Editor

TX-HHSC-DSHS-DFPS•Austin, TX

22h

About The Position

Join the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and be part of a team committed to creating a positive impact in the lives of fellow Texans. At HHSC, your contributions matter, and we support you at each stage of your life and work journey. Our comprehensive benefits package includes 100% paid employee health insurance for full-time eligible employees, a defined benefit pension plan, generous time off benefits, numerous opportunities for career advancement and more. Explore more details on the Benefits of Working at HHS webpage. This position will review, edit, organize, and reword written and visual material with an emphasis on editorial standards, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and clarity. This will include looking at the entire document including the design, flow, and words used and determining out how to best accomplish the author's goals. This will include regularly communicating with personnel across the 23 state hospitals and state supported living centers and working collaboratively with staff. This position will proofread documents of all types to ensure high editorial standards including presentations, stories, flyers, memos, brochures, banners, video descriptions, and more. Will ensure documents are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The position is also responsible for tracking requests and ensuring timely responses and edits. This position will work under the Communications Manager and Associate Commissioner of Strategy, Policy & Communications but will have a wide degree of latitude and autonomy in day-to-day tasks as well as ongoing project. Applicants should have experience in copyediting, writing, and other forms of editorial work. Experience in design is a plus. Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework in journalism, communications, English, or a related field is generally preferred. Experience and education may be substituted for one another.

Requirements

Knowledge of the detailed understanding of the English language including standards around grammar, spelling, punctuation, rules of composition, design; research; written and oral communication; working collaboratively; accessibility standards.
Skill in editing documents, the use a computer, Microsoft Office Suite, and preferably Adobe Creative Suite.
Ability to: use a computer.
Experience in editorial work.
Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework in journalism, communications, English, or a related field is generally preferred.
Experience and education may be substituted for one another.

Nice To Haves

Experience in design is a plus.

Responsibilities

Reviews, edits, and rewords materials submitted to HSCS division office from HSCS facilities to enhance clarity and flow. This will include receiving material from facilities, writers, and other personnel and thoroughly reviewing them throughout the process to ensure clear, concise, accurate, and timely products. The position will suggest revisions based on the English language and editorial best practices. The position will also ensure adherence to agency communications guidelines and brand guides.
Identifies and corrects mistakes in spelling, grammar, and structure on communications materials submitted to the division office. This includes knowing the rules and best practices in the English language and providing fixes or suggested revisions throughout the process. It can also include rewording sentences to better communicate the author's intentions and provide clarity to the intended audience.
Confirms facts, dates, and figures. This includes working with the requester or other subject matter experts to confirm information and to provide updates, edits or corrections based on what is found. The position may also need to conduct independent research to confirm that the information edited is factually correct, clear, transparent and not misleading.
Works collaboratively with staff on a variety of communication materials and ensures timely responses. This includes emailing, messaging and calling and meeting with staff gs to ensure that the editor and the requester are working in sync in regard to the requester's intended result or outcome. This will often mean working with a requester at the beginning of a project to help understand the need and conceptualize a solution. This may also include offering edits or changes to a draft of a communication to better meet the requester's stated goal. The position is also responsible for tracking requests and ensuring adherence to stated timeframes for feedback and edits.
Chooses relevant visual elements (e.g., photos, charts, graphs, or illustrations) to ensure that a document communicates its intentions visually as well as with text. The position will know the principals and best practices of design and work with the requester and designers to ensure that the document is visually appealing and easy to understand.
Offers advice and support to team members, including training as appropriate, on communications and design best practices. This includes explaining why some editing decisions were made, and how to revise a document to match the requesters intent and to align with agency communication guidelines and best practices.