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Lead Editor, Beauty & Personal Care, NYT Wirecutter

New York, NY

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for. 

 
 
 

Wirecutter is seeking a Lead Editor to join our Beauty and Personal Care team. This editor will report directly to the Senior Editor, Beauty and Personal Care, to carry out our ambitious coverage plans that are deeply rooted in Wirecutter's mission to help our readers find the best products for their needs.

 

As a Lead Editor, you will serve as the primary editor for a wide range of beauty and personal care guides, collaborating with staff writers and freelancers on reporting strategies and rigorous test planning. You will ensure assignments stay on track while adhering to Wirecutter's exacting standards and processes. You will also write product coverage—from buying advice to "product odes"—as needed.

 

Our ideal candidate has a firm grasp of the beauty and personal care landscape, including skincare, haircare, grooming tools, makeup, and devices, as well as a strong understanding of industry trends and popular and emerging brands. You think inclusively and empathetically when guiding testing and reporting strategies, possess excellent editing skills, and are comfortable balancing multiple deadlines and complex workflows.

 

This role is based in Long Island City, New York.

 

Responsibilities:

  • Work with senior editor to develop the strategy for your beat and assign projects to freelance and staff writers

  • Project manage stories with different writers; manage deadlines; plan and oversee product research and testing; review writers' supporting documents and notes; edit and revise copy; and work closely with Wirecutter editors to ensure stories meet our exacting editorial standards

  • Stay up to date on beauty industry news and product launches and meet with sources and attend conferences and presentations as needed

  • Contribute original ideas to test planning, suggest creative reporting strategies, and challenge writers' assumptions

  • Write short form and long-form pieces as necessary

  • Collaborate with and respond to queries from fact checkers, copy editors, and producers to prepare pieces for publication

  • Work with our audience team to respond to reader feedback and questions; work with our affiliate team to resolve stock issues on recommendations; work with our operations team on product orders and testing plans; work with our photo editors to coordinate photography plans.

  • Perform related work as assigned

  • Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

  • This role reports to the Senior Editor, Beauty & Personal Care.

 

Basic Qualifications:

  • 3+ years of experience working at a media company with at least two years of experience working with and editing writers

  • Experience reporting on the beauty and personal care industries

  • Experience with collaborative tools, specifically Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Calendar) and Slack, with a proven ability to manage complex editorial workflows and team communications seamlessly.

 

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Experience with SEO from an editorial perspective and a sense of how to use web analytics data to make editorial decisions

  • Experience collaborating with an art director and/or photo editor to present coverage visually

  • Experience with social media platforms and a general understanding of what coverage performs best on each platform

  • Passion balanced by skepticism of marketing claims and unproven ideas

 

Please include your résumé/CV and a cover letter with your application. You can only upload one file in the “Résumé/CV” box, so please combine and upload your résumé and cover letter as one file.

This is a union position as classified by the News Guild of New York.

REQ-019422

The annual base pay range for this role is between:

$88,740 - $95,000 USD

 

The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all  backgrounds to apply.

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