Managing Editor/Head of Production

The Freakonomics Radio Network is looking for a Managing Editor or Head of Production to help us optimize the production of Freakonomics Radio and our other podcasts. 

The person in this role will be responsible for ensuring that all episodes of our podcasts are consistently produced at the highest level of quality. They will work closely with our teams of producers and audio engineers to identify and implement improvements at all stages of the production and engineering process, including studio booking, interview recording, host tracking, audio mixing, music scoring, mastering, and publishing. The ideal candidate will also have a strong editorial background, an understanding of our work, and a feel for the subtle connections between audio journalism and audio production/engineering. 

We’re an audio shop with a sensibility derived from print journalism, and for this position we’re looking for a candidate who might thrive in either context. We’ll determine the appropriate title based on the successful candidate’s skills and background. Our team and this position are based in New York.

Who you are:

• You might have worked as a producer or an audio engineer or a reporter or an editor — or even a product manager or a project manager.
• You arrive in a new position and immediately start making things work better, to the point where six months later your colleagues say: “What on earth did we do before you got here?”
• You provide clear and direct feedback to employees to help them improve performance and workflow. 
• You might or might not have a technical background, but you definitely have the ability to quickly grasp the basics of a variety of technical systems.
• You can write and edit copy, including scripts, headlines, and promotional language, to bring it up to our editorial standards.
• You’re picky about small details and intolerant of sloppiness in all domains.

What you’ll do:

• Supervise the production processes for all of the podcasts produced by the Freakonomics Radio Network, working closely with hosts, producers, editors, and audio engineers. 
• Ensure that workflow operates smoothly across the production week, communicating clearly with people across the organization. 
• Edit podcast scripts, ad copy, promotional language, and social media copy, in accordance with our house style and editorial vision.

What you’ll need:

• 5 years of professional experience in journalism or another professional field.
• Demonstrated experience managing and improving a process in that field. 
• Editorial skill and judgment.

Salary range:

We expect the salary to be between $100,000 and $175,000.

If you’re interested, send a résumé and a cover letter to jobs@freakonomics.com with “managing editor/head of production” in the subject line.