Supervising Senior Producer, Newscast

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NPR is seeking a proactive, inventive Senior Supervising Producer for NPR News Now/Newscast to lead its national news product from an on-site Washington, DC post, covering Wednesday through Sunday and guiding weekend coverage across broadcast and digital. You will manage anchors, producers and editors, steer editorial planning, uphold NPR’s standards, hire and mentor staff, and champion diversity and inclusion while adapting to new platforms. The ideal candidate has at least five years managing direct reports in a newsroom, ten years editing or producing journalism, and twelve years in daily news production, plus strong cross-platform skills and ethics knowledge. Salary ranges from $150,000 to $170,000 plus benefits. To apply, share concrete leadership in short-form journalism and product innovation, provide work samples, and demonstrate alignment with NPR’s mission and ethics.

Intro to Position

NPR News Now/Newscast  is looking for a proactive, inventive and reliable Senior Supervising Producer with expert journalism and management skills to help lead its national news product and support its growth on multiple platforms.

Millions of listeners depend on NPR’s newscasts to set the news agenda each hour of each day. Do you want to help lead a team that distills NPR’s compelling reporting down to its essence? Come join NPR’s Newscast Unit, where we produce the best of NPR in five minutes. Newscasts are NPR’s most listened to news product, with 23 million weekly radio listeners and the #1 U.S. podcast according to Podtrac.

The right candidate for this position is committed to daily and breaking news, is interested in and knowledgeable about a wide variety of topics, and is eager to deliver a mix of the freshest, most audience-relevant stories to listeners. They are innovative and think out of the box but always put the needs and wants of audiences first. They believe in the mission of public media. And they are excellent at interacting with and leading the team.

Newscast is NPR’s 24/7 news operation. This is a Wednesday to Sunday job where you are in charge of leading the team on the weekend. Successful candidates will be asked to temporarily change their work schedule to cover shifts and special assignments as needed.

This is an NPR editorial role covered under the terms of the NPR Ethics Handbook. All editorial staff are bound by this guidance. Editorial staff is defined as staff members who play a role in shaping the journalistic or creative direction of NPR's content, including events.    

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of anchors, producers and editors and help oversee daily operations at Newscast on all platforms including broadcast and digital. 
• Coordinates Newscast editorial planning with team and desks. Leads the team on the weekends.
• Collaborate with the Executive Producer and other members of the team in developing and implementing editorial and operational strategies and projects to expand the unit’s reach and caliber. 
• Help develop and maintain editorial standards as set by the Executive Producer.  
• Manage the hiring and onboarding process for individual staff hires as well as take initiative in cultivating and developing new talent.
• Coach, mentor and direct members of the team to excel at Newscast at all levels. 
• Assess performance of direct reports and give clear & constructive feedback.
• Evangelist and liaison to desks, member stations and other organizations about the strengths of Newscast/NPR News Now and the power of short-form journalism.
• Maintain administrative staff operations such as work schedules, training and skills development. 
• Ability to work proficiently on all platforms; ability to adapt to changes in equipment, software and workflow and help lead the team through those shifts.
• Cultivate and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
• Occasionally fill-in for Executive Producer when they are away.

One-time or periodic special projects or additional work beyond core responsibilities of the role

• Travel on behalf of the team or network as a representative of NPR
• Travel with the staff on editorial or reporting projects

The above duties and responsibilities are not an exhaustive list of required responsibilities, duties and skills. Other duties may be assigned, and this job description can be modified at any time.

Minimum Qualifications

• At least five years experience managing direct reports in a journalism newsroom or operation.
• At least 10 years experience creating journalism content as an editor or producer, with demonstrated ability to exercise solid, independent news judgment.
• At least 12 years of experience in daily news production.
• Demonstrated ability to oversee multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines.
• Familiarity with a range of subject areas such as politics, world news, business, technology, science, education and arts.
• Proficiency in project management such as managing deadlines and time management.
• Experience in maintaining editorial standards and journalistic ethics.
• Knowledgeable about audio, digital and video production.
• Passion for connecting with diverse audiences on a range of platforms.
• Proficiency in people management skills such as delivering constructive feedback, clear communication and conflict resolution.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in editorial innovation as demonstrated in launching and supporting new products and projects.
• Proficiency in multiple formats: radio, video, digital text and podcasting.

Education Requirement

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in work experience

Work Location & Requirements

• On-site: This is an on-site role based in Washington, D.C.

Job Type

• This is a full-time, exempt position.

Compensation

Salary Range The U.S. based anticipated salary range for this opportunity is $150,000 - $170,000 plus benefits. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salaries NPR expects to provide for new hires for the position across all US locations.

NPR Benefits: NPR provides comprehensive benefits for employees and dependents. Regular, full-time employees scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week are eligible to enroll in NPR’s benefits options. Benefits include access to health and wellness, paid time off, and financial well-being. Plan options include medical, dental, vision, life/ accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability, short-term disability, and voluntary retirement savings to all eligible NPR employees. 

Does this sound like you? If so, we want to hear from you.

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