Senior Editor - People Managing People

North America (Remote)

About the Role

We’re looking to hire a talented and seasoned senior editor with a strong background in editorial strategy and business journalism who is passionate about making excellent content and building exciting and impactful brands that help people win at work!

You will lead the audience building strategy for People Managing People, building and actioning a robust content plan of best-in-class stories—primarily focused on the topics of HR and people management—that are insightful, delightfully original, and hyper relevant. You will leverage the brand identity and authority of PMP today to push it forward and create the sort of elevated and high-quality, share-worthy written content that not only accelerates the growth of our readership in the short-term, but turns casual readers into brand lovers. You will be instrumental in transforming People Managing People into an indispensable industry publication.

As a part of the BWZ media team, you will report to the Managing Editor and serve as a mentor to the current editor of PMP.

Who You Are

You have done it all, from producing deeply researched and reported features and quick turnaround news & trend stories, to managing ambitious editorial calendars and tentpole content packages. You are an ace editor who obsesses over finding the most compelling angle for any story, and push your writers to dig deeper into the right details to transform a good article into a great one. Even when you’re in the weeds, you’re keeping your eye trained on the strategy behind each piece of content.

You’re dedicated to maintaining high standards of quality, and make sure that every piece of content published under your watch is top-notch. Beyond creating whip-smart headlines and checking grammar and heading structure, you’re also alert for details that others might miss (weird link, citation without a source, a list that should really be turned into bullets, keyword stuffing, a meta description that could be improved). You catch things that other people don’t!

You have a nose for a great story, and are always on the hunt for the next one—with a preternatural ability to stay abreast of the latest research, news, data, and trends to understand what’s going to resonate deeply with your audience. You love a good content planning brainstorm session, but recognize the breaking stories that are worth jumping on in real time. You’re deeply committed to honing your expertise on the industries and subjects you cover, and are a quick study on topics you don’t know a lot about.

What you'll be doing

Develop content plans and story ideas that drive traffic and engagement
Manage the editorial calendar to ensure production of new content is on track
Monitor data and metrics to analyze content performance and inform future content planning to replicate proven success (or change course as needed)
Experiment with and test new content formats, including interactive elements, to increase user engagement and shareworthiness
Work closely with an Editorial Advisory Board to refine content plans and story ideas and ensure they are as relevant and timely as possible
Provide guidance to more junior team members on best practices
Build relationships with notable expert sources in the industry, and turn them into contributors
Assign and edit multiple stories at various stages of completion
Manage the backlog of existing evergreen content to ensure important updates are actioned regularly
Manage larger content projects and initiatives, including original data and research
Collaborate with Marketing team on distribution plans (social media + newsletter)

How your success will be measured

Significantly increasing traffic to the site through strategic content planning
Significantly increasing the number of loyal readers and brand lovers (return visitors)
Significantly increasing the number of people who subscribe to our newsletter(s), and visit our content through channels outside search
Facilitating the production of multiple pieces of new content per week per site, and overseeing an ongoing schedule of updates
Seamlessly shifting or modifying content plans to address higher priority traffic challenges or quick-win opportunities
Attracting, recruiting, and onboarding a talented and reliable bench of talented writers and contributing subject matter experts
Collaborating with key stakeholders across the organization to seize new opportunities and address challenges
Remaining unflappable and driven to deliver success in a dynamic environment with shifting priorities
Exhibiting a great attitude and ownership mentality with a convivial nature

Your skill set includes

5+ years as an editor in a business publication, with a track record of managing a team of writers and meeting deadlines
Content strategy and editorial planning: 3 years
On-page SEO and SEO writing skills, and experiencing using SEO tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush, etc) for keyword research
Data fluency (GA4, Google Search Console)
Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and prioritize tasks to maximize short-term impact
Intermediate WordPress skills
Grin-worthy English writing skills
Command over voice and tone, with the ability to adapt
The ability to breathe life and inject humor into traditionally dry topics
A creative mindset and ability to generate engaging content ideas
Exceptional communication skills
Self-motivated and self-starter
Solid understanding of content KPIs

Nice to Haves

A background working in or covering human resources, people management, or related topics
A strong grasp of content distribution best practices (email newsletter, social media)
Familiarity with and experience using AI tools to streamline content development (for research, content briefing, etc).

Ready to become the next Zebra?!

Working at Black & White Zebra

We’re a fast-growing indie media company who excel at creating exceptional content and community.

We are an international team of 35+ with a home base in Vancouver, Canada. We got our start in 2011 as The Digital Project Manager blog, founded by our CEO Ben Aston. Since then, we’ve grown our team and our portfolio with a number of burgeoning online communities. We’re serious about being truthful, authentic and having a good time!

As a company we value and prioritize a flexible work environment. Our employees are entitled to lots of paid vacation per year and are encouraged to use all of it! We also offer opportunities for personal development so you can grow and develop your career. We have monthly team events to build a cohesive and FUN team! Some of our past events have included ropes courses, snowmobiling, go-karts and more! We believe that it is truly important to have a job that is not only rewarding, but one where you can enjoy the ride!

Are we a good fit?