Magazine Editor Job Description

We scaled our content team to 45 writers and editors in just 18 months. You can do the same—attract the best candidates at more affordable rates with our Magazine Editors job description template. Copy the automated hiring funnel we built to find and hire better, more affordable writers—at scale.

Bojan Maric

Jan 20, 2022

Magazine Editors Job Description Template

Our company is seeking an experienced Magazine Editor to join our growing Editorial team. The position requires having at least 3 years of editorial experience and a minimum of 5 years of experience writing and editing magazine or newspaper content.

As our Magazine Editor, you will collaborate with other members of the Editorial team on choosing the theme and topics for new issues of our publication. To do so efficiently, you will need to follow categories and topics popular among our core audience and determine new categories that can bring in new customers.

One of your main responsibilities will be to manage the workflow of the Writing and Art departments and ensure each issue is fully completed in line with the chosen theme. You will edit opinion pieces, interviews, and reports, as well as suggest improvements to color schemes and layouts.

As a Magazine Editor, you will report to the Editorial Director and evaluate your performance based on predetermined KPIs.

If you join our team, you will receive [list benefits].

Responsibilities

Plan the theme for each issue and select content topics
Create guidelines and content templates to go in line with the chosen theme
Assign tasks to the Writing and Art teams
Edit written content and request changes in the visual department
Write editorial letters when necessary
Report to the Editorial Director
Follow popular stories and establish categories of interest to our target audience

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, English, or a relevant field
3+ years of experience in a Managing Editor role
5+ years of experience in a writing/editing role
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Excellent leadership skills
Strategic thinking and orientation to results
Attention to detail
Ability to make customer-focused decisions regarding content strategy
Proactive in looking for ways to enhance our content publishing
Experience with writing [industry] content is a plus

Salary Ranges for Magazine Editors

Salaries for Magazine Editors vary based on many factors, including their level of education, location, past experience, contract length, and so on.

According to Glassdoor, a Magazine Editor can expect to earn the following salaries based on the location:

City	Entry-Level	Median	Top 10%
San Francisco, CA	$44,000	$70,000	111,000
New York, NY	$43,000	$69,000	111,000
Seattle, WA	$42,000	$66,000	106,000
Dallas, TX	$26,000	$45,000	77,000
Los Angeles, CA	$35,000	61,000	105,000
Portland, OR	$40,000	$57,000	$81,000
Austin, TX	$35,000	$56,000	$87,000
Atlanta, GA	$36,000	$58,000	$96,000
Nashville, TN	$36,000	$50,000	$70,000
Tampa Bay, FL	$31,000	$49,000	$77,000

Customize Your Magazine Editor Job Description and Attract the Best Candidates

When you post a job ad, you will always receive applications from unqualified applicants, especially for a senior role such as a Magazine Editor. You can’t completely avoid underqualified candidates, but writing an in-depth job description can help you reduce their number significantly.

This requires you to be specific about the role. List all responsibilities that your new employee will have and mention every requirement candidates must fulfill for you to consider them for the position.

Being super-specific will discourage candidates who won’t meet the cut, and they’ll opt out from applying.

Since you’re not the only company looking for a high-quality Editor, you should highlight any benefits you offer to attract the best candidates and get them to choose your company over someone else’s.

Being specific with the job description also includes choosing the proper title. You can find a variety of different Magazine Editors—make sure you hire the right one. For instance, some similar editorial positions include:

Feature Editor—A similar role in which the employee edits and proofreads features for a magazine. They need to ensure features are informative and well-written. The position also includes reading pitches from freelancers

Magazine Entertainment Editor—Focuses on content related to entertainment, such as pop culture, sports, and art. Experience writing and editing such content is a must

Magazine Design Editor—This role entails editing the artwork for a magazine, including color schemes, photo choice, and layout. Design Editors need to demonstrate experience as members of an Art department

Similar Roles to Magazine Editor

A Magazine Editor doesn’t meet your company’s needs entirely? Click on the title of a similar role and see if that job description template is a better fit:

Workello’s job description template database contains ready-made templates for every editorial and writing role you may need!

Hiring Better, More Affordable Magazine Editors

Workello helps content teams hire better writers more consistently.

Sign up for Workello
Confirm your pre-optimized job description, writing assessment, and candidate notifications
Distribute your Workello job ad across your favorite hiring channels
Watch candidates stream into your Workello dashboard
Send pre-hire assessments to promising candidates in one-click

Workello helps content teams assess and hire any type of writer—including copywriters, content writers, SEO writers.

Sign up now and send 5 automated writing tests to Magazine Editor candidates for free.

Want More Content About Creating Content?

Our team has built and led a forty five person content team. Learn what we’ve learned.