Job Description
The purpose of this job is to assist the Church History Department in producing materials and messages that invite God’s children to follow Jesus Christ and help them make and keep sacred covenants—specifically by helping prepare Church history materials for publication.
Our team helps produce publications such as The Joseph Smith Papers, Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, and Rise Up and Speak: Selected Discourses of Eliza R. Snow, among others. We’re looking for an experienced editor to join that work in the Church History Department.
This is a benefited, full-time position. The position is located at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City and may be eligible for a hybrid work schedule.
Responsibilities
With no supervision or in a supervisory role, the editor oversees all that is required to take lengthy, complex manuscripts from the writing stage to finished publication, either print or electronic. This includes the following:
- Creating and managing project schedules
- Editing the manuscript for style, substance, and readability
- Understanding the sources referenced in the manuscript, being able to do in-depth research when necessary, and being able to resolve questions raised by reference editors (source checkers)
- Working with other editorial staff, writers, and reviewers to resolve concerns with the manuscript
- Preparing the manuscript to be typeset
- Proofreading typeset text and resolving problems at that stage
- Editing the index for publication
- Assisting with publicity efforts.
The editor must be able to work well in complex, high-pressure situations to resolve problems with a variety of people. The editor is responsible for managing editorial work on individual manuscripts in a highly collaborative environment and therefore must have strong project management skills.
Required
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree in English or related field, plus 8 years of editing experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience
- Strong substantive editing, copyediting, and proofreading abilities
- Ability to organize work on many projects simultaneously and meet editorial deadlines under pressure
- Ability to give scrupulous attention to detail and sustain concentration for long periods of time with the highest level of accuracy
- Ability to work as part of a team in harmony with a wide variety of people
- Ability to work autonomously but provide regular updates to manager and other stakeholders
- Expertise in reviewing the work of colleagues and providing feedback
- Ability to communicate well verbally and in writing
- Strong initiative and problem-solving abilities
- Ability to research in original sources
- Familiarity with text markup (such as XML or HTML)
- Expertise in the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style and proven ability to learn and apply in-house style
- Ability to quickly learn new technologies and processes
Preferred
- College-level coursework in editing
- Experience with electronic publishing and page-layout software
- Knowledge of early Church history
About Us
Church employees find joy and satisfaction in using their unique talents and abilities to further the Lord’s work. From the IT professional who develops an app that sends the gospel message worldwide, to the facilities manager who maintains our buildings— giving Church members places to worship, teach, learn, and receive sacred ordinances—our employees seek innovative ways to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. They are literally working in His kingdom.
Only members of the Church who are worthy of a temple recommend qualify for employment. Apart from this, the Church is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its employment decisions on any basis that would violate U.S. or local law.
Qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, national origin, color, gender, pregnancy, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or other legally protected categories that apply to the Church. The Church will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities.
