Lead Editor

Lexipol | Frisco, TX

Posted Date 11/08/2024
Description

At Lexipol, our mission is to create safer communities and empower the individuals on the front lines with market-leading content and technology. Our top-notch team works closely with law enforcement, fire, EMS, corrections, and local government professionals to tailor our solutions to better address today’s challenges and keep first responders coming home safely at the end of each shift. This position is remote.

Working at Lexipol means making a difference – day in and day out. 

The Work 

The editorial team is responsible for leading the content development efforts for our Lexipol Media Group websites – Police1.com, FireRescue1.com, EMS1.com, Corrections1.com and Gov1.com. Content includes industry news, incident analysis, training, resource guides, product buying guides, human-interest profiles, and research surveys, as well as multi-media content like podcasts, webinars and videos.  

We promote and distribute that content through daily eNewsletters, specialty eNewsletters and social media posts across popular social networks. As a team, we provide public safety personnel with the information and resources they need to do their jobs more effectively and more safely for them and their communities. Our editorial team is comprised of experienced, collaborative and hard-working editorial professionals.  

The Lead Editor, Product & Technology Content plays a critical role on the award-winning Lexipol Media Group content team. You will act as the lead writer for sponsored editorial programs and product overviews and reviews. You must demonstrate excellent discretion and judgment by finding and posting technology news from syndicated and aggregated sources, creating original high-engagement multimedia content and producing email newsletters and contributing. You will also manage technology content freelancers.  

The Lead Editor, Product & Technology Content thrives in a fast-paced business-to-business digital media environment, has excellent content judgment and can switch between tasks at a moment’s notice. A top-performing Lead Editor, Product & Technology Content is a verified technology junkie who can quickly get up-to-speed on the cutting-edge technology being already used by and introduced to public safety.  

If you thrive on presenting search-optimized product and technology to public safety decision makers in a way that is accurate, relevant and actionable you’ll be making a difference every day. If you can write mobile-friendly headlines, compelling social media posts and accurate copy, you will get the rush of seeing your articles pull in traffic and inform the audience. Our sites – Police1, FireRescue1, EMS1, Gov1 and Corrections1 – are the most visited news and information websites for police officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, correctional officers, department leaders and chiefs. 

Distribution of Focus 

The work of the Lead Editor, Product & Technology Content is done in these areas of focus: 

  • Lead Writer (50%): Generate ideas and write articles on a wide range of public safety technology topics, from ALPR to LLMs to CAD and RMS, for important sponsored editorial programs. Self-edit articles, receive and incorporate feedback and post articles to the CMS.  
  • Manage freelancers (15%): Take on existing freelancer relationships and find new freelancers to write product and technology articles. Assign articles, monitor progress, edit articles and post to the CMS.  
  • Technology/Product News discovery (10%): Must be able to work with a large degree of independence requiring excellent judgment on newsworthy topics for our target audience. Daily sourcing and selection of 1-2 news stories from diverse news sources, including wire services, social channels, consumer media and other industry sources.  
  • High-engagement multi-media content creation (10%): Create high-engagement video, such as technology explainer videos for the sites and social channel distribution.   
  • Publish eNewsletters (5%): Primary owner of building, testing and sending specialty eNewsletters.  
  • Analytics (5%): Monitor the real-time and ongoing performance of product/technology content and make informed decisions about follow-up coverage.  
  • Professional development (5%): Learning and upskilling to broaden capabilities within the current position and preparation for additional roles and responsibilities.  

Lead Writer (50%):  

  • Generate product and technology article ideas with the Editorial Director and Director of Content Law Enforcement & Corrections. 
  • Write 10 or more articles each month in a variety of formats, including but not limited to profiles, Q and A interviews, product reviews, product overviews, product focus, tips and tricks. 
  • Conduct research and interview subject matter experts, as necessary.  
  • Use ChatGPT as a virtual assistant for article idea generation, copy creation and editing, SEO optimization, hed/dek suggestions, social post suggestions, graphic creation and more.  
  • Write copy that follows Associated Press Style Guide.  
  • Deliver high-quality drafts to Director of Content Law Enforcement & Corrections by deadlines.  
  • Communicate progress, ask questions and exchange files in Wrike project management system.  
  • Post edited, final articles in CMS, following LMG team processes.  
  • Identify and update evergreen product and technology content.  

Manage freelancers (15%):  

  • Take on the management of existing product/technology freelancers.  
  • Find, recruit and on board new product/technology freelancers.  
  • Manage freelancer budget and report payments to Accounts Payable.  
  • Assign articles to freelancers, track their progress, receive and edit drafts, and post finished articles to the CMS, following LMG team processes.  

Technology/Product News discovery (10%): 

  • Daily search AP, Tribune and Google News, as well as press release distribution sites for public-safety specific technology/product news.  
  • Select and post 1 to 3 of the most relevant to our audience news stories per day in the CMS.  

High-engagement multi-media content creation (10%):  

  • Work collaboratively with the Director of Content Law Enforcement & Corrections to create a production process for technology explainer videos.  
  • Use video creation and editing software to create 2 or more technology explainer videos per week.  
  • Publish technology explainer videos to social channels.  
  • Optimize video titles, descriptions and hashtags to maximize video performance and grow subscribers.   
  • Monitor performance of explainer videos to improve existing formats and create news formats.   

Publish eNewsletters (5%):  

  • Distribute product/technology content to 300,000+ subscribers through regular creation of eNewsletters.  
  • Build eNewsletters, one or more per week, with the CMS.  
  • Write multiple eNewsletter subject lines for A/B testing.  
  • Test and send the eNewsletters using email service provider’s software.   

Analytics (5%):  

  • Check real-time performance of product and technology content at least once per day.  
  • Review weekly traffic reports with specific attention to top performing product/technology content, including news.  
  • Use analytics monitoring, real-time and weekly, to inform future exercise of discretion and judgment about news selection, original content topic selection, prioritizing writing assignment and hed/dek writing.  

Professional development (5%):  

  • Develop a learning planning with the Director of Content Law Enforcement & Corrections.  
  • Proactively identify skills and topics relevant to the position and pursue additional learning through courses, articles and videos.   
  • Regularly complete learning plan components.  
  • Apply professional development learning to position responsibilities.  

Requirements: To be considered for this role, you will have this experience:  

  • 10+ years of online or digital news experience.  
  • Degree in journalism, digital media or similar. 
  • Strong attention to detail, as evidenced by excellent and error-free written communication, past product and technology writing and other work samples. 
  • Proven ability to learn, use and optimize use of writing and digital media tools (content management system, social posting, eNewsletter building). 
  • Interviewing subject matter experts by phone, video call or face-to-face.  
  • Evidence of journalistic curiosity to learn about and adapt to a new audience. 
  • Evidence of ability to use sound discretion and judgment in selecting media content. 
  • Advanced-to-expert level skill with MS Office products. 
  • Strong interest in product and technology content and understanding how to make product features and specs, relevant to the use cases of the audience. 
  • Ability to operate in a fast-paced daily deadline-driven environment. 
  • Exceptional writing and copyediting skills, attention to detail. 
  • Great self-editing, with a knack for delivering clean copy with limited errors. 
  • Knowledge of SEO fundamentals and best practices for optimizing news content for the web. 
  • Experience using social media to drive traffic and source content for articles.  
  • Tech-capable, with prior experience using a content management system (CMS) and other digital publishing tools.  
  • Evidence of working with new and emerging content creation tools, including generative AI tools like ChatGPT.  
  • While not a regular requirement, availability to attend select industry events for capturing product coverage and interviewing vendors and subject matter experts in person. 

Preferred Experience: 

  • Working as a public safety reporter or editor. 
  • Experience in public safety or B2B media.  
  • Making analyzing content performance data to drive editorial decisions.  
  • Using graphic design tools, like Canva or Fliki, to create explainer videos, video thumbnails, and infographics. 
  • Command of Associated Press (AP) style or the ability to quickly get up-to-speed with AP style because of previous style guide experience.  
  • Experience as brand or personal creator of social media content on multiple social media platforms 

Target Outcomes/Target Results 

  • Timely completion of the daily responsibilities assigned to the Lead Editor, Product & Technology Content. 
  • Exercise excellent execution of on-time delivery of articles assigned to you and freelancers.  
  • Ability to independently manage work schedule to successfully manage and complete daily responsibilities.  
  • Regularly use a process to create video content for delivery on social media channels. 

Employee Value Proposition 

  • The editorial team is a high-performance team focused on supporting public safety personnel with content that is accurate, actionable and relevant. 
  • Lexipol Media Group, home of the editorial team, is committed to staff growth and development, and looking to scale the impact of our work on the audience, as well as the company. 
  • The workload and commitment of our team is best suited to individuals looking for high-paced, challenging and varied assignments. 
  • This demanding position has predictable weekday work hours with occasional coverage of breaking news on nights, weekends and holidays. 
  • The Lead Editor, Product & Technology Content will receive regular training and leadership development during check-in meetings with the Director of Content Law Enforcement & Corrections with an emphasis on process improvement, editorial skill development, and turning ideas into results. 
  • Though the editorial team is very stable with limited opportunities for promotion, this position will prepare an individual for a position as an Editor-in-Chief in the Lexipol Media Group or other B2B digital media companies. 

The Environment 

  • Report to the Director of Content Law Enforcement & Corrections who is committed to delivering outstanding content to help our readers do their jobs better and more safely, while also contributing to important business objectives.  
  • Our team is highly productive and works with urgency every day to serve the needs of public safety professionals. Individuals who seek out additional responsibilities and have an action-oriented mindset thrive on this team. 
  • Though we have daily responsibilities and content deadlines might be weeks or months away, our work is regularly interrupted by all-hands on-deck breaking news events. 
  • We are news junkies and seek out the thrill of a high-performing news story, creating a viral social media post and covering a breaking news event faster and more in-depth than our competition. 
  • We are broadly capable journalists who regularly upskill our capabilities by leveraging new software.  
  • We celebrate successful collaborations, give praise publicly and frequently, want to learn from one another and are dedicated to each member of the team maximizing their potential.
  • Duties listed are not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive; other duties may be assigned. Management retains the discretion to add to or change the duties of the position at any time. 

    Compensation and Benefits 

    Lexipol offers a competitive base salary, monthly or annual incentive, and a comprehensive benefits package including 401(k) with company match and a flexible paid time off plan. 

    Base compensation range is between $80 - 90K, depending on experience, plus an annual performance based bonus. 

    About Lexipol 

    Lexipol empowers first responders and public servants to best meet the needs of their residents safely and responsibly. We are the experts in policy, training and wellness support, committed to improving the quality of life for all community members. Our solutions include state-specific policies, online learning, behavioral health resources, grant assistance, and industry news and information offered through the websites Police1, FireRescue1, EMS1, Corrections1 and Gov1. Lexipol serves more than 2 million public safety and government professionals in over 12,000 agencies and municipalities. For additional information, visit www.lexipol.com

    Lexipol Is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) 

    Lexipol, LLC provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all team members and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, genetic information, or any other non-job-related characteristic. Lexipol complies with applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfers, leave of absence, compensation, and training. #LI-AD1

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