Standardbred Canada's Information, Communications & Innovation Department, which oversees the SC website and TROT Magazine, is seeking an accomplished and energetic individual for a position with Canada’s leading horse racing website.

Reporting to the Director of Digital Communications, the Website News & Content Editor is responsible for planning, creating, editing, and publishing information on the Standardbred Canada website and through its social media channels.

This is a full-time position, with a Sunday-Thursday schedule. The position will require flexibility performing duties outside of the normal Sunday-Thursday daily schedule (ie., nights and weekends). As the SC office is currently closed, applicants will be expected to perform some duties from a home office setting.

Please submit applications via email, with a cover letter and resume, to Jeff Porchak, Director of Digital Communications by 5:00 p.m. (EST) on Friday, June 25, 2021.

We thank all those who apply, but only those applicants who are selected for an interview will be contacted.

The full job description follows.

POSITION: Website News & Content Editor (Full-Time Position)

REPORTS TO: Director of Digital Communications

JOB PURPOSE: The Website News & Content Editor is responsible for planning, creating, editing, and publishing information on the Standardbred Canada website and through its social media channels.

SCHEDULE: Sunday - Thursday. The start and end hours may vary as the nature of duties requires, as determined by SC management. The position will require flexibility performing duties outside of the normal Sunday-Thursday daily schedule (ie., nights and weekends).

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Website News Publishing

• Report on harness racing events across North America for the daily news website, covering multiple racetracks and events during a given shift.

• Format, edit and post news releases and photographs using an online content management system.

• Develop and write feature stories and other value added content for the website, which may include using various forms of multimedia.

• Assist with communications, media relations and outreach, as required, including writing and distributing pitches when appropriate, news releases and exclusive stories to the media.

• Travel, from time to time, to events or for the purpose of covering stories or news.

• Assist with coordination of tasks / responsibilities / expectations of freelance staff when needed.

• Work with the Director of Digital Communications to plan and execute featured web content.

Social Media Management

• Assist with content for SC’s social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) as needed, including writing content and photo editing, working on special projects, and video production when required.

• Work with the Director of Digital Communications to plan and execute social media content.

Other Departmental Operations

• Support for the Director of Digital Communications on website and digital channel development as needed

• Offer ideas on how this organization can better serve its membership.

Other departmental duties may be required as assigned by management.

COMPETENCIES:

Communication

• Eloquently composes clear, concise, and crisp messages to a variety of audiences.

• Gets messages across using elements of voice, tone, and volume at an appropriate level and within context.

• Content is accurate and appropriate. Ideas are clear and opinions are supported.

Time Management

• Places a high value on his or her time and plans tasks accordingly.

• Makes quality time for the most important priorities.

• Adeptly handles several tasks at once.

• Looks ahead and doesn’t get stuck in the here and now, while attending to a broad range of activities.

Customer Focus

• Commits to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external stakeholders.

• Gets first-hand stakeholder information and assesses it to measure stakeholder satisfaction.

• Builds and maintains effective relationships with stakeholders and gains their trust and respect.

Interpersonal Skills

• Is warm, pleasant, and gracious; easy to approach and engage in conversation.

• Builds strong relationships with others inside and outside his or her area or organization.

• Uses diplomacy and tact to diffuse tense situations comfortably.

Problem Solving

• Uses a combination of logic, analysis, experience, wisdom, and methods to make sound, timely decisions and to solve problems.

• Probes appropriate sources for relevant information and answers to key questions; demonstrates persistence and skill in gathering information. Understands levels of inclusion necessary for ownership and effective action.

• Has solutions and suggestions that are effective and turn out to be correct and accurate when judged over time.

• Is sought out by others for input and process support.

Teamwork

• Looks for opportunities to work with other groups or organizational areas.

• Initiates collaboration on projects or ways of operating.

• Discusses problems/issues with team members that could impact on results.

• Communicates expectations for teamwork and collaboration to the team.

Flexibility

• Realigns resources to meet changing customer needs.

• Takes feedback into consideration while implementing organizational change.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• University degree or college diploma in English, Journalism, Communications or related experience.

• Excellent news judgement and solid experience and understanding of packaging, editing and writing content and headlines in a fast-paced, online editorial environment.

• Basic HTML and photo editing skills, and experience with online publication and social media tools.

• Strong oral, presentation, and writing skills.

• Applicants will be expected to perform some duties from a home office setting.

• Ability to work as part of a team.

This job description is provided to capture the primary components of this role. It is not meant to be an exhaustive list. An individual may be required to perform other tasks which may not be listed but are consistent with the general intent of this role.

From time to time, Standardbred Canada may make changes to this job description. Reasons for such changes include, but are not limited to, changes in business processes and practices, technology changes, legal requirements, member feedback, or changes to organization structure and reporting relationships.