Senior Editor, Khmer Desk (DC)

Radio Free Asia•Washington, DC

9d•$87,000 - $118,500•Hybrid

About The Position

Radio Free Asia (RFA) is seeking a Senior Editor for its Khmer Desk in Washington, D.C. This role is the final editorial gatekeeper for all content produced by the Khmer Desk, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and compliance with RFA's standards before publication across various platforms including web, social media, shortwave, and video. The position involves managing the publishing queue, coordinating timing, and maintaining a steady output. The Senior Editor will also be responsible for upholding RFA's editorial style guide, flagging potential issues to relevant editors (Standards, Safety, Legal), maintaining CMS discipline, and collaborating with A/V teams. Additionally, this role involves contributing to training, covering senior editorial duties as needed, monitoring audience analytics to inform editorial decisions, and optimizing content for better engagement. This is a high-pressure, high-accountability position requiring precision editing and real-time output management.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or above in journalism, political science, economics, or a related field; or a minimum of 7 years of professional journalism experience, with significant time in a news editing, assignment editing, or senior reporting role in a digital, broadcast, or multimedia newsroom, using the language of the served desk.
Demonstrated experience serving as an editorial lead within a news team — guiding reporters and producers through the production cycle, making real-time editorial calls, and maintaining accountability for output quality under deadline pressure.
Deep substantive knowledge of the desk's coverage region, including its political landscape, geopolitical dynamics, and key actors; the editorial judgment to assess story framing, source credibility, and contextual accuracy requires this knowledge. Established professional networks within the region or diaspora community are strongly valued.
Demonstrated ability to manage a high-volume publishing workflow under deadline pressure.
Sound editorial judgment: ability to identify accuracy problems, sourcing gaps, standards violations, and format errors quickly and consistently.
Familiarity with CMS platforms and multi-platform publishing workflows.
Fluency in multi-platform publishing: web, social media, video, shortwave, and audio formats.
Exceptional professional proficiency in written and spoken Khmer, with demonstrated ability to write, edit, review, and approve accurate and clear Khmer - language news stories, assess interview materials and quoted speech, and ensure consistency with professional newsroom and RFA editorial standards.
Strong written communication skills for editorial guidance, reporter briefings, and shift handoffs.
Working knowledge of Cambodia's information controls, including censorship, surveillance, and how they affect reporting and audience access.
Strong ability to work across languages and platforms, including coordinating with English-language editors and other language teams.
Professional working proficiency in English.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with safety and security protocols for journalists working on sensitive stories or in restrictive environments.
Familiarity with real-time analytics platforms (e.g., Chartbeat, Google Analytics); ability to translate audience data into immediate editorial decisions under deadline pressure.

Responsibilities

Review and edit all stories before publication, ensuring accuracy, sourcing integrity, editorial standards compliance, and proper format across all platforms (web, social, shortwave, video).
Manage Khmer desk's publishing queue: sequence stories, coordinate publication timing, and maintain steady output across platforms.
Apply and uphold RFA's editorial style guide, language standards, and visual guidelines for all published content.
Flag stories requiring escalation — standards concerns to the Standards Editor, safety concerns to the Safety Director, legal concerns to General Counsel — before publication.
Maintain CMS discipline: ensure all published content carries accurate metadata, captions, tags, and cross-links.
Work colleagues on A/V output, ensuring broadcast and video content meets technical and editorial standards before air or publication.
Contribute to training and standards development: flag recurring issues to the Editor in Charge and help desk journalists improve their adherence to RFA's editorial and format standards.
Cover senior editorial responsibilities on the desk as directed by the Editor in Charge during absences or surge periods.
Monitor real-time audience analytics during shift using tools such as Chartbeat or YouTube Analytics, Meta Business Suite; use performance data to adjust story sequencing and placement across platforms.
Rewrite or test alternative headlines on underperforming stories during the publishing window to improve click-through and readership.
Optimize short-form video titles and thumbnails based on live engagement data (views, retention, click-through rate) before and after publication.
Flag high-performing stories to the Editor in Charge, for amplification consideration (social push, newsletter, or cross-desk sharing); include audience highlights in end-of-shift handoff notes.