Freelance Writer & Editor Jobs in Reston, VA (NOW HIRING)

Stand Together is a philanthropic community that helps America’s boldest changemakers tackle the root causes of our country’s biggest problems, from education to the economy, broken communities, and toxic division, among dozens of other pressing issues. We provide our partners with access to resources including funding, thought leadership, a network of peers, and a playbook for applying proven principles to transform lives and society.

Stand Together operates as a multibrand, mission‑driven platform, spanning issue‑focused initiatives, partner organizations, and cultural programs across media, education, business, community, government and music, sports, and entertainment. Our editorial work must flex across distinct brands and audiences while remaining unified by shared principles, narratives, and standards.

As Editor in Chief, you’ll shape how Stand Together tells its story across this diverse portfolio through innovative storytelling, rapid response, and principled messaging tailored to key audiences. This role goes beyond publishing content. You’ll build an editorial capability from the ground up, crafting narratives that matter, surfacing stories from partners across the ecosystem, and transforming them into campaigns that drive social change. You’ll lead a forward‑thinking team that blends journalistic excellence with AI‑powered tools to accelerate output, personalize at scale, and create an editorial engine that serves as a true center of excellence, aligning teams, brands, and platforms around a shared worldview and clear priorities. Fundraising and development editorial is a significant part of this role, requiring a leader who can translate mission, impact, and strategy into compelling narratives that drive investment, partnership, and long‑term growth.

• Drive and evolve Stand Together’s editorial strategy, ensuring every narrative aligns with business priorities and core messaging.
• Create and champion principles‑based messaging guides that help fuel social change.
• Act as both strategist and hands‑on creator—shaping the vision while writing, editing, and publishing standout content.
• Build and refine editorial standards and playbooks that unify the Stand Together voice across owned, earned, and social channels.
• Lead editorial strategy across a multibrand portfolio, partnering with issue‑area leaders to ensure consistency, quality, and narrative coherence, without flattening distinct voices or missions.
• Lead the development of policy and cultural‑driven editorial that strengthens Stand Together's influence with partners, funders, and decision-makers.
• Lead the creation of sales enablement and development tools, including messaging guides, strategy decks, one‑pagers, campaign collateral, and donor‑ or investor‑specific materials.
• Translate complex, often‑intersecting issue areas into clear, compelling narratives, including education, the economy, health care, free speech, constitutionally limited government, and strong & safe communities.
• Surface, shape, and package powerful stories across culture, music, sports, entertainment, and social impact.
• Partner with Communications on rapid‑response storytelling that converts solutions into cultural momentum.
• Produce multi‑format content—web, video, newsletters, social, fundraising materials, partner collateral, pitch decks, investment overviews, and sales enablement assets—tailored to funders, partners, social entrepreneurs, and consumer audiences.
• Integrate AI tools to streamline editorial workflows, speed production, and unlock new creative approaches.
• Collaborate with Analytics to optimize content placement, performance, and impact, while working with external partners to amplify reach.
• Lead, mentor, and inspire a core editorial team, effectively scaling impact through contractors, freelancers, and agencies.
• Partner closely with Communications, Marketing, and executives to align strategy, messaging, and storytelling across the organization.
• Build a self‑learning editorial system powered by testing, real‑time analytics, and reputation insights.
• Define and drive OKRs focused on reach, resonance, and reputational impact—and consistently elevate the standard.
• Develop centralized knowledge and content systems that increase consistency, access, and operational efficiency.
• Streamline copy‑approval workflows to improve clarity, speed, and collaboration.

• 15+ years leading editorial teams in high‑level journalism, policy‑driven organizations and/or globally recognized brands, and 10+ years managing large, diverse teams.
• Enthusiasm to contribute to Stand Together's vision and principled approach to solving problems, and a commitment to stewarding our culture, which champions values including transformation and innovation, entrepreneurialism, humility, and respect.
• Proven experience leading the development of sales enablement tools such as messaging guides, strategy guides, one pagers, pitch decks, investment overviews, and collateral.
• A leadership style that elevates people, inspires bold ideas, and embraces transformation.
• Exceptional editing, writing, coaching, and storytelling skills.
• Experience introducing and scaling new AI tools within content or editorial environments.
• Strong ability to work across communications, marketing, digital, policy, and legal teams.
• A calm, thoughtful approach to fast‑paced, deadline‑driven decision‑making.
• Expertise managing multi‑channel editorial workflows and modern project management tools.
• A proven ability to audit and improve editorial processes for quality, speed, and impact.
• Comfort working directly with executives and navigating complex organizations.

• Competitive benefits: Enjoy a 6% 401(k) match with immediate vesting, flexible time off, comprehensive health and dental plans, plus wellness and mental health support through Peloton and Talkspace.
• A meaningful career: Join a passionate community of over 1,300 employees dedicated to improving lives and driving innovative solutions to complex social challenges.
• Commitment to growth: Thrive in a non-hierarchical environment that empowers employees to discover, develop and apply their unique talents.
• Competitive compensation: Our approach rewards the value you create through competitive salaries and bonus opportunities, allowing you to share in the success you help drive.

Our values: Working for an organization within the Stand Together philanthropic community is different from many other places. The culture is deeply rooted in Principle Based Management® (PBM®), a framework guided by the principles that drive human progress, such as dignity, openness, and bottom‑up empowerment. PBM® empowers employees to be entrepreneurial, to innovate, and to continually drive transformation.

We believe diversity fuels creativity, broadens knowledge, and helps drive success. That is why we’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and strive to treat all employees and applicants with honesty, dignity, and respect.

200000 - 300000 USD a year

For this role, the anticipated base salary range is $200,000-300,000 per year. In addition to base salary, additional bonus earnings may represent a meaningful portion of total compensation. Total compensation will align with an employee’s overall contribution and the value created for the organization.

Our Principles-Based Management™ (PBM) compensation philosophy is grounded in an individualized approach that rewards the long-term value each person creates for the organization. Compensation decisions are informed by a variety of factors, including relevant experience, capabilities, demonstrated skills, role responsibilities, and expected contribution. Consistent with this approach, base salary may vary within or outside of the anticipated range based on these considerations.