About ECF:
The mission of the Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF) is to strengthen the leadership and financial capabilities of Episcopal congregations, dioceses, and organizations to pursue their mission and ministry.
Since 1995 ECF has produced the award-winning newsletter Vestry Papers, to inspire, affirm, and inform Episcopal leaders in their work. It provides spiritually grounded reflection and practical advice from experts and peers throughout the church. With at least 1,600 congregational subscribers and upwards of 20,000 readers, Vestry Papers is one of ECF’s most important and widely known programs.
In fall 2010 ECF will transition Vestry Papers to an online environment and expand its reach by launching ECFVP.org: Vital Practices for Leading Congregations. While it will continue to serve as a critical resource for vestry members and rectors, ECF seeks to engage and equip all lay and clergy who are called to lead local Episcopal communities of faith.
The Position:
ECF is seeking an experienced individual to serve as Editor of ECF VP.org. The Editor provides editorial direction for all core components of Vestry Papers/Vital Practices for Leading Congregations: 1) Vestry Papers online, 2) action resources, 3) blog, and 4) user-generated content. The Editor will assist in measuring the impact of this new initiative and have a strong role in determining future phases of development. The Editor serves as a key member of ECF’s team that works on ECF VP.org and supports the overall goals of ECF’s program department.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Set editorial direction to align with the mission of ECF and the needs of the Episcopal Church at the congregational level
- Generate themes for “issues” of Vestry Papers online
- Develop story lines and find the story tellers to produce first-person episodic narratives on common vestry or congregational experiences (such as a rector search or capital campaign)
- Solicit and edit copy and other forms of content
- Produce (or oversee production of) multimedia material
- Coordinate with the blog host and other team members to facilitate thematic coherence when possible, and to avoid duplication
- Edit blog items when necessary
Shared Responsibilities with team:
- Cultivate relationships with organizations, church-wide networks, and individuals and who will contribute articles, resources, user-generated content, blog posts, interviews, etc.
- Edit pages to ensure most relevant material is featured and archival material is well-used
- Acquire and curate content resources
- Prepare user-generated content for presentation
Other Requirements:
The editor must be willing to read widely, keeping up with developments in fields relevant to the ECF audience and become familiar with Episcopal congregations at the grassroots level. ECF VP.org will be comprised not only of practical congregational topics, but also spiritual reflections on leadership, therefore the Editor must be able to write and edit for the full range of content.
The editor must be able to:
- Manage multiple streams of copy simultaneously
- Generate story ideas and themes
- Collaborate with content producers to shape content in process
- Identify and maintain relationships with top-notch contributors, both amateurs and professionals
- Edit copy for clarity, economy and pith
- Edit and/or publish multimedia content
- Write clearly and accessibly for a wide range of readers
- Establish priorities
- Make deadlines
- Work in team to meet shared goals
- Work independently to create and execute projects
Qualifications and Experience:
- Minimum five years of experience in relevant field
- Knowledge of and experience with the Episcopal church
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Experience with print and online communications
- Experience with new media technologies
- Commitment to lay leadership development and congregational vitality
Supervisory and Other Contacts:
The Editor reports to the Senior Program Director for Leadership, Training & Information Resources, subject to the general oversight of the Vice President of Program, and works collaboratively with other ECF staff, consultants, vendors, Episcopal communicators, and leaders of Episcopal organizations.
Hours, Compensation, and Location:
Regular part-time employment. Flexible schedule dependent upon production cycles. Flexible location (requires effective remote working relationship and technology, with infrequent trips to ECF office in NYC). Salary commensurate with experience.
Start Date and Application:
ECF seeks to fill this position as soon as possible. Anticipated start date by September 7, 2010.
To Apply:
Send resume, cover letter, writing sample, salary history, and at least three references by August 6, 2010 to:
Anne Ditzler, Senior Program Director
The Episcopal Church Foundation
815 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Or email her here.
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