Managing Editor

Gulfshore Life•Bonita Springs, FL

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Gulfshore Life Magazine is Southwest Florida’s leading luxury lifestyle publication, covering the people, places and culture of Naples, Fort Myers, Sanibel Island and beyond for more than five decades. The magazine remains the flagship, supported by digital and event extensions. They produce 12 monthly issues and multiple special editions each year, delivering reported, high-level lifestyle journalism for a discerning, engaged readership—with a strong emphasis on taste, context and visual authority. Creativity and editorial quality are cornerstones. The Managing Editor is a cornerstone role responsible for shaping the day-to-day function of the magazine, building systems and workflows that enable a creative team to work efficiently while maintaining a high editorial standard. This role balances structure and judgment, anticipating pressure points, bringing clarity to complex production cycles and helping strong ideas move smoothly from concept to finished package. This is a full-time, in-office role based in Bonita Springs. Familiarity with Southwest Florida is preferred.

Requirements

10+ years of editorial experience in magazines, high-level lifestyle journalism or multi-product media environments
Proven experience managing complex production calendars and overlapping deadlines
Demonstrated ability to top-edit with clarity, structural insight and high editorial standards
Strong organizational and time-management skills; comfort with detail-heavy workflows
Experience in developing and managing freelancers
Ability to collaborate with design, photo and digital teams on story packaging
Digital fluency—comfortable shaping stories for web and social
Willingness to work in-office full-time and attend evening/weekend events as needed
A calm, authoritative communication style that reinforces accountability and builds trust

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with Southwest Florida is preferred.

Responsibilities

Own and Optimize Editorial Workflow: Oversee the full production calendar across monthly issues, special editions, newsletters and digital production.
Anticipate pressure points and adjust timelines, workloads and expectations before problems arise.
Keep the team aligned on deadlines, deliverables and next steps.
Identify where workflows can be streamlined without compromising editorial quality.
Build Systems That Scale: Create templates and playbooks for story development, captions, proofing, fact-checking and layout workflows.
Identify single-point bottlenecks and design systems that distribute knowledge and responsibility.
Top-Edit Across the Publication: Shape and elevate drafts across design, arts & culture, food & wine, wellness, profiles, service packages, society and philanthropy.
Guide writers and junior editors with clear structural and conceptual edits.
Hire, Develop and Mentor Talent: Lead hiring and onboarding for fellows, interns and junior editors.
Build repeatable frameworks that help junior staff grow and operate more independently.
Drive Multi-Issue Planning: Map overlapping magazine cycles and ensure realistic staffing and sequencing.
Partner closely with design and photo on art needs, timelines and page flow.
Maintain lineup documents, trackers and schedules.
Support the Editor-in-Chief: Serve as a strategic partner on planning, quality control and systems design.
Provide clear-eyed assessments of staffing needs, workflow stress points and process improvements.