The Associated Press seeks a journalist who is passionate about providing first-rate news coverage as the news agency’s Assistant Africa Editor.
The Assistant Africa Editor will supervise the Africa Desk and its personnel and liaise between bureaus, correspondents and stringers throughout sub-Saharan Africa to plan and deliver superior news coverage of the region. The Assistant Africa Editor will report to the Africa Editor and help monitor developments in the region, arrange coverage where needed and will edit breaking news and enterprise stories for filing by the Africa Desk to subscribers and to mobile users around the world. The Assistant Africa Editor will schedule shifts on the Africa Desk. Responsibilities include making daily editing assignments, prioritizing according to breaking news developments and taking on editing of some of the biggest stories. The Assistant Editor will coordinate closely with other AP filing desks around the world, with the Nerve Center in New York and with producers of all formats to ensure comprehensive coverage that reports developments quickly, accurately and with distinctiveness, while keeping an eye toward developing the story throughout the news cycle and beyond.
The Assistant Editor will help guide the regional report and the region's contributions to the global report to ensure AP owns coverage in all formats, collaborating with the Africa Editor, bureau chiefs and correspondents to make decisions on what stories should be pursued, and working with the Africa Security Manager to help ensure safety of staffers who often work in hostile environments. Coolness under pressure is a must. The Assistant Editor will work closely with other managers to develop innovations on the regional desk operations to improve efficiency and adapt newsroom product and workflow to meet the demands of a digital-driven industry. Responsibilities include working with the other managers on setting goals and metrics to measure success, as well as monitoring those metrics. This position plays a role in interviewing and hiring editors for the desk, and takes the lead on training and evaluating the work of editors on the regional desk. The Assistant Editor will fill in for the regional editor when necessary, and make management decisions for bureaus when a local bureau chief is not available.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Demonstrated leadership skills, experience as a news manager and editor are required. Candidates must have strong news judgment. Fluency in French required. Working knowledge in Portuguese or Spanish desired but not required. The applicant should have strong organizational skills, creativity, a broad understanding of news needs and a hunger to both break news and to be the best at covering breaking news. The Assistant Editor must have an understanding of the needs of all formats and be able to maximize teamwork to produce the most comprehensive report across all formats, quickly and accurately under deadline pressure.
The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day more than half the world's population sees news from AP.
AP seeks to build an inclusive organization grounded in respect for differences. We support all aspects of diversity and provide equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability or status as a veteran in accordance with applicable nondiscrimination laws.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For submissions: apply via Associated Press's career site here
Website: http://www.ap.org/