Editor in Chief Backpacker

Posted by Outside Inc on 01/27/2022

Job Basics

Industry Sector: Outdoor

Job Categories: Editorial-Video-Photo

Company Type: Retail

State: CO

City: Boulder

Country: United States

Required Experience: 7 - 10 years

Job Type: Full Time

Salary: $80,000 to $110,000

Required to Relocate: No

Required to Travel: No

Employee May Telecommute: No

Job Seeker Must Live Within: Telecommute

Job Description & Requirements

ARE YOU READY TO TAKE YOUR CAREER TO NEW HEIGHTS? ARE YOU SEEKING A NEW CHALLENGE IN A DYNAMIC SECTOR?  

This is a very exciting and highly innovative time here at Outside. 

OUR TRUE NORTH:

Outside Interactive, Inc., the premier hub for active lifestyle enthusiasts, offers best-in-class content and experiences to more than 70 million of the world’s most passionate outdoor, wellness, and endurance enthusiasts every month. We inspire a broad and diverse audience to do the activities they love with greater enjoyment, inspiration, and knowledge and are dedicated to making real change in the outdoor and fitness industries.

Outside, Inc is looking for an outstandingly talented leader to oversee content and editorial operations for Backpacker the world’s leading authority on hiking and camping.   

As Editor-in-Chief for Backpacker you will:

• Create a fantastic editorial product:  You’ll be responsible for bringing energy to all print and digital editorial, sharpening its editorial voice, finding great story angles, figuring out what works and what doesn’t, and strengthening Backpacker’s relationship with its readers across all platforms.
• Develop an editorial plan that grows membership:  Outside, Inc. is a digital subscription-based business that aims to offer readers access to high-quality content across many different (but thematically related) publications.  We’ll look to you not only to improve the editorial quality of Backpacker, but also to develop new concepts, products and offerings that help increase the value of a subscription for our readers.
• Lead digital growth: Backpacker creates best-in-class service gear, trips, and skills content in a highly competitive digital category. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for envisioning and executing a digital strategy that ensures success in Google and on social, along with the owned and operated website and newsletters. 
• Make us smarter:  We need your digital publishing expertise to lead and mentor the Backpacker team--and your peer editorial leaders--learn quickly, implement best practices, make good strategic and data-driven decisions, use analytics and performance tools intelligently, and become experts at making content our readers love. 

We’re looking for a person with the skills and experience to do this job well--but we also need someone who understands what we’re trying to become, who knows what questions we’re not asking, who invents better ways of doing things, who inspires their team, and who deeply understands every element of what it takes to run a fantastic, category-leading publication. Strong Print Experience is needed.

Responsibilities

• Deliver on all key editorial performance goals, including but not limited to digital audience growth, digital audience engagement, and membership growth 
• Manage the transition from print magazine to best-in-class digital publication 
• Articulate a vision of what Backpacker should be, create and execute the content strategy that helps us realize that vision
• Ensure the quality, creativity, relevance and and thoughtfulness of all editorial work 
• Increase the efficiency of your teams’ workflow and publishing processes
• Implement new editorial tools, processes and systems 
• Conduct analyses of strategies, tactics and best practices from best-in-class digital publishing organizations and help your team learn quickly from these examples
• Work closely with the Social, SEO, Video, Sales and other centralized teams 
• Work effectively with Outside’s other editorial leaders to refine strategies, improve best practices, and find efficiencies
• Understand key trends and ideas relevant to Backpacker and its readers
• Work with internal product, technology, marketing, sales and operations teams to advance opportunities for audience and membership growth 
• Establish effective feedback loops that provide data-driven, actionable insights to each your team on a regular basis
• Ensure that the Backpacker team uses and is highly proficient with all key content performance and analytics tools
• Identify opportunities for growth via external partnerships 

Qualifications

• Has deep, relevant experience as a journalist, editor, and editorial manager
• Has a passion for hiking, camping and the outdoor lifestyle and all other topics Backpacker covers
• Knows what a highly effective digital publishing operation looks like, and can help us become one
• Is a great writer - Print Experience
• Is an outstanding strategist and structured thinker
• Has excellent editorial judgment 
• Has solid experience using Google Analytics, Parse.ly, and/or other widely used content analytics tools
• Is comfortable with and experienced in the fundamentals of SEO, social media strategy, content marketing, and email newsletters 
• Has experience working in state-of-the-art content management systems
• Is a seasoned manager able to deliver results working with a wide variety of teams and personalities
• Is a terrific all-around communicator
• Loves learning new technologies, tools and techniques
• Has strong, relevant experience managing editorial and group budgets
• Is deeply creative and actively seeks inspiration and new ideas from a broad assortment of sources

Entirely remote jobs that could be performed in Colorado: Employees can expect to be paid a salary of  between $80,000 to $110,000.  Additional compensation may include a bonus or commission . Additional benefits include health care, vision, dental, retirement, Flexible Time Away,  sick leave, and more.  This salary range is merely an estimate and may vary based on an applicant’s location, market data/ranges, an applicant’s skills and prior relevant experience, certain degrees and certifications, and other relevant factors

About Outside Inc

Outside, formerly Pocket Outdoor Media, is the world’s leading creator of active lifestyle content and experiences.

Across web, print, podcast, social, video, and TV, our brands reach 70 million of the most active and influential consumers in the world every month. Our brands include: Outside Integrated Media, OutsideTV, Gaia GPS, athleteReg, Peloton Magazine, Yoga Journal, SKI, BACKPACKER, VeloNews, Climbing, Rock & Ice, Gym Climber, Trail Runner, Women’s Running, Triathlete, Better Nutrition, Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, Clean Eating, Fly Fishing Film Tour, IDEA Health and Fitness Association, Muscle & Performance, NASTAR, National Park Trips, NatuRx, Oxygen, PodiumRunner, Roll Massif, SNEWS, The Voice, Vegetarian Times, VeloPress, VeloSwap, Paleo Mag, Beta, FinisherPix, and Warren Miller Entertainment.

Outside is headquartered in Boulder, with offices in Denver, Carbondale, Easthampton (MA), Frankfurt, New York City, Ojai, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Fe, and Toronto.