Job Description

XQ Institute is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to rethinking the high school experience so that every student graduates ready to succeed in life. We work in communities throughout the country, with individual schools and entire school systems, to help them dream big about what high school could be, turn their innovative ideas into action, and create more rigorous and equitable schools.

The Opportunity

As a key member of the Content team, the Editorial Director will lead the day-to-day execution of our content strategy. Reporting directly to the Chief of Content & Editorial, this strategic leader will drive the creation of content across channels, ensuring that it aligns with our editorial strategy, standards, and voice. The person in this role will lead the conceptualizing, assigning, and editing of content, including managing the composition and work product of our “bench” of writers and editors. The Editorial Director will also interact closely with our Marketing & Communications, Product, and Schools teams. 

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Chief of Content and Editorial to develop and implement the editorial vision for XQ, ensuring that content aligns with our mission to transform high schools.
• Oversee editorial planning and calendar, ensuring timely production and publication of high-impact content.
• Draft thought leadership pieces, reports, and other editorial content as needed.
• Manage content production workflows, from ideation to publication, including overseeing and mentoring a team of freelance writers and editors to create high-quality journalism-style content across channels
• Collaborate with our Marketing & Communications, Product, Research & Data, and Schools teams to guide the creation of content, including supporting editorial needs related to events and activations, new product launches, board materials, and other ad hoc initiatives
• Identify emerging trends in education and media to inform storytelling approaches.
• Maintain editorial standards for all written content, ensuring clarity, accuracy, and consistency across all publications 
• Lead efforts to innovate editorial formats and storytelling methods, integrating multimedia and interactive features when appropriate.
• Track content performance and audience engagement, using insights to continually refine editorial strategies

Qualifications

The ideal candidate is a skilled storyteller, strategic thinker, and detail-oriented editor, who also has:

• 10+ years of editorial experience, ideally with a background in journalism, nonprofit communications, or content strategy.
• Proven leadership experience managing editorial teams, with a strong focus on coaching and mentoring writers.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, with a deep understanding of journalistic principles and storytelling.
• Strong ability to create content for multiple audiences, including educators, policymakers, students, and general public.
• Experience with product storytelling and collaborating across teams to craft narratives around new products or initiatives.
• Experience with content strategy and performance metrics; familiarity with SEO, analytics, and digital content distribution.
• A passion for education and strong curiosity about issues surrounding high school.
• Strong organizational skills, with the ability to juggle multiple projects and deadlines.

XQ Mindsets

Ours is a world defined by uncertainty, a society in flux, a state of unprecedented upheavals. While we don’t anticipate any quick fixes, we can anchor ourselves to what we see emerging. That’s why we have established a set of collective XQ Mindsets to ground us. 

• 100% accountability: This doesn't mean you have 100% ownership. It doesn't mean you are responsible for every last thing that needs to be done. It means choosing to take responsibility for our collective success and impact.
• Maker mindset: We build stuff. We won’t always get it right the first time—in fact, we rarely will. But by quickly making and testing our work, we can learn what works and what doesn’t.
• We are the ones we’ve been waiting for: Critique is not enough. It is on us to create the solutions—no matter where we sit in the organization. We are a well-resourced organization filled with brilliant people. No one else is coming to our rescue.
• Opportunity knocks: We are ready, willing, and able to take on anything that is thrown our way. Pivots are a natural part of our approach, so let’s embrace them so that we can experience them joyfully.
• Stand on the shoulders of giants: We honor those who came before us, who aren’t seated at our tables, and build on others’ and our own earlier work with respect and reverence.

Benefits

Compensation

The salary for this role is highly competitive and commensurate with experience. XQ offers excellent organizational benefits. The salary range for this $175k - $225k annually.

Location

XQ is based in Oakland, CA with offices in Washington DC, Los Angeles, and New York. This role will be based in Oakland.

To Apply

Please apply online. If your background and skills are a good fit with the role, we will ask for three writing samples that you feel reflect your technical and narrative capabilities, as well as two professional references who can speak to your editorial experience and skills. 

XQ is proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace. At XQ, promoting, celebrating, and supporting diversity is a core value. Individuals are considered without regard to race, gender, age, sexual orientation, sexual expression, religion, color, veteran status, disability, marital status, or ancestry.

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