Job Title: Editor and Online Program Manager, Poetryfoundation.org

Classification: Full-time, Exempt

Summary:
Poetryfoundation.org is one of the leading websites for poetry in America. Its goal is to provide a major poetry resource on the Internet—a site unique on the Web for its breadth, depth, and quality of poetry and poetry-related offerings. The website is a major program of the Foundation, second only to Poetry magazine. It was launched in January 2005. It is the Foundation’s only venue for electronic publishing and dissemination and continues to evolve, adding new features such as audio and video offerings. It also serves as the online home for all of the programs of the Poetry Foundation. The Foundation is seeking an experienced senior manager who will serve as the editor of poetryfoundation.org and as the program manager for the Foundation’s online initiative.

About poetryfoundation.org:
The Webby Award–winning site is a comprehensive online resource for poetry, offering an archive of more than 7,500 poems by more than 600 classical and contemporary poets, and a frequently updated editorial program in a variety of formats, including feature articles, audio poems and videos, podcasts, news, and the monthly contents from Poetry magazine. Each day, the site logs up to 30,000 visits and displays more than 75,000 page views. It is widely read by poets, teachers, and others who seek out arts and culture on the Web or who find it by searching for poems on Google and other major search engines. The site also includes information about the Foundation, a children’s area, and online subscription and submission information for Poetry. It also links to two other Foundation-sponsored websites: Poetry Out Loud, a poetry program for youth co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, and American Life in Poetry, a poetry newspaper column by former poet laureate Ted Kooser.

Job Description:
The role of editor of poetryfoundation.org includes the following responsibilities:

• Provide editorial direction to staff editors, producers, and consultants in order to publish the site’s frequently updated content. This includes acquiring and approving all articles and other content such as feature articles, podcasts, and other audio and visual features.
  
• Work with other Foundation program senior managers to publish online content and information from all program areas at the Foundation.
  
• Develop marketing plans and campaigns to promote the website as needed.
  
• Direct the process by which poems and other materials about poets and poetry are added to the site’s archive. This includes supervising the permissions process for all published content.
  
• Collaborate with other editors at the Foundation on poetry issues and judging of awards as necessary.

The role of online program manager includes the following responsibilities:

• Manage the technical staff and consultants who design and develop the site’s user interface to ensure the quality of the user experience.
  
• Manage technical consultants, including developers, usability experts, and hosting providers, to ensure the security and performance of the underlying technical infrastructure.
  
• Develop and execute plans to steadily increase traffic to the site, including managing the process for gathering and reporting web traffic data, search results, and web traffic marketing plans, and establishing partnerships with other websites important to the mission of the Foundation.

Qualifications:

• Extensive background and familiarity with contemporary poetry
  
• Extensive experience with managing editorial processes, including web publishing processes.
  
• Strong knowledge of web technology and web design
  
• Substantial project management experience
  
• B.A. degree or greater in English literature or computer-related studies

Salary:
This position offers a competitive salary and excellent benefits. Full-time, exempt.

Application:
The Poetry Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and values the various perspectives and talents of a diverse staff.

Interested applicants should email a cover letter, along with a C.V. or résumé, to employment@poetryfoundation.org (please send all attachments as a Word or PDF document; subject line: Editor/Online Program Manager). The deadline for applications is September 25, 2008.

About the Poetry Foundation:
The Poetry Foundation is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Foundation publishes Poetry magazine, for over 90 years the foremost magazine of its kind in the country. Additionally, the Poetry Foundation sponsors a variety of public programs and educational activities committed to increasing public understanding and enjoyment of the literary arts. The Poetry Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization located in Chicago, Illinois. More information about the Poetry Foundation may be found on its website at www.poetryfoundation.org.