Job: Associate Editor, Canada’s National Observer (CNO)

Hxjzlw; Canada; Hybrid; CAD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health package

RRSP matching

Vacation & leave

Career development

Training support

Subscriptions

Job summary

Canada’s National Observer seeks an Associate Editor to lead editorial operations, shape environmental and political coverage, and guide a team of reporters. This leadership role requires strong writing, editing, and deadline discipline, with a focus on high-impact storytelling across digital platforms.

You’ll manage staff weekdays between 12pm and 8pm Eastern, oversee headlines and packaging, negotiate freelance contracts, and help design and implement project work.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of experience in journalism.
• Strong understanding of politics, climate change and disinformation.
• Excellent editorial skills with a track record of impactful storytelling.
• Experience in a leadership or management role.
• Able to navigate a fast-paced work environment with flexibility, professionalism, and kindness.
• Ace headline, story packaging and copy editing skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and manage deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Manage reporters in the afternoons.
• Focus on writing compelling headlines.
• Negotiate freelance contractor agreements.
• Manage editorial calendar, ensuring deadlines are met and quality is maintained.
• Help design and implement CNO’s project work.
• Fill in for EIC as required during vacations and sick days.
• Find compelling visuals, improve photography photo editing tools.
• Package stories for social media.
• Provide vacation relief for editors and newsletter editor.
• Recruit, hire and manage journalists and editors.

Skills

Journalism

Leadership

Editorial skills

Deadline management

Headline writing

Copy editing

Job description

Canada’s National Observer is Hiring an Associate Editor

Reports to: Jimmy Thomson, Editor-in-Chief
Compensation range: $80,000 – $90,000 annually depending on experience
Location: Remote
Term: Full-time, permanent
Hours: Mon – Fri, 12 – 8pm Eastern Time / 9am-5pm Pacific Time
Status: Management role in a unionized workplace (this position is non-union)

About CNO

What began at a dining room table in Vancouver in 2008 is now one of Canada’s most decorated independent newsrooms.

Observer Media Group launched Vancouver Observer first, then Canada’s National Observer in 2015, betting that excellent reporting and accountability journalism could thrive outside legacy media.

In 2017, CNO became the first digital-only publication in Canadian history to win a National Newspaper Award and receive a Michener citation for public service journalism. “The little engine that could,” then-Governor General David Johnston called it.

Today, CNO covers Canada’s changing climate from newsrooms in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa, with more than 35,000 articles published. Last year we launched Civic Searchlight — our popular “superpower for democracy” — and earned ten new journalism award nominations this spring alone, including the inaugural Hinton Award for AI Safety Reporting from the Canadian Journalism Foundation.

The role

Canada’s National Observer seeks a talented editor with journalism and management experience to support the next phase of our award-winning journalism. You’re the right person for the job if you are keen to find new ways to shape important stories about the environment, climate, energy and politics. We seek a strong writer, editor and headline writer who can package our stories for maximum appeal and impact.

This is a leadership role with management and oversight responsibilities within a unionized workplace. This position is excluded from the bargaining unit.

The successful applicant will manage staff Monday through Friday between 12pm and 8pm Eastern Time / 9am and 5pm Pacific Time. The working hours are non-negotiable.

Daily responsibilities

• Manage reporters in the afternoons
• Focus on writing compelling headlines
• Negotiate freelance contractor agreements
• Manage editorial calendar, ensuring deadlines are met and quality is maintained
• Help design and implement CNO’s project work
• Fill in for EIC as required during vacations and sick days
• Find compelling visuals, improve photography photo editing tools
• Package stories for social media
• Provide vacation relief for editors and newsletter editor
• Recruit, hire and manage journalists and editors

Basic requirements

• Minimum 7 years of experience in journalism
• Strong understanding of politics, climate change and disinformation
• Excellent editorial skills with a track record of impactful storytelling
• Experience in a leadership or management role
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and manage deadlines
• Ace headline, story packaging and copy editing skills
• Able to navigate a fast-paced work environment with flexibility, professionalism, and kindness

What we offer

• Sun Life extended health package
• Employer matching RSP
• Benefits including one month of vacation, personal and sick days and equipment budget
• Career development, mentorship and opportunity over time to take on a larger leadership role in the organization
• Conference and training support
• Subscriptions to other news sources and industry magazines

Canada’s National Observer is committed to building a team that reflects the country we cover. We actively welcome applications from Indigenous, Black, and racialized candidates, women, 2SLGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities.