THIS POSITION IS CLOSED AND NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Founded in 1999, Mongabay is an award-winning environmental science and conservation news organization, which publishes original news on a daily basis in an objective (does not advocate), accurate (relies on facts and scientific information) and timely manner to a global audience of conservation scientists, private-sector decision-makers, government policymakers, civil society organizations, journalists in other media outlets, and interested members of the public. Mongabay’s readership on its Global, Latin American, Indonesian, and Indian news sites averages roughly three million unique visitors each month, which positions the organization as one of the top sources of environmental news, analysis, information, and inspiration on the Internet.

WHAT DOES THE STAFF FEATURES WRITER DO?

The full-time features writer position is expected to produce regular stories on conservation and environmental issues, published in English. The reporting responsibility include coverage of the status of high conservation value forests, the intersection of land rights and environmental change, governance issues around natural resources extraction and development, analysis relevant to ecology and species, and threats to environmental defenders including indigenous peoples and local communities.

This staff writer will develop and produce articles working closely with colleagues within Mongabay’s editorial team to discuss story ideas and coverage plans. This position is expected to both generate story ideas aligned with Mongabay’s editorial priorities and deliver on assignments provided by staff editors. A qualified person should have strong analytical skills, an extensive source network, and the ability to discern what stories are important and of interest to readers. Knowledge and familiarity with environmental issues and/or forest conservation are strong positives.

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

RESEARCHING, REPORTING, WRITING & PUBLISHING (90% of time)

• Work cooperatively with Mongabay editors to produce multiple news reports and/or features per week, consistently of high quality;
• Effectively research and generate story ideas;
• Conduct interviews, phone calls and/or meetings, and perform other research as needed, to gather background for the planning of stories and article series;
• Cultivate sources relevant to conservation science, land rights, extractive industries, commodity agriculture and subjects to be assigned;
• Travel for reporting assignments;
• Research, fact-check, and review articles prior to publication;
• Source and/or produce visual content including photos, videos, charts, and maps;
• Write, edit and post stories via Mongabay’s content management system (WordPress).

STRATEGIC PLANNING & ADMINISTRATION (10% of time)

• Report regularly to Mongabay’s Global Program Director on progress toward meeting reporting objectives;
• Support editorial planning to reach established goals in the set timeline;
• Collect data on impacts of stories including examples of republication for use in grant reports;
• Must be able to work within tight deadlines and be responsive to Mongabay leadership and to other Mongabay staffers via email, skype, phone and text.

PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES

This position will pay a critical role in the scale-up of Mongabay’s feature reporting efforts in multiple geographies around the world. Due to our company culture and global work at-home staff, the most successful employees at Mongabay excel at working independently and producing consistent high-quality journalistic content by taking the initiative and thinking creatively about solutions to problems. In this context, a staff features writer:

• demonstrates talent in writing and photography;
• functions independently and produces high-quality work with tight deadlines;
• makes timely decisions and demonstrates good judgment;
• integrates cross-cultural dynamics into their thinking;
• maintains a strong sense of professionalism and reliability;
• contributes to the Mongabay team by communicating and working cooperatively with staff, while following through on tasks and delivering results;
• fosters positive relationships with journalists and co-partnership media outlets;
• adjusts approaches according to feedback;
• demonstrates personal integrity and ability to maintain confidentiality.

DESIRED EXPERIENCE & REQUIREMENTS

• Three or more years of experience working in journalism / editorial / writing required;
• Exceptionalfluency (writing and speaking) in English is required;
• Knowledge and familiarity with conservation, land rights, and environmental issues is essential;
• A portfolio of published enterprise reporting inclusive of multimedia-rich features and/or data journalism is preferred;
• Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills;
• Demonstrated editorial ability to work with a variety of content including formatting of feature articles, graphics, photo captions and HTML;
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office, WordPress (or similar), Google Drive, Social Media (Twitter / Facebook) and project management software;
• Reliable access to high-speed Internet is required;
• Must be willing to commit to full-time role (40 hours per week) and available during regular business hours;
• Must be willing and able to travel internationally on short notice, though the position is remote and can be based anywhere.

COMPENSATION

Mongabay aims to offer competitive pay rates that will attract, retain, and motivate our full-time staff. You are free to submit a pay range when applying.

The application deadline has passed.