Associate Editor (Planetizen)

Who we are

Planetizen is the most visited urban planning website in the United States. For 25 years, we have been the essential resource for planners, urbanists, and people who care about how cities are built. We publish up to 40 times a week across news, features, analysis, and commentary. Our sister product, Planetizen Courses, is the leading online professional education platform for planners, with 300+ video courses and 25 new titles published every year. The Planetizen team works in a collaborative and entrepreneurial environment, where team members are encouraged to continue to learn, grow, and implement new ideas.

The opportunity 

Planetizen is looking for a talented and ambitious Associate Editor to steer the platform’s editorial operations. The Associate Editor, reporting to the Editorial Manager, has a high degree of ownership over editorial quality and output, and helping grow Planetizen’s reach and engagement.

This is an excellent role for a growth-oriented, early-mid career editor who is passionate about contributing to a healthy media ecosystem around urban development issues. The role has ample room for growth with opportunities to pitch and champion new ideas and grow the position’s scope and status. Successful candidates will demonstrate strong editorial skills and judgement, and a high level of drive and initiative. The Associate Editor is a key member of the Planetizen team, working directly with contributors to deliver value to a large audience across the U.S. and beyond. 
 

Responsibilities

Editing, publishing and writing – 50% of time

• Assigning and editing 2-5 feature, op-ed, analysis and other editorial pieces per week, working closely with external contributors to hone pitches for assignment and delivering substantive, line and copy edits in a timely manner. 
• Packaging pieces for publishing: writing sharp, catchy headlines and deks; choosing attractive, editorially relevant and interesting imagery; utilizing AP style; uploading and formatting pieces in Planetizen’s content management system and scheduling them for release. 
• Taking an active role in shaping editorial processes, content types and overall editorial ideation, including proactively identifying and problem-solving barriers to success and ideating opportunities for improvement and growth.
• Writing short editorial posts (like monthly wrap-ups and Planetizen’s Federal Action Tracker), and contributing unique feature, op-ed, analysis or other editorial content pieces.

Planetizen newsfeed – 30% of time

• Sourcing, summarizing and publishing ~30 pieces of essential urban planning news per week for Planetizen’s aggregated newsfeed. 

Other – 20% of time 

• Writing and formatting templated posts for Planetizen’s social media feeds and newsletters.
• Using analytics and other audience engagement metrics to monitor and optimize editorial content performance according to Planetizen’s strategic goals.
• Completing editing and quality assurance tasks for the Planetizen Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs, Planetizen Courses, AICP Exam Prep, and other Planetizen products.

Success Metrics

In your first month

• Learn the Planetizen brand, content and audience.  
• Become an expert in Planetizen’s editorial, distribution and content management systems.
• Independently own and produce the Planetizen newsfeed.
• Assign, edit and publish your first Planetizen feature articles and columns. 

In your first 90 days 

• Solidify your expertise in the urban planning beat. 
• Together with the Editorial Manager, collaboratively design and manage Planetizen’s publishing calendar, assigning and editing the majority of editorial pieces. 
• Begin using Planetizen’s analytics systems and other tools to inform editorial decision making.

In your first year 

• Contribute to the growth of Planetizen’s audience and deepening of audience engagement across all platforms.
• Cultivate and nurture a vibrant community of editorial contributors, maintaining and growing Planetizen’s role as the leading hub of urban planning information and idea exchange. 
• Help prepare Planetizen to expand and reach the ambitious goals set in our editorial strategy by co-creating and cultivating new content types, editorial products and more. 
• Manage the publication of 36+ pieces of Planetizen editorial content weekly. Support a ~50% increase in total time on site per week. 

Qualifications 

• 2+ years experience in a newsroom or other journalistic/editorial environment, ideally with hands-on experience managing external contributors.
• Comfort in a fast-paced environment handling high volumes of content. Successful candidates will demonstrate the ability to write and edit quickly while maintaining accuracy, clean copy and overall editorial quality.
• Strong judgement, critical thinking and editorial instinct.
• Ability to take initiative, self start and work independently yet collaboratively on a small team that values teamwork, and each other.
• Excellent time-management and organizational skills, with a demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects at different stages simultaneously. 
• Ability to use data and other audience engagement measures to make decisions that optimize editorial performance.  
• Experience with Google Workspace, Google Analytics, Data Studio, Drupal, Canva, Sprout Social or similar tools and systems. 
• Experience with or strong interest in urban planning. While formal training in urban planning is not a requirement, candidates should demonstrate an ability and enthusiasm to dive into the urbanism beat and quickly become an expert.
   

Location & Availability

• Available 9am - 6pm in any U.S. time zone
• Our office is located in sunny Los Angeles, CA. This position is available for fully remote or hybrid work. 

Compensation
$50,000 - $60,000 depending upon experience

• Paid time off (15 days increasing to 20 after four years)
• Holiday time off (~10 days per year).
• Medical, dental and vision insurance (95% employer-paid for the individual).
• Company-sponsored 401(k) plan with employer match (after 60 days).
• Performance and compensation reviews annually.

Why Work at Planetizen

• Join a dynamic and collaborative team in a mission-driven environment where your contributions make an impact in the world.
• We work with you to create a career path catered to you.
• We're stable. We've been in business for 25+ years, and continue to grow each year.
• Average employee tenure is 5 years.
• We offer a casual and flexible working environment. We believe in life/work balance.
• The right candidate will find numerous opportunities for growth.
• We allocate time for training and professional development.

This position is open until filled.