The Ecologist, Co-editor

About Us

The need for rigorous, trusted and ethical journalism has never been greater, as we face the compound crises of climate breakdown, biodiversity collapse and social injustice.

The Ecologist has a formidable reputation built on fifty years of investigative journalism and compelling commentary from writers across the world.

We publish free, daily news and analysis on a range of issues, from climate science and policy to social justice campaigning. Last year, we published more than 1,000 articles last year, and the website was visited more than 3.5 million times.

Our new co-editor will be part of a small, committed team within the Resurgence Trust, and will work with a large international network of contributors to help shape the global and domestic environmental news agendas.

The co-editor will be primarily responsible for ensuring our message reaches a wider, more diverse and younger audience, especially through video and social media content. This will complement our current team strengths of news gathering and text publishing.

About the Role

0.5 FTE (17.5 hrs per week)

£13,408 p/a

Remote working

Responsible to: Brendan Montague

Responsibilities

Editorial:

• Using Drupal CMS to upload and manage online content, writing, copyediting and proofreading online content, sourcing image permissions, optimising SEO
• Growing, retaining and liaising with our international contributor network
• Producing sharable multimedia content, particularly film
• Maintaining and developing The Ecologist’s substantial existing social media channels (Twitter, Facebook and newsletters) and growing new audiences through Instagram
• Producing a regular newsletter for The Ecologist
• Identifying further opportunities for reader engagement and partnerships with communities, campaign groups, research centres, NGOs and policymakers
• Growing our readership, identifying new audiences and being responsive to feedback
• Supporting the launch and promotion of fundraising initiatives for The Ecologist (eg. The Ecologist’s Writers’ Fund) with a view to increasing accessibility, supporting contributors, enhancing financial sustainability and engaging readers
• Working with colleagues to encourage take up of the Ecologist Supporter Membership.
• Participating in the wider work of the Trust through weekly staff meetings and ongoing collaboration

Secondary Responsibilities

• Representing The Ecologist and The Resurgence Trust
• Participating in the wider work of the Trust through ongoing collaboration
• Supporting other programmes within the Trust

About You

• You will have an understanding of, or willingness to learn about, the important social and environmental issues of our time
• You are committed to tackling oppression and injustice, at individual and collective levels       
• You have a strong grasp of climate justice issues and are keen to learn from our wide network of contributors        
• You can create high quality content, from short news stories and readable features to memes and shareable content for Instagram and other social media platforms
• You are a thorough, fair and organised editor, with a demonstrable track record for managing high quality online content
• You are able to work with a diverse range of journalists to bring out the best in their writing, offering critique where necessary, and can confidently and transparently uphold our values and editorial standards
• You are committed to meeting the highest media industry standards for ethical reporting, and a willingness to comply with including IMPRESS regulations and the National Union of Journalists Code of Conduct
• You are confident working independently and remotely, collaborating with colleagues primarily through Microsoft Teams and email
• You share our values of empathy and compassion; regeneration and optimism; integrity and justice
• You have an understanding of regenerative culture and circular economy, awareness of deep ecology and Gaia Theory, or willingness to learn about it
• You are confident with using digital tools to manage workflow and a publication schedule
• A working knowledge of Final Cut Pro or similar editing software is desirable but not essential

Applying for the Role

To apply for this role, please click 'APPLY NOW' to send a CV and covering letter to Jenny Routley: 

In your covering letter, please outline:

• Why you are interested in this position at The Ecologist
• How your previous experience has prepared you for the role, addressing the specific points made in the Responsibilities and About You sections above.
• What most excites you about The Ecologist website, and what you would most like to change about it
• Deadline for applications: 10 February 2021

This job description is not a comprehensive definition of the post. Discussions will take place on a regular basis to clarify individual responsibilities within the Trust’s structure and character of the post as identified above.

Equal Opportunity

The Ecologist strives to apply equal opportunities principles both in its recruitment and in its work. We oppose all forms of unlawful or lawful discrimination on the grounds of colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, gender, sexuality, marital status, religion, age or disability.

The successful candidate will be selected purely on the basis of how well they fit the person specification, as judged by their application materials and their interview performance.

We would particularly like to encourage applications from communities that are currently underrepresented at the Resurgence Trust. Where two or more candidates are judged to be of equal merit, priority may be given to a candidate from a community currently less well represented at the Resurgence Trust.

We do not require a university degree and experience can be in a paid or unpaid context. This role requires an enhanced DBS disclosure.

The Resurgence Trust is unfortunately unable to arrange work permits for applicants without UK leave to remain due to border restrictions in the UK.