The Trace’s imperative as a nonprofit news organization is to publish journalism that creates impact. The extent of our impact depends in part on how well our reporting on gun violence reaches people with the power to act on it. A central role at The Trace, then, is to further our impact through targeted reader engagement, story promotion, and audience development, while closely tracking the outcomes of our work.

We are looking for an engagement editor with the talent, experience, and motivation to excel at the following responsibilities.

  • Work with Trace writers and editors from the inception of a story or project to tailor its engagement and promotion plan.
  • Identify the relevant audiences and individual outreach targets for each story or project, then develop and execute strategies for engaging them.
  • Operate The Trace’s social media channels, with an emphasis on increasing followers and engagement with our impact journalism.
  • Design and lead engagement-centric projects, e.g., crowdsourced reporting, pop-up newsletters, social-only coverage, etc.
  • Write emails, newsletter entries, and social media posts to launch and/or re-promote Trace articles.
  • Contribute to social media coverage of breaking news, with a focus on adding context that provides value to readers and demonstrates The Trace’s expertise.
  • Determine the gaps in our readership among the people and groups most likely to act on The Trace’s reporting and develop a plan for expanding those audiences.
  • Develop and implement methods for engaging and serving communities affected by gun violence, whom we may not be reaching through our media partners and current social media activity.
  • Using data and analytics, refine The Trace’s social media strategy and explore opportunities on new platforms.
  • Collaborate with The Trace’s newsletter team on products and services produced for our core readers.
  • Track impact, readership, and referrals from partners’ versions of Trace articles.

This position is based in Brooklyn, New York. To apply, please send the following materials to [email protected]:

  • your resume
  • a brief cover letter
  • one to five samples of your best engagement, promotion, or audience development work

Deadline: Monday, March 9

The Trace is committed to diversity and strongly encourages applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ people.

Team Trace