Our current editor Dr. Aran Martin is leaving us at the end of January. He has given excellent service to Pearls and Irritations. We are seeking a new editor and share the role description below.
Pearls and Irritations is an Australian journal for the exchange of ideas from a progressive, liberal perspective, with an emphasis on peace and justice. We do have a point of view. We do not regard ‘balance’ as a driver of our editorial policies.
We publish informed analysis and commentary on issues that matter to Australians, with a focus on politics, public policy, foreign policy and world affairs, defence and security, the economy, social welfare, media, the arts and religion.
We regard the climate emergency and relations with our region and especially China as key issues for us.
Pearls and Irritations is a not for profit public company led by a volunteer board. Its directors are Michael Keating, Mike Gilligan, Joe Camilleri, Jocelyn Chey and myself (Chair)
We launched the journal in January 2013. There are more that 26,000 subscribers and this continues to grow.
Our authors hail from eminent careers in diplomacy, journalism, education, climate science and government and offer their articles at no cost.
The publication is financed through subscription from our readers. WE do not accept advertising and we do not have a paywall.
Pearls and Irritations is managed by a small, experienced team that works remotely from each other. Editor in Chief, John Menadue, is in Canberra, the Production team is in Queensland and Technical Support is managed out of Sydney.
We are seeking an experienced Editor to manage the publication.
About the role
The Editor will report to John Menadue, Editor in Chief and is responsible for the delivery and implementation of an editorial strategy that includes articles, podcasts, video and content partnerships.
We post 60-70 articles per week. Two thirds of our articles are submitted unsolicited.
The ideal editor will have:
Proven experience as an Editor.
A keen interest in and knowledge of public issues, government and politics, world issues, climate emergency, media and relations with Asia.
- An eye for exceptional content
- An established public profile and ‘name’
- A media network that will benefit the development of Pearls and Irritations
- An understanding of digital and social media platforms
- An understanding of the role of data and feedback in setting a content strategy
- The ability to work within publishing deadlines
- The ability to work as a member of a collaborative team
Responsibilities:
To deliver relevant, engaging content to our readers and supporters that will increase Pearls and Irritations’ influence in the media landscape and grow our audience.
- Define and deliver the editorial (content) strategy
- Commission and select articles from our author submissions
- Check articles submitted for quality of content, including grammar and spelling, factual error, defamation and publication permissions
- Defend the style guide
- Manage the publishing schedule
- Maintain and strengthen author relationships
- Increase the author pool to include younger, female and culturally diverse writers
- Develop and maintain content partnerships for the publication of our articles in likeminded publications
- Write board papers
Digital knowledge:
Pearls and Irritations is a digital journal, published in WordPress and distributed across eight social media platforms.
A newsletter is delivered daily to our readers and a weekly “Top articles” selection is delivered in a weekly newsletter on Sunday.
- A knowledge of WordPress is desirable
- An understanding of SEO
- A working knowledge of podcasting and vodcasts
- An understanding of the social media landscape
Key relationships:
The editor works daily with:
- the Editor in Chief
- the Production Editor, who leads on digital strategy and distribution
- our authors
Contract:
Employment is full time and remote.
Employment will be by means of a contract with three months’ notice by either party.
How to apply:
Please send a brief application and resume to John Menadue
john@johnmenadue.com
John Menadue is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Pearls and Irritations. He was formerly Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.
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