This posting will remain open through October 10, 2021.
St. Louis Public Radio is seeking a sharp and creative journalist to be the primary eyes, ears and voice of the STLPR newsroom online as our Engagement Editor. This is an amazing opportunity to take the wheel of a trusted local news brand and lead the newsroom’s engagement with our community.
The Engagement Editor position calls for lots of experimentation and collaboration with our reporters and editors, as this is the ethos of our newsroom’s digital team in general. You’ll join a group that prizes creativity and pushes itself to experiment and innovate. The job also includes executing our current engagement strategies and developing new ones as the social media landscape evolves.
A great candidate will be familiar with metrics tools and comfortable making quick, independent decisions based on both quantitative and qualitative factors. We know numbers help us understand our successes and failures, but they aren’t the whole story when it comes to engagement. Building our audience in communities — particularly communities of color — that St. Louis Public Radio hasn't served well historically.
Good judgment and journalistic ethics are also paramount in this position since you are the newsroom’s front-line ambassador to the community. People won’t always agree with our coverage, and you’ll often hear about it first. It’s imperative that we listen and stay accountable to our audience.
The Engagement Editor will be expected to get out from behind their desk to connect in person with both existing STLPR fans and those unfamiliar with us through listening sessions, community forums and station events.
Most of the newsroom is working remotely now, and you will too, until St. Louis Public Radio determines how we can all work safely at the station headquarters. Even after we’ve moved back to the office, working remotely part-time is possible in this role.
The Engagement Editor job is not a management position.
Responsibilities:
- Serve as the primary voice of the STLPR newsroom on social media, including sharing our journalism and responding to audience members.
- Develop and execute the newsroom’s online engagement strategy.
- Collaborate with reporters and editors on stories and lead engagement plans for large reporting projects.
- Generate opportunities for in-person audience engagement.
- Coach reporters, producers and editors on how to use social media tools more effectively for reporting and for amplifying the work of STLPR.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
- Social media management experience;
- Solid journalistic and personal judgment;
- 3+ years of professional experience in a daily news organization;
- A sharp eye for spotting trends in social media;
- A creative mind;
- A collaborative spirit.
Preferred Qualifications:
- 2+ years of professional experience managing social media for a news organization is highly desirable. Comparable experience managing social media outside of journalism will be considered.
- A demonstrated personal interest in social media and innovative approaches to journalism and community engagement.
- Proficient in forms of visual communication, such as video, photography or design.
- Familiarity with the St. Louis region is helpful but not required.
Salary Range: $55,000 - $65,000/annually
Application Instructions:
In one pdf document along with your online application please include:
- A cover letter outlining your qualifications, how your experience is relevant to the job and your ideas for how this position can best serve St. Louis area residents.
- Links to all of your active social media accounts (personal and those representative of your professional experience).
- An audit of our social media channels sharing your general impressions and ideas for our future.
St. Louis Public Radio is a service of the University of Missouri - St. Louis. In order to be considered for this position or to view the posting in its entirety, please visit UMSL's employment site and complete an online application. Job ID: 38163. For additional information, contact executive editor Shula Neuman at sneuman@stlpr.org.
We are committed to building a newsroom representative of the St. Louis region. St. Louis Public Radio and the University of Missouri - St. Louis are equal opportunity employers. We enthusiastically welcome those from groups underrepresented in public media to apply.