoring a team;
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, maintaining schedules and enforcing deadlines in a cross-disciplinary environment with quick turnaround times; 
• A proactive communicator and generator of ideas;
• Honed interpersonal skills – including the confidence to interact with and influence personnel at all levels – responsiveness, flexibility, initiative, decision-making, conflict resolution, and tact;
• Proven ability to build strategic working relationships with senior clients, peers and vendors; 
• Ability to think strategically and make innovative recommendations that drive LDF’s goals;
• Flexible schedule, including ability to work some evenings and weekends, if needed;
• Intermediate level proficiency with MS Office applications;
• A bachelor’s degree, preferably with a concentration in writing, journalism or communications is preferred.

This is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts or requirements or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned. This description does not constitute a contract of employment and LDF may exercise its employment-at-will rights at any time.

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The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to you without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, age, veteran status, medical condition or disability, genetic information, gender identity, or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law.