Ranger Jobs

About The Position

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience planning, writing, and editing for a national publication, including writing for children preferred
• 2–3 years of experience writing about science, nature, or the environment strongly preferred; educational background in wildlife biology or similar may be substituted.
• 2–3 years of experience writing for digital or social media audiences preferred
• Ability to analyze sophisticated scientific research and translate it into accurate, accessible language at or below a fifth-grade level
• Strong research, writing, and editing skills with a talent for copy that's both entertaining and educational
• Comfort collaborating with video, photo, audio, streaming, and digital editors, and experience adapting editorial content across formats and online platforms
• Familiarity with reviewing editorial feedback survey data, online analytics, and audience trends to clearly inform and articulate the value and impact of our storytelling
• U.S. citizen or have valid work authorization to work in the U.S.

Responsibilities

• Research and write original features and columns, including scripts for “Ranger Rick Adventures” comic stories, that are appropriate for the Ranger Rick age range (7-12) and meet the magazine’s high standards of originality, style, readability, and accuracy.
• Consult experts while developing and completing each article.
• Provide design director with ideas and research for all art and maps for stories involving art.
• Provide photo editor with a list of photo needs for stories involving photos, including possible sources for photos.
• Edit article to final product.
• Build and maintain a file of article ideas in various editorial categories.
• Keep current on news and scientific discoveries relating to each category, coming up with original angles for covering these categories and writing memos on how these stories would work.
• Screen submitted queries and manuscripts, presenting queries, manuscripts and ideas to staff.
• Find and cultivate freelance writers, assign articles to them, and work closely with authors on developing article ideas.
• Edit or rewrite freelance manuscripts for style, accuracy, and readability.
• Review all copy written or edited by other staffers and make suggestions for improvement.
• Edit all laid-out stories on PDFs.
• Assist as needed in the editing and updating of Zoobooks and Ranger Rick Dinosaurs magazines.
• Work closely with the photo editor and designers in developing story approaches and layouts.
• Contribute to all planning, production, idea, and title meetings, and regularly contribute any ideas that will lead to overall improvement of the magazine.
• Write digital quizzes to complement published feature stories.
• Research ideas for videos that link out from feature stories; review and edit video scripts.
• Attend 8-10 meetings on average per month.

Benefits

• Flexible scheduling
• Paid time off
• Unlimited wellbeing time
• Paid winter break
• Family and Medical Leave
• Low-cost health, dental, and vision insurance options
• Therapist available at no cost
• Pet insurance and discount perk program
• Annual wellbeing allowance
• Retirement plan with immediate match and vesting
• Annual year-end retirement contribution
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Adoption and Surrogacy assistance
• Pet adoption stipend
• Student Loan management