Managing Editor

Description:

Managing Editor, Heterodox Academy

Location: Remote (some travel required)
Salary: $110,000–$125,000
Position Type: Full-time, exempt

Start Date: May 15, 2026 

Reports To: Director of Communications, Marketing, and Events; with regular collaboration with the Graphic Designer, Executive Director, and President

About the Organization: Heterodox Academy (HxA) fosters a culture of open inquiry on college campuses, where the pursuit of truth requires three essential conditions: the free exchange of ideas, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement. HxA works to equip its members, member communities, and college and university partners with research, data, ideas, practical resources, and training resources that support the building of cultures of open inquiry on campus, in alignment with HxA's Open Inquiry U Reform Agenda.

About This Role

At a pivotal moment in higher education, HxA is building professional editorial channels to share interesting, unpredictable, and impactful ideas. We publish inquisitive, a quarterly magazine of ideas exploring the meaning, prospects, and challenges of open inquiry in higher education and beyond; Free the Inquiry, a Substack publication featuring staff-written and solicited essays; and a range of research and policy reports. We also invest in executive thought leadership for media and owned channels.

This is a senior editorial role, guiding all of the above. You will set editorial direction for inquisitive, run the weekly cadence of Free the Inquiry, shape executive communications alongside the President and Executive Director, and ensure that HxA's research and policy outputs meet a high editorial standard. The range is wide, the team is small, and the work requires both editorial craft and intellectual seriousness about the subject matter.

You can read past issues of inquisitive at inquisitivemag.org and visit Free the Inquiry on Substack.

What You'll Do

Editorial Leadership of inquisitive

• Shape and refine the vision, tone, and editorial direction of inquisitive in collaboration with HxA leadership.

• Commission articles, essays, interviews, and multimedia pieces from diverse contributors: scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals.

• Edit and guide content to ensure clarity, accessibility, and alignment with HxA's mission and values

• Manage production timelines, working with writers, designers, copy editors and vendors to deliver each quarterly issue on schedule.

Editorial Leadership of Free the Inquiry (FTI)

• Shape essays pitched by HxA staff for the Staff Desk section of FTI through collaborative editing.

• Manage production timelines to deliver 2–3 articles per week.

• Stay abreast of the latest news in HxA's mission space to solicit articles and manage pitches from staff, offering novel angles and insights for contributions.

Executive and Organizational Editing

• Work with the President, Executive Director, Director of Communications, Marketing, and Events and PR firm to shape executive thought leadership for media and owned communications.

• Work with the Director of Communications and other members of leadership to shape high-level research and policy reports.

Who You Are

• You have substantial experience in journalism, magazine editing, or long-form content production — ideally including commissioning and managing outside contributors.

• You have strong editorial judgment and the ability to make complex, sometimes academic ideas clear and compelling to educated general audiences.

• You are a skilled writer and editor with high standards for prose.

• You can manage multiple contributors, deadlines, and production streams simultaneously without dropping threads.

• You are familiar with digital publishing platforms (Substack, CMS tools, etc.) and comfortable with collaboration tools like Google Drive, Slack, and Asana.

• You have genuine intellectual engagement with the landscape this role operates in: academic freedom, viewpoint diversity, campus speech, the state of the university. You don't need to be a scholar, but you need to know the terrain.

• You work well independently and collaboratively in a small, fast-moving organization.

What We Offer

• A high-autonomy editorial leadership role at a visible, mission-driven organization.

• The chance to shape publications that are read by university leaders, public intellectuals, and policymakers.

• A collaborative, intellectually serious team that practices what it preaches about open inquiry.

• HxA also provides strong benefits, including contributions to medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance; employer contributions to retirement; paid time off; and professional development opportunities.

This full-time, at-will position requires occasional evening or weekend availability to support special events, convenings, or donor engagements. While HxA offers a flexible work schedule, full-time employees are expected to work 40 hours per week.

To Apply: Submit an original cover letter and resume via this link.

The final salary offer will be determined based on the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and other relevant factors. 

Heterodox Academy is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Apply

https://form.asana.com/?k=NKZxDgiMiHQYwF3ooEeVpg&d=487574928876661