Associate Editor, Ranger Rick Outreach

Associate Editor

Founded in 1936, the National Wildlife Federation has grown into America's largest and most trusted grassroots conservation organization with 53 state/territorial affiliates and seven million members and supporters, including hunters, anglers, gardeners, birders, hikers, campers, paddlers, and nature lovers of all ages and stripes. The mission of the National Wildlife Federation is to unite all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in our rapidly changing world.

We advance this mission through programming focused on conserving wildlife, restoring habitat and waterways, expanding outdoor opportunities, addressing the causes and consequences of climate change, and connecting children with nature.

To support our mission, we are seeking an Associate Editor responsible for conceiving, researching, writing, editing, and shaping feature articles and columns for each monthly issue of Ranger Rick magazine and assisting with the editing of other Ranger Rick titles, including Zoobooks and Dinosaurs. The Associate Editor writes, edits, and creates art direction for Ranger Rick Adventures comics, and edits all Ranger Rick copy for accuracy, grammar, and style.

The role also researches and writes one aquatic or prehistoric feature article per issue, shepherding it through the editing process with expert review, a companion online quiz, video, social media post, and website promotion. Additional one-off editing tasks round out the role.

Principal Duties

• Research and write original features and columns, including scripts for "Ranger Rick Adventures" comic stories, that are appropriate for the Ranger Rick age range (7-12) and meet the magazine's high standards of originality, style, readability, and accuracy. Consult experts while developing and completing each article. With stories involving art, provide design director with ideas and research for all art and maps.
  
  Provide photo editor with list of photo needs for stories involving photos, including possible sources for photos. Edit article to final product.
• Build and maintain file of article ideas in various editorial categories. Keep current on news and scientific discoveries relating to each category, coming up with original angles for covering these categories and writing memos on how these stories would work. Screen submitted queries and manuscripts, presenting queries, manuscripts and ideas to staff.
• Find and cultivate freelance writers, assign articles to them, and work closely with authors on developing article ideas. Edit or rewrite freelance manuscripts for style, accuracy, and readability.
• Review all copy written or edited by other staffers and make suggestions for improvement. Edit all laid-out stories on PDFs.
• Assist as needed in the editing and updating of Zoobooks and Ranger Rick Dinosaurs magazines.
• Work closely with the photo editor and designers in developing story approaches and layouts.
• Contribute to all planning, production, idea, and title meetings, and regularly contribute any ideas that will lead to overall improvement of the magazine.
• Write digital quizzes to complement published feature stories.
• Research ideas for videos that link out from feature stories; review and edit video scripts.
• Attend 8-10 meetings on average per month.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience planning, writing, and editing for a national publication, including writing for children preferred
• 2–3 years of experience writing about science, nature, or the environment strongly preferred; educational background in wildlife biology or similar may be substituted.
• 2–3 years of experience writing for digital or social media audiences preferred
• Ability to analyze sophisticated scientific research and translate it into accurate, accessible language at or below a fifth-grade level
• Strong research, writing, and editing skills with a talent for copy that's both entertaining and educational
• Comfort collaborating with video, photo, audio, streaming, and digital editors, and experience adapting editorial content across formats and online platforms
• Familiarity with reviewing editorial feedback survey data, online analytics, and audience trends to clearly inform and articulate the…