Jewish Currents is currently hiring a News Editor and an Art Director. See the descriptions below and on our website.

WHO WE ARE

Founded in 1946, Jewish Currents is a magazine committed to the rich tradition of thought, activism, and culture on the Jewish left and the left more broadly. As an award-winning magazine of politics, culture, and ideas, we publish quarterly in print and daily online. We have received acclaim for our in-depth reporting, analysis, and cultural criticism, and for our attention to literary quality and style. Since relaunching in 2018 with a new staff and design, we have established ourselves as an essential voice in the contemporary conversation, quadrupling in size and receiving coverage in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, Buzzfeed, Vice, The Nation, Poetry Daily, and elsewhere.

NEWS EDITOR

Jewish Currents is seeking a News Editor to edit reported stories and analysis pieces as well as our daily newsletter, and to help direct editorial coverage. Interested individuals should send a cover letter, clips, and a resume to hires@jewishcurrents.org.

Jewish Currents covers a wide variety of topics, including the uses and misuses of antisemitism, the inner workings of Jewish communal organizations, the politics of Israel/Palestine both on the ground and internationally, race and racialization, strategies and horizons of American left movements, the global rise of the far right, diasporic cultural expression, labor, climate, incarceration, immigration, and feminism. The News Editor will help set short-term and long-term goals for online coverage, develop fruitful relationships with writers and thinkers on our beats, and identify story opportunities in which Jewish Currents can make a robust intervention. You do not have to be Jewish—or a current expert in Jewish politics—to be right for this job, though you must demonstrate a familiarity with our work and our position in the media landscape. Eventually, this job will include becoming an expert in the issues we cover, and representing the magazine in public appearances as necessary.

The News Editor will be expected to turn around sharp, timely articles that make essential interventions in the news cycle. Jewish Currents publishes at a rate of one piece of content daily, and we are seeking a person with a vision for achieving maximum impact at this pace. We are building a model where every piece counts and has lasting value beyond its peg. The right candidate enjoys working on quick turnaround pieces, without sacrificing attention to detail. They will also have an eye for the opportunities that arise during quicker news weeks, and the ability to manage a content calendar—balancing responsive, opportunistic commissions with more evergreen scheduled work.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The News Editor will be responsible for managing and serving as the primary editor for the Jewish Currents newsletter—including our Tuesday newsletter, focused on Israel/Palestine, which is our most read editorial product. You will also play a central role in shaping coverage and editorial strategy for the website, and commissioning and editing deeply reported stories and trenchant analysis pieces.

Among other duties, you will:

- Coordinate, commission, and edit a range of pieces for the Jewish Currents newsletter. You will work with a rotating group of contributors to coordinate original reporting on Israel/Palestine for the Tuesday News Bulletin, and with members of the Jewish Currents masthead to solicit short-form criticism for the Friday Shabbat Reading List. You will also be responsible for shaping the identity of our general interest Thursday Newsletter and commissioning on-the-news conversations, dispatches, and short-form analysis pieces to run in that space.

- Serve as the first editor on diverse forms of web content, including breaking news stories, deeply reported news features, analysis essays, conversations, explainers, and other materials. Potentially assist with edits on print stories as well.

- Manage the content calendar for the newsletter, making sure that slots are filled as far in advance as possible without the content feeling stale

- Generate sharp ideas and enlightening angles for stories on our beats.- Bring your own interests and forms of expertise to Jewish Currents and work to build them into new beats for our publication.

- Attend and contribute to editorial staff meetings.

- Assist staff in recruiting, commissioning, and supervising freelance writers.

- Supervise fact-checking and copy editing for content you are editing as needed.

- Pitch in on special projects and editorial initiatives as they arise; Jewish Currents is a small magazine where everyone does a little bit of everything

- If you so desire: Contribute to Jewish Currents as a writer as well as an editor, pitching stories for which you would be the best author and working with colleagues to bring them to fruition.

REQUIREMENTS

- 3+ years of relevant professional experience

- Experience turning around high-quality news pieces on a one- or two-day timeline

- Exceptional editorial skills

- Exceptional planning and organizational skills, and adaptability to fast-moving events

- Competency with core elements of reporting including source cultivation, interview tactics, research skills, and more

- Strong sense of the most important story, and a hunger to both make and shape news cycles and discourse

- Unfailing commitment to journalistic ethics

- Natural leadership qualities and a collaborative spirit

- Ability to work remotely

COMPENSATION

- $70,000 yearly salary (non-negotiable)

- Competitive benefits package

Jewish Currents is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. Jewish Currents is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Jewish Currents are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to age, race, color, creed/religion, disability, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, veteran or military service member status, familial status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, genetic information, arrest and/or criminal conviction record, or any other category protected by law. Jewish Currents will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. We highly encourage individuals from marginalized groups of any kind to apply.

This is a position covered under the collective bargaining agreement with the WGA-E.

ART DIRECTOR

Jewish Currents is seeking an Art Director to design the print product, as well as merch, event flyers, advertising and marketing assets, and other visual elements of our brand. Interested individuals should send a cover letter, portfolio, and a resume to hires@jewishcurrents.org.

Jewish Currents covers a wide variety of topics, including the uses and misuses of antisemitism, the inner workings of Jewish communal organizations, Israel/Palestine politics on the ground and internationally, race and racialization, strategies and horizons of American left movements, the global rise of the far right, diasporic cultural expression, labor, climate, incarceration, immigration, and feminism. The Art Director will ensure brand consistency, and a high-quality look and feel across all of our platforms, maintaining strong and brand-aligned elements of our house style, while continuing to innovate in designs for individual products and layouts. You do not have to be Jewish—or a current expert in Jewish culture and politics—to be right for this job, though you must demonstrate a familiarity with our work and our positioning in the media landscape.

Jewish Currents publishes three print issues per year as well as a winter gift that changes form annually. We also publish at one piece of content daily on the web. In addition to our written content, we also hold frequent events, broadcast a bi-monthly podcast, and we will soon debut a new line of merch. The Art Director would be responsible for meeting the design needs across all of these platforms, maintaining the standard of excellence set by our departing art director.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Art Director will be responsible for the look and feel of the Jewish Currents magazine, digital assets, and products across multiple platforms.

The Art Director will:

- Design and art direct the print magazine three times annually, which includes developing visual concepts for each piece and completing InDesign layouts. This process also includes managing print deadlines, spearheading the proofing process and communicating with the printer about any special printing needs; working with the editors to incorporate proofing changes; assigning illustration and photo commissions for print pieces; conceptualizing the look and feel of special themed issues or special sections within a regular issue; problem solving design and typographical challenges; and some typesetting.

- Help execute the look and feel of diverse Winter Gifts.

- Design web assets for digital-only pieces, and load articles to the website backend that require complex art direction.

- Design social media assets for major articles, suited to various platforms.

- Design event flyers, invitations, and other ephemera.

- Design merch in collaboration with the staff.

- Be the steward of the visual brand, maintaining core elements, while leaving room for experimentation and innovation.

- Design advertising and marketing materials

- Work with the editorial staff to align design with written content, and routinely prompt editorial staff to articulate how brand elements are being expressed in the written work

REQUIREMENTS

- 5+ years of relevant professional experience in print design and brand design

- Expert in the Adobe Suite (InCopy a plus)

- Strong attention to detail and organizational skills

COMPENSATION; TIME REQUIREMENTS; BENEFITS

We are ideally looking for a designer at 75% time—30 hours/week at a rate of $52,000. We are also open to half-time or full-time arrangements—or even contract work—at comparable rates. We offer a great benefits package for salaried employees.

Jewish Currents is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. Jewish Currents is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Jewish Currents are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to age, race, color, creed/religion, disability, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, veteran or military service member status, familial status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, genetic information, arrest and/or criminal conviction record, or any other category protected by law. Jewish Currents will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. We highly encourage individuals from marginalized groups of any kind to apply.

This is a position covered under the collective bargaining agreement with the WGA-E.