Editor-in-Chief

Magnum: Magnum represents some of the world’s most renowned photographers, maintaining its founding ideals and idiosyncratic mix of journalism, art and storytelling. Magnum photographers share a vision to chronicle world events, people, places and culture with a powerful narrative that defies convention, shatters the status quo, redefines history and transforms lives. Magnum photographers are a rarity and the agency is self-selecting, with a 4 year long process. The membership has evolved over the years to encompass the work of almost 100 diverse photographers.

We have offices in New York, London, and Paris, and work with press, publishers, advertising, television, galleries and museums across the world. We have a traveling roster of over 100 exhibitions, education initiatives focused on the next generation of visual storytellers, an ecommerce platform, and an editorial platform telling stories across art, culture, news and photography to our audience of over 5.5 million.

About the role: We are looking for an Editor in Chief to deliver inspiring stories and rich, visually-led content about Magnum photographers and their work, positioning Magnum as a culture-maker in the global conversation. Applicants should have a demonstrable passion for and knowledge of photography, photojournalism, the arts, and using visual storytelling to engage and inspire people. Together with the broader content team and photographers, the Editor in Chief will be helping conceive, develop and deliver exciting new ways of storytelling to create innovative multimedia and experimental experiences for our community. The successful candidate will help drive the ambition and vision for content across the organisation - aligning the global news agenda and contemporary debates and practice in visual culture, and finding creative opportunities for storytelling as new technology and platforms emerge. Managing a small team of editors, copywriters and freelance writers, you will contribute to a broad range of editorial and commercial activities.

Reporting to the Content Strategy Director and sitting in the Digital team, this role will help shape and deliver a comprehensive content strategy built on creative storytelling and data informed decision making. The role will collaborate and coordinate with complimentary disciplines within the content team, including graphic design, social media and video. You will work with cross-functional teams including gallery, partnerships and education to understand Magnum’s diverse audiences and nuanced editorial needs. You will work directly with Magnum photographers to deeply understand their work and practice.

What you will do:

Content

• Collaborate with the content team and photographers to create innovative multimedia content offerings that inform, engage and entertain our community
• Create visually compelling and meaningful stories that experiment with formats and technology
• Work with the content team to shape and deliver a content strategy that contributes to the overall vision and mission of Magnum Photos
• Determine publishing guidelines in partnership with Content Strategy Director, including the tone and scope of the publication and stories, ensuring the Magnum voice is consistent
• Write, commission and edit written and visual content that serves a number of audiences and purposes
• Maintain and evolve a content calendar that provides opportunities for innovative and effective storytelling
• Understand where the editorial market is going and proactively propose opportunities for Magnum, based in key customer and competitor trends discovered through ongoing analysis
• Collaborate with our gallery, commercial and education teams to amplify, contextualize and develop the projects they deliver
• Work with the Content Strategy Director to develop processes, protocols and documentation for effective delivery
• Leadership and relationship management
• Inspire, develop and manage a small team of writers, copywriters and freelancers
• Liaise with photographers and staff to understand their needs and develop actionable ideas that serve common goals
• Manage the editorial business, including objectives, key results, and budgets
• Communicate and inform the impact and effectiveness of the work delivered to the team and organisation
• Act as a thought partner with photographers, commercial, education and more to create great content, campaigns and projects for Magnum’s owned channels

Who you are:

• Passionate and knowledgeable about photography, photojournalism, arts and culture and how this intersects with global news and media.
• A storyteller with an appetite for experimenting with media types and formats
• Exceptionally organized with a keen eye for detail
• Able to adapt quickly to changing priorities, multitasking or last minute projects
• Forward thinking and able to easily 'connect the dots' so that the ripple effect of certain actions and decisions is obvious ahead of time
• An excellent relationship builder with strong negotiation and communication skills - you enjoy networking and getting to know team members and partners
• Naturally inquisitive, deliberate, and collaborative team player, which makes you open and eager to engage with feedback
• An entrepreneurial self-starter with go-getter attitude and a positive and upbeat nature
• Don’t mind getting your hands dirty and is excited about imagining and building the future of Magnum as a global photography offering
• Able to bring structure to creative discussions and translate these discussions into measurable tasks and project plans

Minimum qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in content or editorial
• 2 + line management experience
• Demonstrable experience of working in photography, arts or cultural journalism or content
• Experience of editing both news and feature articles
• Experience of creating amplification content for commercial campaigns
• Proficient across data analytics, CMS management and process documentation