We’re hiring an associate civic info producer

The Jersey Bee is a local, nonprofit newsroom that works with the people it serves to provide news and reporting that meets local information needs, inspires civic participation, and improves the quality of life in our community.

In 2023, The Jersey Bee expanded its curation and newsletter service to 12 municipalities in East Essex County, including Irvington, the Oranges, Maplewood, Newark, and the Greater Bloomfield area.

The Jersey Bee is looking for an associate civic info producer to join our newsroom to help curate daily news and information for our coverage region. You will work closely with our civic info producer and executive editor to help produce The Jersey Bee’s award-winning daily newsletter by reviewing, verifying, and reporting news and events being shared in East Essex County.

The updated deadline to apply here is Nov 3.

This role is half-time for six months with opportunities for renewal depending on fundraising efforts. Candidates from one of our 12 town or city service areas (Irvington, Maplewood, Newark, the Oranges, and Greater Bloomfield) are preferred. The position is remote with occasional in-person meetings or events.

You should consider applying if:

• You have experience in writing news reports or summaries and can quickly distill various topics or events into a conversational and easy-to-understand language. (See examples of our news summaries here.)
• You’re confident working with or learning digital tools like Airtable, Crowdtangle, WordPress, or RSS readers.
• You’re detail-oriented, self-driven, and believe quality local news and information is critical to the success of our community.

What you’ll do

As The Jersey Bee’s Associate Civic Info Producer, you will:

• Review, verify, and summarize news, events, and other online content according to our style and editorial guidelines.
• Curate content for our newsletter, website, and social media channels.
• Maintain and update information provider directories.
• Support special projects with research, administration, and reporting.

Who we’re looking for

Here’s what we’re looking for in an ideal candidate:

• Understanding of and commitment to The Jersey Bee’s mission and values.
• Strong news judgment skills, with an ability to identify what information matters and why.
• Exceptional attention to detail and comfort using checklists and systems to ensure quality.
• Excellent time-management skills and an ability to work on deadline.
• Clear communicator who can effectively take direction and give feedback.
• Experience producing newsletters, briefings, reporting, or other written media.

More about the role and compensation

Here’s more about the compensation:

• Hourly wage: $28
• Hours per week: 15-20
• Work tools stipend: $1,000
• Sick paid time-off: Begin with 20 hours.
• Paid time-off: Six hours granted per month of employment with a maximum of 18 hours for the contract period. Paid, weeklong organization-wide breaks in summers and winters. Paid federal holidays if they fall on regular workdays.

Here’s more about your schedule:

• The contract period is six months.
• Federal holidays are off with floating holidays available.
• Weeklong organization break in late December/early January.
• Work remotely and stay in touch with Slack and Zoom. Meet the team in person occasionally during office hours or join us for community events.
• Our newsletter production schedule requires you to review and aggregate content 2-3 weekdays per week during regular hours, with Mondays required.

How to apply

Click here to apply for associate civic info producer at The Jersey Bee by Nov. 3. Questions? Email connect@jerseybee.org.