The Houston Local News Initiative (“HLNI”) is growing our team of passionate people on a mission to advance democracy in our communities and strengthen the lives of all Houstonians one story at a time. HLNI is launching early next year as an independent, nonpartisan digital news operation that will cover a broad range of topics serving the Greater Houston community. This initiative will be one of the largest of its kind in the country. HLNI is a nonprofit, initially supported by a coalition of three of Houston’s leading philanthropies including Arnold Ventures, The Houston Endowment and the Kinder Foundation.

We are seeking a creative and ambitious Newsletter Editor to join the newsroom team. This person will report to our Director of Audience Engagement and will lead our newsletter operations. They will help set the tone, voice, design and format of our newsletters which will be critical in engaging and growing our audience with local journalism that matters, holds the powerful accountable and helps our community members make more informed decisions in their daily lives. This position is full time and will be based in Houston.

We will consider applications on an ongoing basis, but we encourage those who are interested to apply ASAP.

What You'll Do

• Oversee our newsletters. Working with our newsroom, you will produce, design, edit and write our newsletters.
• You will manage newsletter layouts and coordinate the placement of photos and graphics.
• You will collaborate with colleagues throughout the newsroom on how best to promote content through the most effective channels  
• Design email marketing campaigns and cadences that help to grow our audience.
• Develop and optimize best-in-class responsive email templates.
• Continuously test and improve email subject lines and content. 
• Execute targeting, segmentation and sends via Hubspot.
• Utilize an email marketing tech stack including Hubspot and Twilio to drive optimizations and more personalized contacts.

Who you are

• You have strong writing skills. You can write clearly, sharply and with a voice that seizes the reader’s attention. You know how to write with brevity that is beautiful.
• You have at least three years experience in a digital newsroom. Solid news judgment and a track record of producing attractive and informative newsletters that engage audiences.
• Experienced in a variety of analytics that can track our newsletter performance and help us improve.
• You know how to seamlessly work with editors, reporters, photographers and producers. You know how to provide meaningful feedback to colleagues.
• You have a passion for experimenting and finding new ways to grow our audience. You can generate ideas for newsletter content and formats.

EXCELLENCE: We wake up every day with the intent to be the best at what we do. We hustle. We have grit. When we make mistakes, we’ll learn from them.

INCLUSION: We aren’t all the same, and those differences are what make us better. We’ll respect each person’s uniqueness. Perspective, context and life experiences help us to tell the story.

AMBITION: We will be bold and creative, open to all ideas big or small. We really mean it.

FUN: We are not making widgets, although there is nothing wrong with widgets. We tell stories - and stories are often fun, so we believe in having lots of fun.

‍COLLABORATION: We are all in this together. We may not always agree, but we will listen to each other and communicate candidly and respectfully.

• Compensation commensurate with experience.
• 401(k)
• Healthcare 100% premium paid for employee and 50% for dependents
• 20 vacation days
• Ten sick days
• Generous paid maternity leave 
• Hybrid work policy (initially we all work together to build culture)
• Stipend for development / learning

We’re committed to building an inclusive organization that represents the people and communities we serve. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, veterans, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities.