Climate & Environment News Editor

Application instructions for this and all current OPB employment opportunities are available at OPB's careers page.

About OPB

OPB is a leader in public media, serving diverse communities of the Northwest with fact-based, in-depth news and information about politics, the environment, science, arts, history, and cultures; business, education and more. Powered by the generous support of members, OPB seeks out a variety of voices in our communities and lifts up authentic stories of the people, places, events and issues of the region, providing context and a deeper understanding. OPB’s independent journalism and programs are available at opb.org, on OPB Radio and OPB TV. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. 

The Opportunity

Our newsroom is growing! We’re looking for a talented Climate & Environment News Editor who is passionate about journalism and understands how climate intertwines with other issues in the Pacific Northwest. We’re seeking someone who can discern what elements will make a news story engaging. The Climate & Environment Editor supervises two reporters and serves as part of the leadership team for our newsroom of approximately 40 reporters, editors, producers and hosts. They also work closely with other content teams to ensure the news reflects its importance in our region. We use a collaborative process between our editors and reporters in which editors coach journalists through new projects, build beats and stories in partnership and support their growth and development.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is knowledgeable about the climate and environment and wants to build a team to cover this beat. If this sounds like you, we urge you to apply!

Position Details

This editor leads OPB’s climate and environment team, assigning and editing stories for reporters for the radio and the web, planning and leading coverage of enterprise reporting and breaking news on climate and environment beats and ensuring OPB’s coverage sets the standard for our region. This position serves as a member of OPB’s news editing team and reports to the Vice President, News. As part of their daily duties, this editor will edit newscast items, radio and digital features, magazine conversation scripts and longer-term investigations and projects.

Supervises

This position plans, assigns and approves work; responds to grievances, disciplines and rewards; recommends hiring, hires, recommends salary adjustments, prepares and signs performance reviews and leads project teams for up to four employees.

Responsibilities

85% - Supervise and edit a team of beat reporters covering climate and environmental news in Oregon and Southwest Washington

• Help reporters build beats and sources
• Provide strong guidance through stories from idea generation to final product
• Edit stories for radio and digital platforms, including newscast items, short web stories, enterprise and watchdog features and magazine conversations.
• Ensure OPB’s climate and environmental coverage is the regional leader in both speed and substance by monitoring other sources and leading iterative reporting efforts when news breaks.
• Ensure that reporters adhere to editorial and ethics policies, and maintain high journalistic standards to ensure that accuracy, thoroughness, and fairness are central characteristics of all content presented.
• Embrace the mission of OPB.
• Leads team in a way that fosters an environment of belonging and in which diverse backgrounds, experiences, ideas and work styles are valued.
• Supports the growth and development of team members offering coaching, recognition, and feedback to optimize performance and employee engagement.
• Ensures team understands their work priorities, responsibilities and contributions and how they align with department goals, organizational strategies and mission.

10% - Work collaboratively with OPB’s Science & Environment unit to take advantage of opportunities to collaborate, amplify each other’s work and overall boost the impact of our content. 

5% - Other duties as assigned, including.

Working Conditions

Most work is done in an office, studio or other indoor location with extended periods of working at a computer. There is occasional local or regional travel required to attend events and visit bureaus as well as some evening, early morning and weekend work to ensure coverage.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education, training and experience that provides the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities for this position.
• 1 year supervisory experience including leading and fostering a sense of belonging, guiding team through high stress situations and supporting the growth and development of employee(s). 
• Demonstrated ability to provide editorial direction and develop a story from idea to final product.
• Experience editing and covering hard news topics, such as climate change, wildfire response, widespread power outages and earthquake preparation.  
• Demonstrated ability to meet daily deadlines.
• Exceptional time management, organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to recognize a wide range of stories appropriate for OPB across radio and digital platforms.
• Ability to work with digital audio workstations and office computer software.
• Enthusiasm for the mission of OPB and for the role of public media in a changing journalism environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using digital audio recording and editing equipment
• Experience supervising a team of reporters.
• Experience covering climate change, the environment and environmental regulation or supervising reporters covering those topics.
• Bilingual in English and another language, preferably one spoken in communities in the Pacific Northwest (for example, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Russian).
• A voracious news consumer with a passion for journalism.
• Knowledge of major stories and issues in the Northwest.

Additional Information

• This position reports to the VP of News, Talk and Podcast and is benefits eligible
• The probable hiring range for this nonexempt position is between $78,000 and $88,000 annually, depending on qualifications.
• For the safety of our employees, the contractors/vendors we work with, and the public we serve, OPB has a mandatory COVID vaccination policy and all employees are required to show proof of vaccination

How to Apply

For application instructions, please visit OPB's careers page. You will be asked to create an account, upload your cover letter and resume and answer a few position related questions. Once you click “submit” you cannot make changes to your application.

Your application materials are due by 8:59 PM Pacific Time on August 28, 2023

OPB is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education, training and experience that provides the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities for this position.
1 year supervisory experience including leading and fostering a sense of belonging, guiding team through high stress situations and supporting the growth and development of employee(s).
Demonstrated ability to provide editorial direction and develop a story from idea to final product.
Experience editing and covering hard news topics, such as climate change, wildfire response, widespread power outages and earthquake preparation.
Demonstrated ability to meet daily deadlines.
Exceptional time management, organizational and interpersonal skills.
Ability to recognize a wide range of stories appropriate for OPB across radio and digital platforms.
Ability to work with digital audio workstations and office computer software.
Enthusiasm for the mission of OPB and for the role of public media in a changing journalism environment.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience using digital audio recording and editing equipment
Experience supervising a team of reporters.
Experience covering climate change, the environment and environmental regulation or supervising reporters covering those topics.
Bilingual in English and another language, preferably one spoken in communities in the Pacific Northwest (for example, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Russian).
A voracious news consumer with a passion for journalism.
Knowledge of major stories and issues in the Northwest.