Part-Time Copy Editor, West Coast

The Guardian is a global news organization that delivers fearless, independent journalism. From breaking news and award-winning investigations to in-depth coverage of technology, sports, film, culture, and lifestyle, the Guardian offers a global view that deepens our audiences' understanding of America and the world.

Headquartered in New York City, Guardian US is an entirely digital operation that seeks to engage US readers by combining the Guardian's international coverage with US voices and expertise. Core coverage areas include US politics, technology, the climate emergency, economic and racial inequality, health, sports, culture, and more. Guardian US launched in 2011 and has bureaus in New York, Washington DC, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. The Guardian is an independently owned, mission-driven organization funded by readers around the globe.

It's the talent, energy, and commitment our people bring to The Guardian that makes us who we are. Across our business, we have some of the most creative thinkers in media and beyond, award-winning journalists, cutting-edge commercial teams, digital talent, and more.

We are seeking a part-time copy editor to join the Guardian US copy desk. We are a team that works across the US to edit and produce nearly everything the Guardian US publishes, from breaking news to social media posts to podcast pages. 

Department: Editorial, Production
Reports to: Head of production; West Coast editor
Location: New York, NY; Washington, DC; Los Angeles, CA or remote
Terms and conditions: This position will be for three days per week, usually weekdays, on an eight-hour shift. Special shifts may be required for holidays or notable news events.
Salary range: $44,000 - 48,000 + 10% weekend differential

This position will follow a Thursday through Saturday schedule, with a focus on one of the busiest parts of our week: editing and thoroughly preparing articles to run over the weekend, and working the Saturday shift itself, usually 9am-5pm PT. It’s an exciting opportunity to be a part of a smaller subset within the copy desk: the copy editors who take on the responsibility of the weekend shifts. This key role involves a high level of multi-tasking and the ability to stay organized, with a focus on which tasks must take priority over others. 

Our weekend editors are part of the conversation about the stories we run and how we cover them. They possess excellent news judgment skills, and are adept at communicating quickly and clearly with colleagues. While the core responsibilities of the role are editing copy and writing headlines, there are numerous other duties associated with this position, including occasionally editing the Guardian US homepage and sending mobile alerts, editing live blogs, keeping tabs on when stories are coming in and when they need to be published, and considering the best ways to frame them for Guardian readers. 
 

Key responsibilities:

• Copy edit a wide variety of stories: breaking news, US politics, international news, culture pieces, wellness articles, analysis, investigations, features and more. 
• Ensure all copy follows Guardian style and is free of spelling and grammatical errors. 
• Communicate with desk editors and reporters if any questions arise when editing copy. 
• Communicate with weekend editors and copy desk colleagues about workload and work together to prioritize which tasks need to be completed first. 
• Liaise with digital editors on any coverage that might be needed for editing homepages or live blogs, and sending mobile app alerts. 
• Work with the visuals and audience desks to guarantee that stories have the needed artwork and that they’ve followed best practices for SEO optimization. 
   

Requirements:

• Experience in breaking news environments. 
• The ability to maintain calm under pressure, and to value accuracy over speed. 
• Experience editing copy in a newsroom. 
• Familiarity with Slack, Gmail, Gchat or similar tools for communicating with colleagues in different locations. 
• Familiarity with CMS tools. 
• Excellent communication skills – the abilities to be responsive and to share ideas or voice disagreement while maintaining respect. 
• An understanding of the Guardian and the types of stories that we cover. 
• A passion for writing headlines clearly, concisely and accurately. 
• Thoughtful news judgment – the ability to consider which stories are necessary for our readers to be aware of. 
• Experience with editing homepages or sending breaking news alerts.
• General enthusiasm for journalism and the news, and an interest in reading a variety of publications.
• Please note that this position includes one weekend day. 

How to apply

We know there are great candidates who might not check all these boxes or who possess important skills we haven’t thought of. If that’s you, we encourage you to apply and tell us about yourself.

All candidates interested in applying should upload a resume and cover letter.  

All roles at the Guardian are open for everybody to apply. It is important to us that you feel supported and comfortable throughout your recruitment process, in order to perform your best. Please let us know if there are any changes we could make to the application process to make it easier and more comfortable for you. Please email the recruiter listed on the job posting or at recruitment.us@theguardian.com to discuss further so we can work with you to support you through your application.

Culture & wellbeing

We want everyone to feel like they belong at the Guardian and we champion diversity of thought. You will also have the opportunity to hear unique insight from our journalists in our morning conference, a live discussion on the news story of the day. 

Learning & development

We encourage personal and professional growth. Employees have access to a broad range of tools and solutions, and we are happy to support the pursuit of professional qualifications through vocational courses and apprenticeships.

Sustainability

Our goal is to become an environmentally regenerative company and we have signed up to a sustainability vision and strategy to reach it. Find more information about sustainability at GNM here.

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The Guardian is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, national origin, ethnic origin, citizenship status, disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law in its employment policies. In addition, the Guardian will provide reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities.

We value and respect all differences (seen and unseen) in all people at the Guardian. We aspire to have inclusive working experiences and an environment that reflects the audience we serve, where our people have equal access to career development opportunities, their voices are heard and can contribute to our future.