Associate Editor, Supplements - Nature Magazine

Associate Editor, Supplements - Nature magazine

Permanent, Full-Time

Location: London, UK - Hybrid working model

Closing date: 11th March 2024

We are seeking a talented Associate Editor to join our team and play a pivotal role in creating ambitious, editorially independent careers and supplement content for Nature, the world’s most important scientific publication.

Purpose of the Role

In this varied role you will be working with a dynamic and talented team that creates topical and compelling Career Guide and Spotlight content for our global magazine audience of working scientists, mostly early career researchers, helping them to make better and well-informed decisions about their professional lives.

This role also involves working with the wider careers and supplements team on further editorially independent supplement products.

Responsibilities

As a full-time Associate Editor (careers and supplements) you will work with editorial, art, project management and commercial teams to develop a rolling programme of around ten Career Guide and Spotlight supplement packages. You will also support editors of the Outlook and Index supplements.

Reporting to a senior editor, the role involves brainstorming potential topics to cover typically around ten supplements a year with some flexibility to accommodate “late breaking” topics at short notice, in response to client demand and emerging trends.

Key responsibilities include: 

• Researching Career Guide and Spotlight topics of interest to working scientists, with a view to commissioning content packages (typically features, Q&As, op-eds, data visualisations, podcasts etc) for print and/or online publication.
• Commissioning content from Nature’s global community of freelance writers and producers, setting deadlines, word counts, formats, advising on structure etc.
• Interviewing subject-area experts about their work and research to better understand specific scientific topics.
• Working with project manager colleagues to ensure production deadlines and targets are met ahead of publication and advising on revised timescales where relevant and appropriate. 
• Liaising with other editor colleagues with a view to complementing similar outputs and avoiding overlaps.
• Overseeing the editing, fact-checking and sub-editing processes, checking for accuracy, balance and readability. Ensuring Nature’s high editorial standards are met, and that published content has a strong service journalism/ news-you-can-use component, in line with other Nature Careers content.
• Working with picture research and art editor colleagues to ensure content is appropriately illustrated and laid out, both in print and online. Helping to decide images, data visualisations, cover art and other visual content.
• Crafting social media messages, and working with Nature’s Briefing, newsletter editors and marketing colleagues to drive traffic and engagement.
• In addition to the above, the postholder will be available to support other supplement channels (Nature Outlooks and Nature Index), mirroring the above processes for specific projects.

Experience, Skills & Qualifications

Essential:

• Demonstrable experience working in a journalistic or editing role.
• Experience in storytelling using data.
• A proven track record of working effectively and collegiately across different teams.
• Excellent time management and prioritization skills, and ability to balance short-term deadlines with long-term goals.
• A bachelor’s degree or above in a scientific discipline.

Desirable:

• Experience of delivering service journalism/news you can use.
• Experience working for a scientific publisher.
• Experience delivering and editing lengthy print and online projects of 10 pages and above.
• Demonstrable technical and data analytics experience.
• Knowledge of global scientific and economic trends.
• A keen interest in how science shapes society.