Posted On: May 2, 2019

Journalism Job

Media Organization: Rise

Company Description

Rise’s mission is to build parent leadership to drive child welfare reforms that parents believe can help their families thrive. In NYC, the child welfare system is a threatening presence in low income neighborhoods of color, affecting 1 in 5 children through an investigation, removal, or family
support services. Parents face the child welfare system alone, without legal representation. Rise provides vital information and peer support to parents. Rise also trains parents to develop a reform agenda and lead implementation of policy and practice changes that they believe can make a difference.

Job Description

Rise’s Editor plays a key role in working with parents, journalists, advocates and child welfare professionals to build a more nuanced, accurate public narrative about affected parents and to reframe child welfare involvement as a social justice issue on par with mass incarceration.
The writing process is the foundation of our work to bring parents’ knowledge and experiences into the child welfare system. Through writing and publishing personal essays, parents reflect on their experiences and share their stories to help others. Through reporting, parents develop knowledge of the field to advocate effectively for reform.

The editor:
• Runs writing workshops—at Rise and partner agencies—which includes: recruiting parent contributors, creating a communal environment, and supporting each writer through a 16-week process of developing a publication-quality personal essay.
• Works with a team of parent contributors to develop content for Rise’s publications, including:

o Rise: Parent-written magazine provides information and peer support to parents facing the child welfare system and educates professionals about parents’ experiences. The
editor will lead the publication’s transition from print to online-only, and expand use of video and audio, developing a strategy to adapt our print archive and build readership
through social media.

o Insights: Annual publication started in 2018 conveys parents’ priorities and recommendations for child welfare system reform.

o TIPS: Handouts guide parents in navigating the child welfare system to prevent placement or expedite reunification.

• Cultivates parent writers as ongoing contributors at Rise and develops a team that becomes increasingly capable of conceiving of coverage, reporting and editing stories and packages;

• Manages multiple reader engagement platforms—our website, e-newsletter, Facebook and Twitter, etc—to build readership;

• Engages with journalists covering child welfare to provide background and/or connect with parent sources and builds relationships to publish Rise content in other media outlets;

• Contributes editing as needed to Rise projects such as speech-writing and fundraising.

To Apply

Please email a cover letter, resume and two writing samples to info@risemagazine.org.

Please do not apply without taking a close look at Rise’s website. Candidates will be contacted for interviews on a rolling basis. We are unable to respond to all applications. Hiring process includes interview and editing test.