Hello! We’re The New Wine Review, a new, subscription-based digital media startup for wine lovers. Let’s get to it:
This is, in our completely subjective opinion, a fantastic job. A little wild and crazy, but also pretty terrific.
You’re going to work with the smartest, savviest group of wine journalists in the world. You’re going to help us build a digital media company from scratch. You’re going to travel to interesting places. You’re going to taste a lot of world-class wine. You’re going to spend your time with a group of extremely high-performing experts who really like each other and do their jobs like responsible, thoughtful, friendly, generous, emotionally well-adjusted humans. You’re going to have some challenging moments. You’re going to have many more wonderful moments. You’re going to learn a ton.
Make no mistake, this is an intense job. We’re not going to grind you into dust—we’ve had those kinds of jobs ourselves, and they’re horrible—but we’re looking for somebody who can work very fast, very smart, and very hard. This job has an enormous amount of responsibility, and we need someone who can handle it with real proficiency, grace and good humor.
What does this job entail? Generally, two different things:
Helping us write, edit and produce content, which means you’ll:
- Work with our Executive Editor to manage the day-to-day operations of our website and newsletters
- Write and produce a lot of interesting stories
- Find and work with a network of freelancers—and help them produce great content
- Develop and manage a variety of key editorial partnerships
- Master our content management, email and wine database systems
- Create social media content and help manage our social accounts
- Help plan, produce and run live and virtual events
- Master our key systems, including our wine database, website CMS and newsletter CMS
- Make our editorial offerings fascinating
Helping us design, manage and run our tasting operation, which means you’ll:
- Work with our Managing Editor and CEO to create and improve our tasting system
- Track, input, organize and manage wine sample submissions
- Manage the NWR NYC office wine cellar
- Set up tastings for critics
- Continuously improve the efficiency, speed and consistency of our tasting operations
- Request and track wine submissions from producers, importers and distributors
- Write some fun things for our subscribers, newsletter and website
- Become an expert in numerous wine regions
- Interact regularly with readers and subscribers
- Help us develop a strong, trusting, extremely fun community of readers and subscribers
Does this sound like a lot? It is! We’re a startup, so we’re going to need all sorts of help. You don’t have to know how to do everything we need, you just have to be good at figuring it out. Also, if you’re extremely smart, that helps.
About us
We’re currently in quiet mode, so we can’t say too much, but in short: we’re creating a new digital media publication for wine lovers with the goal of making it the most interesting wine site on the internet.
About you
We’re looking for someone who is:
A great writer: We’re a media company. You’ve got to be able to turn a sentence. That means your writing is sharp, concise, clean, creative and witty. You know how to make boring topics completely fascinating. You’re fast and efficient. You can jump in on an editorial project without missing a beat.
A great editor: You’ve got an eye for terrific prose. You can turn bad writing into great writing. You know how to come at a conventional topic from an interesting angle. You can work effectively with a broad range of sometimes difficult personalities. You can write and rewrite a huge variety of things with skill and speed.
A great acquirer of skills and knowledge: You love figuring things out. You’re not intimidated by a new tool or system. You take the initiative. You’re excited about learning how to do a whole bunch of things you may never have done before.
A great doer: You’re strategic and creative, but most of all, you get things done. You’re efficient. You’re comprehensive and detail-oriented. You like plowing through a checklist.
A great systematizer: You’re organized. You’re comfortable with ambiguity, but enjoy taming chaos. You love creating systems. You like finding faster, better ways of doing things.
A great digital operator: You’re highly proficient in social media. You love learning a new platform or tool. You know your way around a spreadsheet, a form, a template creator. You’re familiar with the fundamentals of SEO, marketing analytics, email newsletters, digital subscriber acquisition and audience development.
A great entrepreneurial spirit: You move fast. You’re always looking for angles and opportunities. You find solutions to hard problems. You do what needs to be done to succeed. You pitch in. You pack boxes. You go well beyond the letter of your job description.
A lover of wine: Wine is deeply intriguing/exciting/captivating/fun for you. And you want to learn a ton about it.
A great person: You’re smart, fun, funny, empathetic and kind.
Qualifications
We’re not going to be sticklers about qualification specifics. But generally:
- You’ve got at least some work experience in roles that are relevant to doing this job well
- You can really write
- You’re highly proficient in Google Workplace, particularly Docs, Sheets and Slides
- You’re an unusually strong analytical thinker
- You have experience with paid search, influencer, and social marketing (or can convince us you can learn these extremely quickly)
- You’ve got a foundational knowledge of wine and want to learn (a lot) more
Important Notes
This role requires candidates to:
- Be physically present in our New York office on a fairly regular (but not full-time) basis
- Lift, move and carry cases of wine (weighing 20+ lbs.) somewhat regularly
If you’re interested, reply to us on LinkedIn or (even better!) send us an email at info@newwinereview.com and attach a resume and some reasonable explanation for why you’re a good fit for the role.