Editorial Director, News

We’re looking for an Editorial Director, News to join Thrillist’s
editorial department within Group Nine Media! As the leader of the News team,
you’ll oversee timely, fast-moving stories within the site’s key coverage
areas of food, drink, travel, and more. The ideal candidate has a record of
success in producing high-quality content for digital media outlets and is a
proven people manager capable of shaping and mentoring writers into top
talent. You’ll be based in our NYC office and report to the Editor in
Chief. This role will be managing staff writers, and will be a key player in
recruiting and hiring for the team in the future. 

The Editorial Director, News will lead by example in demonstrating Group
Nine’s values—Care Deeply, Be Brave, Go First, Do Good, Stay Close, and
Win Together.

WHO WE ARE

Thrillist celebrates life at the intersection of culture and experience,
inspiring people to pursue spontaneity through food, drink, and travel.

Thrillist is part of Vox Media, the leading modern media company. We guide
our audience from discovery to obsession. We inspire essential conversations
about what’s now, what’s next, and what’s possible.

As a community of journalists and storytellers, business professionals,
creators and technologists, we believe it is a moral and business imperative
to amplify voices: to cultivate diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout
our organization and media. This applies to our candidates, our teams, our
storytelling, our creative work, and our platforms, products, and
partnerships.

WHAT YOU'LL DO
Thrillist is a lifestyle publication, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be
responsible for shepherding time-sensitive stories and intensive reporting.
You will oversee the entire news story publishing process from pitch to
publication and distribution on key platforms. Priorities will sometimes
change from hour to hour and you’ll shift your focus accordingly.
You’ll assist the writers in gathering stories to write by using social
monitoring tools, checking in with your own contacts, and surveying the news
landscape at the beginning of the day. Greenlight and reject (with feedback)
writers’ pitches; assign stories as needed.
Copy-edit and fact-check as many as nine news stories a day and give
in-the-moment constructive feedback to the writers. You’ll guide writers as
they package their stories with images and headlines for maximum traffic and
engagement by following the site’s established best practices and tapping
into the innovation you bring to the role.
Keep close track of all the important goings-on in the News team’s special
coverage areas, including fast food, food deals, new travel attractions,
stargazing, and more.
Maintain a detailed editorial calendar throughout the year for the purpose of
planning coverage for upcoming news events and maintaining evergreen content.
You’ll also familiarize yourself with other verticals’ calendars to find
opportunities for collaboration, avoid the duplication of efforts.
Use data insights and analytics to better understand our audience and apply
those insights to inform future story ideas and execution.
Be a regular, active partner with Thrillist’s distribution, video, and
design teams to ensure every story is supported visually and promoted
effectively. 
Oversee the production, curation, and growth of a newly launched email
newsletter.

WHO YOU ARE

SUCCESS WILL LOOK LIKE:

Providing Thrillist readers with excellent, well-written, and beautifully
packaged news stories about the latest in food, drink, travel, entertainment,
and other core coverage areas.
Publishing stories and larger content packages that both bring in significant
amounts of traffic and build on the Thrillist brand. 
Meeting or exceeding traffic and output goals.
Coaching writers to perform at their highest levels and mentoring them for
future success in other roles across the department.
Effectively innovating and adapting the team’s strategy as coverage
opportunities come along and as priorities change.

MUST HAVES:

Minimum of 5 years of experience in digital media, including at least 5 years
as an editor
Minimum 3 years of experience managing people
Bachelor’s degree (journalism or online media is a plus) or relevant
experience 
Experience managing a team, inclusive of delegating responsibilities,
managing performance, supporting growth and development, and providing
meaningful feedback
Strong reporting, writing, editing, and organizational skills
Expert-level headline writing
Sharp eye for beautiful imagery and photography for story packaging
Knack for fact-checking and instinct for detecting questionable information
Extensive knowledge of how internet news and lifestyle content works and
familiarity with the ever-changing digital media landscape
Proficient in using and customizing data analytics tools, social media/trends
monitoring platforms for a highly efficient workflow
Comfort and aptitude for communicating with writers on your team,
freelancers, and representatives across the department and beyond 
Ability to multitask and meet deadlines while juggling multiple projects

NICE TO HAVES: 

Experience covering the food industry; particularly, fast food, fast casual,
and QSR
Experience covering major space stories, such as major stargazing events
Interest in writing about new travel destinations/attractions and an eye for
travel deals

If you think you have what it takes, but don't meet every single point in our
job posting, please apply with a cover letter to let us know how you believe
you can bring your unique skills to the Vox Media team or get in touch! We
would love to have a chat and see if you could be a great addition to our
team. We’ve hired chefs who became editors, DJs who became UX designers,
and sommeliers who became writers.

WHERE YOU’LL WORK

This job is remote. We’re dedicated to the health and wellbeing of all of
our employees, and when we reopen, will require everyone who works from one
of our offices to be fully-vaccinated against COVID-19. Employees with
approved religious or medical exemptions may be subject to additional safety
requirements, such as submitting to regular COVID-19 testing and/or wearing a
face covering in our offices.

WHY VOX MEDIA?

WHAT WE OFFER

This is a permanent, full-time position. This job is benefits-eligible. We
pride ourselves in providing comprehensive benefits to support all of our
employees wherever they are in life. You can find more information about our
benefits here.

OUR DEI+ COMMITMENT

Vox Media is committed to building an inclusive environment where everyone
can show up as their authentic selves and create their best work. We
recognize that great stories, platforms, products and services come from
people with all manner of backgrounds and experiences. We recognize that our
commitments require ongoing work and sustained attention, as well as
adaptation to new insights and best practices. We keep our diversity data
public for the sake of accountability, transparency and communication. Learn
more about our values here, and our approach to corporate citizenship here. 

Vox Media is an Equal Opportunity Employer and qualified applicants will
receive consideration without regard to race, color, gender, sexual
orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, disability, national
origin, protected veteran status, age, or any other status protected by
applicable national, federal, state, or local law. Vox Media will also
consider all qualified applicants with criminal histories in accordance with
applicable Fair Chance laws. We are also committed to providing reasonable
accommodations as part of the application process to candidates with
disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation as part of the
application process, please contact our People & Culture team
(recruitment@voxmedia.com [3]). 

WHAT COMES NEXT

Our recruiting team will go through applications in a timely manner. Please
note that our recruiting team will only contact you from @voxmedia.com email
addresses, never via text message. Read more about how our recruiting team
operates, and how to protect yourself from recruitment fraud, here.