Job Location: Atlantic Council Headquarters – Washington, DC or remote (flexible)
Employment Type: Full-Time
Seniority Level: Associate
Job Category: Staff

Overview

The Atlantic Council seeks a motivated, talented, and creative editor to join its Publications team and help take its long-form editorial work to new heights of excellence. The Publications Editor will help oversee, coordinate, shape, and edit the Atlantic Council’s reports, issue briefs, content series, and other in-depth publications, including developing innovative new formats for the Council’s most ambitious work on the world’s defining challenges.


This is a temporary position to fill in for a member of the team who is going on family leave. The position runs from December 2024 to May 2025.


The Publications Editor will draw on experience in editing and editorial production to improve the processes for producing the Council’s publications while enhancing their quality and expanding their reach and impact. The Editor will work closely and collaboratively with others on the Publications team and with staff and fellows across the organization’s sixteen programs and centers, along with members of the broader Editorial and Engagement teams, to create unique, compelling, relevant, and influential research and writing on the global issues central to the Council’s work.


The Publications Editor will help manage the publications-production process from start to finish—from providing editorial guidance to programs/centers to coordinating and project-managing the work of external editors and designers to assisting with editing, proofreading, and quality-control efforts to launching publications on schedule and up to standard on the Council’s website. The Editor will also help develop editorial strategy, implement editorial innovations, and provide editing support for the broader Editorial team.


The ideal candidate will have a background in international affairs and be a skilled, seasoned editor and editorial project manager with substantial experience working at journalism/media organizations, think tanks, or academic journals.


The Publications Editor will report to the Managing Editor.


This position can be based in our Washington, DC headquarters (4 days per week in office) or remote within the US. The Atlantic Council offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with experience, education, and organizational equity, with a compensation of $5,500 to $7,000 per month. Applications submitted by November 1, 2024, will be prioritized for consideration.

Job responsibilities

  • Work closely with the Atlantic Council’s other Publications Editor, members of the broader Editorial team, freelance editors and designers, and program/center staff and fellows to coordinate, project-manage, and shape the editorial direction of publications from conception to launch and promotion.
  • Take ownership of a portfolio of the Council’s long-form publications (generally 2,000-10,000+ words).
  • Help streamline the Council’s publications process, make it more digital-first, and launch and sustain new, innovative formats and templates—with an eye to reinventing the form and function of in-depth policy publications not just for the Council but for the broader field in which the organization operates.
  • Help develop the Council’s capacity to produce the kind of foundational, groundbreaking, authoritative, and deeply relevant publications—infused with the top-notch policy knowledge and insights of our network of experts—that have impact at launch and well beyond, shifting opinions and setting agendas.
  • Edit and proofread publications to a high standard, removing errors, improving quality, creating professional copy consistent with the Council’s style guide and editorial guidelines, and maximizing impact.
  • Serve as a main point of leadership for editorial standards and quality.
  • Help create and define the voice of the Council as expressed through its publications and other editorial products.
  • Work with the current Publications Editor to manage the publications Monday.com board, follow up with programs/centers as manuscript forms are submitted, and make sure the production workflow from first notice through edits to design to web launch and receipt of print copies is tracked and on time.
  • Coordinate with the Digital team to ensure successful and on-schedule launches of digital publications and PDFs on the Council’s website.
  • Help manage editorial assets such as ISSUU embed codes, ISBN publication numbers, and Reuters pictures for print.
  • Help develop and track metrics and measure the impact of the Council’s publications through analytics reports.
  • Other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree or higher in journalism, international relations, communications, English, or a related field.
  • Approximately 2-6 years of relevant work experience in journalism, media, international policy, publishing, and/or communications.
  • Excellent editing skills and editorial instincts, with experience editing and publishing features, special editorial projects, and long-form research and writing.
  • Experience with WordPress or other equivalent industry-standard web-publishing platforms. Experience with publishing software such as Adobe InDesign and InCopy, along with project-management systems such as Monday.com, is a plus.
  • Strong administrative and organizational skills, and the ability to cope with ambiguity and manage multiple priorities.
  • An understanding of think-tank work and the Washington, DC policy environment.
  • Experience working with policy experts to facilitate the expression of their subject-matter expertise to both niche and broad public audiences.
  • Demonstrated initiative and ability to work well with a team in a dynamic environment.
  • Demonstrated interest in and knowledge of international affairs and a commitment to the mission and goals of the Atlantic Council.
  • Knowledge of media workflow, organization, tools, and tactics, along with experience in creating new editorial products and managing multiple product lines.
  • Thorough knowledge of and experience with the Chicago Manual of Style preferred.
  • Knowledge of Google Analytics and metrics software or other systems preferred.

To produce quality work and to successfully achieve our mission, we recognize the need for our staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle and a work/life balance. Our comprehensive benefits package helps to keep costs low for our staff and their families. Benefits include, but are not limited to comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance, paid time off, 403(b) plan, FSA options, pet insurance, Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility, and wellness benefits. 

All Atlantic Council employees are required to adhere to the Atlantic Council’s vaccination policy. All Atlantic Council employees must be fully vaccinated and boosted, and they must submit proof of both vaccination and COVID-19 booster shot on their first day of employment. Prospective or new employees may seek an exemption to the vaccination requirement through human resources and must have an approved exemption prior to the start of their employment.

Please note: The Atlantic Council is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In accordance with Federal civil rights law and District of Columbia civil rights regulations and policies, the Atlantic Council does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, protected veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristics covered by applicable law. The Atlantic Council provides reasonable accommodation for all qualified applicants needing assistance, employees whose disability, sincere religious belief, or other protected characteristics are protected by law, and bases all employment decisions on qualifications, merit, and business need. The Atlantic Council believes that equity and inclusion amongst our team members are critical to our success as a global organization, and seeks to recruit, develop, and advance the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. Eligibility to work in the United States is confirmed with E-Verify; employment at the Atlantic Council is eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).