Founded in 1999, Mongabay is a leading conservation news web site. The site today draws more than 2 million visitors per month, making it among the most visited eco-focused destinations on the Internet. Mongabay.org, the non-profit arm of Mongabay, was formed in 2012 to facilitate the development of new education and journalism initiatives and leverage its existing network, traffic, and reputation. Mongabay.org aims to raise awareness about social and environmental issues relating to forests and other ecosystems.

Mongabay is planning to establish a news bureau in India to do original reporting on conservation and environmental issues in the country. Content will be distributed via Mongabay, its social media channels, and third party outlets, including local newspapers and online media. Initially Mongabay will produce articles in English, but in time we expect to expand to other languages spoken widely in India.

WHAT DOES THE MANAGING EDITOR DO?

The full-time Managing Editor will build a news service covering conservation and environmental issues in India and oversee operations and article production for Mongabay-India. Working with the CEO and Program Director, the Managing Editor will help build the team of India-focused contributors, manage assignments, edit articles, and ensure adherence to grant guidelines and reporting expectations. This is a high-visibility, high-impact role with room for growth. The Managing Editor must be a native English-speaker (or have exceptional fluency) based in India and excel at working remotely.

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

EDITORIAL TEAM MANAGEMENT (70% of time)

• Conducting day-to-day personnel management of the program team, including doing regular touch-base calls with employees, facilitating staff meetings to coordinate efforts and maintain cohesiveness, and responding to questions and requests from the team (and public)
• Selecting stories and planning Mongabay-India’s editorial schedule
• Editing and posting stories via Mongabay’s content management system
• Motivating staff and evaluating employee performance
• Recruiting and selecting freelance journalist to serve as correspondents
• Overseeing core programs, ensuring key objectives are met, including content production goals

FINANCIAL & GRANT MANAGEMENT (20% of time)

• Managing and tracking financial expenses and budget to comply with audit and grant requirements
• Working with operations and administration staff to ensure grant reports are filed on time, address grant objectives, and demonstrate the wider impacts of our reporting and the continued need for funding of these important topics
• Coordinating analysis of impact data for use in grant reports

STRATEGIC PLANNING & ADMINISTRATION (10% of time)

• Reporting to Mongabay’s CEO and Program Director on progress toward meeting objectives
• Providing other support as needed to ensure content meets Mongabay’s high standards of professionalism, consistency, authenticity, and reliability

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

At the heart of Mongabay is a spirit of innovation. We’re open to trying new ideas, adapting existing models, and phasing out underperforming projects in our quest to deliver the best products and services possible given our resources. Due to our culture and global at-home staff, the most successful employees at Mongabay are amazing at working independently, and produce consistent high quality work by taking initiative and thinking creatively about solutions to problems.

• Sound judgment and decision making ability
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Leadership and project management skills
• Effective organizational skills and systems
• Extremely self-directed and motivated
• Professionalism and reliability
• Ability to adjust approaches according to feedback
• Contributes to the team effort by following through on tasks and delivering results
• Problem solving/analysis
• Strategic thinking
• Supervisory responsibility
• Ability to maintain confidentiality

DESIRED EXPERIENCE & REQUIREMENTS

• Prior experience – two or more years experience and demonstrated talent in editing is required and have understanding of best practice of content use on the Internet (e.g. respecting copyright, responding to “take down” requests)
• Knowledge and familiarity with environmental issues and wildlife conservation in India are preferred
• Ability to work independently and produce high quality work with tight deadlines
• Must be responsive to Mongabay headquarters via email
• Exceptional fluency in both writing and speaking English
• Technical experience – access to the Internet is required. Microsoft Office, WordPress (or similar), Google Drive, Social Media (Twitter and Facebook)
• Location – applicant must be based in India

TO APPLY

Apply online here. Applications accepted on a rolling basis. On the application, you will be asked to fill out basic contact information, pay rate expectations, reference information (2), and to upload the following documents:

1. Cover letter – please provide specific examples of your experience related to this position, as well as specific examples of your ability to work effectively from home and meet deadlines (1-2 pages)
2. Resume – (1-2 pages)
3. Two references

Applications must be submitted in English. Please note that you do not need to provide letters of recommendation and we will not reach out to references before getting your permission to do so.