Senior Producer, Religion & Spirituality

NPR's National Desk is looking for a Senior Producer to play a key role in an exciting effort to expand our coverage of religion and spirituality. As part of this initiative, NPR is building a national-local collaboration with Member stations to capture the depth and breadth of faith and spiritual belief across the country. The Senior Producer will work closely with Member station reporters to make their work shine on all platforms - audio, digital and social.  This team will have the benefit of Religion News Service (RNS) as an editorial partner and subject matter expert. 

The new  religion and spirituality topic team will combine resources from  NPR, RNS and Member stations, with the goal of expanding our combined capacity to cover this important topic and to produce work that's shared across the NPR Network, both locally and nationally. Together with the team's Senior Editor, this producer will lend support and expertise to the team's Member station and RNS reporters to enable them  to pursue ambitious projects they may not otherwise be able to undertake. 

The Senior Producer will bring strong audio and digital skills, will thrive in a collaborative setting, will embrace the opportunity to mentor reporters at various stages of their careers, and will be a detail-oriented coordinator and problem-solver who enjoys shepherding reporting projects through the many steps from inception to air and/or publication. The producer will be an integral team player in pitching and developing story ideas and may on occasion report their own stories.  As part of the National Desk, the producer will also cover breaking news as needed, which may include some travel. 

This is a two-year full-time position, with the potential for extension. 

This is a union represented role covered under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with SAG-AFTRA. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Help the team's reporters with a variety of audio needs, including planning what sound to gather for a story, troubleshooting field reporting problems and tracking their pieces 
• Serve as field producer on occasion, identifying, recording and gathering sound elements to turn each piece into a rich and memorable audio experience
• Help the Senior Editor manage an audio story's path from production to air, including working with NPR news magazine shows to schedule the story and complete final edits 
• Help the team's reporters with a variety of digital needs, including planning photos, collecting data and identifying sources to interview
• Help the senior editor manage a digital story's path from editing to publishing, including fact-checking, formatting the story in the CMS, obtaining photo permissions, researching and writing SEO-friendly headlines and coordinating social promotion
• Occasionally report and write original stories that uphold NPR's standards for accuracy, fairness and newsworthiness
• Conduct story research, identify and interview sources and access news and/or archival tape
• Work collaboratively with editors, reporters and researchers from across the newsroom and member stations
• Work on short-, medium- and long-term projects, often simultaneously. Prioritize and manage time well; meet deadlines; remain responsive and flexible in the face of the demands of programming and the news cycle
• Remain current on issues of religion and identity, collaborating across the network to help identify trends
• Join group edits and contribute insights and ideas to help sharpen colleagues' work
• Participate in regular conference calls with member station partners and those from Religion News Service
• Be able and available to cover breaking news as needed.

The above duties and responsibilities are not an exhaustive list of required responsibilities, duties and skills. Other duties may be assigned, and this job description can be modified at any time.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• 5+ years of experience as a producer in public radio or a national media organization
• Excellent audio production skills
• A commitment to detailed research and fact-checking
• Digital media skills, including proficiency in social media as a news-gathering technique
• Ability to travel and work remotely and effectively with limited supervision
• Experience and commitment to working collaboratively with other journalists and reporting teams
• Strong organizational and planning skills
• Experience maintaining high journalistic standards under deadline pressure, including standards of objectivity, balance and fairness
• Demonstrated ability to generate and execute complex creative ideas and to assimilate and organize large amounts of information
• Proven ability to consistently work well with others, demonstrating at all times respect for diverse constituencies at NPR and within the public radio system
• Ability and willingness to work varied shifts 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Positive approach to embracing change
• An understanding of the public radio system, including the relationship between NPR and member stations is a plus.
• Broadcast and podcasting experience and a familiarity with social media and multimedia platforms
• Knowledge of AP style guidelines
• Working level proficiency in languages other than English

EDUCATION REQUIREMENT

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in work experience

WORK LOCATION

• Remote Permitted: This is a remote permitted role. This role is based out of our Washington, DC office but the employee may choose to work on a remote basis from a location that NPR approves.

JOB TYPE

• This is a full time, exempt position lasting for two years.

COMPENSATION

Salary Range: The U.S. based anticipated salary for this opportunity is $122,500 plus benefits. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salaries NPR expects to provide for new hires for the position across all US locations.

Benefits: NPR offers access to comprehensive benefits for employees and dependents. Regular, full-time employees scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week are eligible to enroll in NPR's benefits options. Benefits include access to health and wellness, paid time off, and financial well-being. Plan options include medical, dental, vision, life/ accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability, short-term disability, and voluntary retirement savings to all eligible NPR employees. 

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