Thursday, January 7, 2021

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Content Coach

The Fayetteville Observer/fayobserver.com, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, is looking for a content coach to oversee a team of reporters as they produce high-quality content that fulfills the newsrooms strategy across all platforms.

The right candidate loves coaching and developing journalists who reveal important news, create stories with power and clarity and bring crucial context that helps our audience make sense of life in our city, in this time.

This position coaches, supervises and directs the work of reporters, encouraging independent planning and self-direction. Priority areas include but are not limited to investigative reporting, narrative writing, photography and videography, beat development and digital content.

The content coach focuses on the most important, sensitive and complex stories, sometimes taking a hands-on approach to accelerate a story's path to publication -- by consultation and coaching before, during and after the creation of content. His/her decisions are guided by a strong understanding of our audience and its demands. This understanding comes from careful attention to available metrics and analytics.

The Observer, the states oldest newspaper, is located in the Sandhills region of North Carolina. Fayetteville and Cumberland County have experienced tremendous growth and development in recent years. It is home to Fort Bragg, one of the largest military installations in the world. It also is a vibrant and modern city full of history and Southern hospitality. It has many live music and sporting events, as well as fine dining, art galleries and upscale shopping venues.

Responsibilities:

• Supervises the work of reporters and photographers, with an emphasis on independent idea and content generation. Works individually with content creators by identifying areas for improvement and coaching them on how to elevate their work.
• Works with the content strategist and audience analyst to apply research in creating high quality content and marketing initiatives that best serves key audience needs.
• Edits the top fraction of enterprise, watchdog or investigative content that needs a high-level line editing touch and sometimes takes a hands-on approach to accelerate the path to publication.
• Participates in community-connection discussions to advocate for audiences.
• Monitors real-time data to direct changes tied to the data.
• Identifies and addresses training needs of individuals and groups.
• Provides great customer service, helping readers find answers and solutions.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's or masters degree in communications, journalism, marketing or related field preferred or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• More than three years of coaching/media management experience.
• Experience with advanced storytelling techniques on multiple platforms.
• Experience in editing and shaping watchdog and investigative journalism.
• Has command of media law and Principles of Ethical Conduct.
• Proven proficiency in applying analytics to content strategy.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Exposure to deadline-driven environment.
• Exceptional planning and organizational skills.
• Social-media and SEO knowledge.
• Self-motivation and self-direction.
• Strong grasp of journalism skills (reporting and editing) and advanced knowledge of writing, spelling, grammar, AP and local style.
• Able to multi-task and excel under intense deadline pressure in a rapidly changing environment.
• Applies innovative, creative thinking to support the companys goals.

We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. When you apply, dont limit your upload to a resume; show us what youve done. To do so, put together a single document file that includes the following, in this order:

1. Your resume one to two pages.
2. A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job.

It is important that these items be assembled into a single document and uploaded in PDF format. Completing these steps will ensure that your application receives the highest consideration.

#Content

Gannett Co., Inc. is a proud equal opportunity employer. We are a drug free, EEO employer committed to a diverse workforce. We will consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity, family responsibilities, disability, education, political affiliation, or veteran status.