Entry Level Manuscript Writer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Description

As an entry-level editor at the National Center for Education and Research (NCCER), you will be an integral part of a detail-oriented editorial team. Your role will be essential to the quality assurance process, ensuring our content is held to the highest standards. You will act as a last line of defense, protecting our content from any sneaky typos or comma splices. 

In this role, you will primarily be reviewing and approving educational materials for the construction industry while working alongside talented teams of technical writers, project managers, illustrators, and designers. You will directly influence the quality and clarity of multiple products, including print textbooks, lesson plans, digital resources, and digital course materials.

You will enjoy this role if you get excited at the thought of making educational products the best they can be. NCCER values detail-oriented individuals who are motivated to standardize and elevate learning materials. The ideal candidate will be learner-focused, helping to create curricula that is intuitive, user-friendly, and digestible for a wide audience. You can take pride knowing that the materials you edit will be used by individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds seeking in-depth training in various crafts within the construction industry and the instructors who teach them. 

Responsibilities:

1. Perform copyediting - You will be responsible for reviewing the manuscripts for NCCER's learning materials. Alongside other editors, you will ensure all copy is clear and concise, meets an 8th grade reading level, and adheres to all in-house editorial standards. You will edit each line of text, checking for grammar, style, spelling, and factual errors. You will also ensure that all agreed MS Word styles are applied accurately to the manuscript.

2. Review and approve page proofs and digital releases - You will evaluate materials as they move through the different stages of development to ensure they are ready to publish. This stage is more focused on ensuring the quality of the final product, as well as interplay between text and graphic elements. You will ensure the look, feel, accuracy, and function of these products meets NCCER's standards. This includes quality checks on PDF proofs, reviewing digital courses before they go live, and assessing a range of other products to move them through the development cycle to completion. 

3. Communicate and collaborate with cross-functional teams - In this role, you will work closely and communicate regularly with technical writers, designers, project managers, artists, and other editors to ensure quality and efficiency of all external-facing materials. With so many key players and moving parts, effective communication and collaboration with both in-house and remote colleagues will be essential to project success. 

4. Contribute to editorial processes and decisions - You will work with lead editors and/or the managing editor to help refine and enhance editorial processes and contribute to style guide updates as needed. As part of a collaborative environment, your perspective will be invaluable to ensuring consistency, efficiency, and quality across all products. 

5. Maintain efficient workflows and meet deadlines - You will be responsible for tracking your own time and tasks to ensure completion and delivery of files in a timely manner. Using software and systems including Smartsheet, Outlook, Confluence, and SharePoint, you will be responsible for making sure each product you work on is completed on time and delivered into the right hands. 

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in English, communications, journalism, or a relevant field required  
• Professionalism  
• Editorial abilities, including grammar, punctuation, and proofreading skills 
• Excellent communication, reading comprehension and retention, organization, and time management 
• Handle shifting departmental priorities and deadlines  
• Multitask and work easily on concurrent projects  
• Familiarity with Chicago Manual of Style preferred
• Computer proficiency (familiarity with Mac OS preferred)  
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (including Word and Teams) preferred 
• Proficiency in Smartsheet preferred 
• A passion for educational publishing a plus
• Familiarity with the end-to-end book publishing process a plus

NCCER is an equal opportunity employer. No one shall be denied employment or opportunity based on race or color, sex, age, national origin, religion, physical or mental disability, veteran's status, marital status, gender identity or sexual orientation. NCCER also provides reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities and bona fide religious beliefs, provided that such accommodation does not constitute an undue hardship on the Company.