Editorial Lead

Contract · Part-time · Remote

The quick version:

• The organization: Democracy Notes is a trade publication and field-support organization serving the U.S. democracy space.
• The role: Editorial Lead. You’re a strong editor and writer with a point of view on where our editorial products should go next, and want to join a team that values both excellence and silliness.
• Money and time: $4,000-$8,000 per month depending on experience; ~20 hours per week; paid via monthly retainer.
• Application and deadline: August 14th, reviewed on a rolling basis. Here is the link to apply.
• Other deets: 12-month contract; 60-day trial period; remote; availability during ET working hours.

Who we are:

Founded in January 2024, Democracy Notes is a trade publication (a publication serving a particular sector or field) and field-support organization in the U.S. democracy space.

Our mission is to make our community, the U.S. democracy space, as effective as possible. We work toward that mission by connecting people in our sector to information and to each other.

Publishing: Democracy Notes’ weekly newsletters reach an audience of 12,000+ on Substack (Democracy Notes) and 9,000+ on LinkedIn (Democracy Notes Encore). We publish writing for our audience of funders and practitioners at Democracy Notes Perspectives. For our deeper-dive work, check out Democracy Notes 2025 Trends.

Events: Democracy Notes regularly convenes our community in public and in private, in person and virtually. Recordings of our virtual public events can be found here.

Peer-learning cohorts: Democracy Notes runs peer-learning cohorts for chief operating officers, “number twos,” fundraising professionals, and communications professionals.

What we don’t do: We don't report on American democracy (our readers get that elsewhere). We don't campaign for or against candidates or attempt to influence legislation. And we’re more than just a publication: depending on what furthers our mission, our products can include tools, platforms, convenings, peer-learning cohorts, podcasts, video, and more.

Our team values:

• Excellence (we care about creating exceptional things)
• Silliness (we want to have a joyful time doing it)
• Curiosity (we’re hungry to learn from each other and from our community)
• A “try, fail, and try again” orientation (we’re learning and growing, as individuals and as a team)
• Kindness (we have a “no assholes” policy!)

Why our editorial products exist:

Everything we publish is in service of five goals:

• Push the thinking of the U.S. democracy space in order to sharpen its strategies
• Inform our community so they can do their jobs well
• Make our community legible to itself
• Spark creativity — and express our own
• Bring levity and joy to our community

We aim to achieve all of the above with the editorial orientation of being (1) accessible (no jargon), (2) brief, and (3) clear.

What we’re looking for:

We're looking for someone with writing and editorial judgement that informs, provokes or entertains our audience. We want someone who can conceive of (and execute!) powerful and engaging editorial products (podcasts, written series/pieces, reports, video, etc.) that align with our unique position in the democracy space. We want someone who is as comfortable with strategic visioning as with editing copy.

We’ve built up a great portfolio of editorial products, and we're excited to move into the next phase of our development. We have a general sense of our roadmap over the next 12 months — and we also have real open questions. We’re looking for a creative thought partner who wants to dig into those open questions with us — questions like, How do we deepen engagement with our audience? What should our next editorial product be? What should we start doing? What should we stop doing? How will we know we’re successful? Can we get it together on whether we use Oxford commas or not? — and come up with creative solutions.

The Editorial Lead will:

• Own and evolve Democracy Notes’ editorial strategy and products
• Commission, edit and shape pieces from contributors across the democracy field – op-eds, Q&As, interviews, and more
• Define and pilot new editorial formats and products that serve our five editorial goals
• Maintain our editorial voice and standards: accessible, brief, clear, and true to our team culture (do you see how fickle we are about Oxford commas?)
• Track what's working using metrics (and: shape those metrics! And care about them.)
• Collaborate with Executive Director, Managing Director, Project Manager, and other relevant consultants on editorial calendars, contributor pipelines and publishing logistics

The ideal candidate brings:

• We are looking for one of two profiles of candidates (you don’t need both but of course that would be an asset):

• Strong editorial background, less familiar with democracy space
• Strong familiarity with democracy space, less traditional journalism experience

• Strong editorial judgment and a track record of shaping other people's writing, not just producing your own
• Comfort with ambiguity and known for having an entrepreneurial streak: you're energized by "here's a problem, help us solve it"
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, and a good ear for voice
• Ability to work independently while staying aligned with a small, tight-knit team
• You vibe with our team values

The hiring process:

• Applications due August 14, reviewed on a rolling basis – apply early!
• We will conduct two rounds of interviews and a short take-home exercise.
• Our ideal start date is September 8.

Last but not least, Democracy Notes is an equal opportunity employer. We believe that a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences strengthens our ability to analyze problems, craft solutions, and drive meaningful change. Democracy Notes encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, or veteran status.