Executive Editor, Sustainability - McKinsey Global Publishing

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s/university degree required
• 15+ years’ professional experience in business writing and editing, including digital publishing, preferably for an English-language business publication or a professional-services firm
• Solid understanding of general business concepts; deep expertise in sustainability topics
• Strong editorial judgment; ability to rapidly absorb complex ideas and distill them into accessible copy for global audiences
• Excellent communication skills (many of your interactions will be remote)
• Ability to confidently and tactfully engage with senior staff and subject-matter experts; skill at achieving consensus and moving projects forward
• Willingness to be edited by peers and to receive and act on feedback
• Exceptional organizational skills; ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously, manage complex processes, and meet both short-term and long-term deadlines
• Ability to work independently in a low-structure environment and to deal with ambiguity; willingness to proactively seek guidance when appropriate
• Positive attitude and team orientation
  
  

What You'll Do

You’ll work closely with McKinsey authors, typically senior consultants and industry/functional experts, to produce articles, white papers, blog posts, videos, podcasts, and other editorial products covering business topics, with a focus on sustainability (including climate change, ESG, decarbonization, net-zero strategy, and green business building). You’ll act as both thought partner and line editor, working with authors to create publishing strategies, develop strong storylines, and produce compelling drafts.

You will often shape raw content (e.g., a PowerPoint presentation, an outline, speaker notes) into a range of editorial products, coordinating with colleagues to ensure that your projects are completed, approved, produced, and published to aggressive deadlines.

Over time, you’ll be expected to develop an active professional network within the firm, in particular, to build relationships with McKinsey consultants and communications professionals, and become familiar with the publishing priorities of McKinsey Sustainability. You will stay current on business news and trends and have an appreciation of audience engagement practices and digital analytics. You may be asked to mentor and/or manage one or more editors.

Please submit a resume, cover letter, and three writing samples (only business-related articles, please). Your cover letter should include a succinct (~200 words or fewer) answer to the following question What do you like about McKinsey.com content, and what areas do you think could improve and why? Please be candid and specific.

Who You'll Work With

You’ll be a critical part of McKinsey Global Publishing, joining a ~100-person team including ~25 editors.

As an executive editor, you’ll work with McKinsey authors around the world to develop and publish distinctive content across digital and some print platforms, primarily McKinsey.com, the McKinsey Quarterly, and various newsletters and other editorially led digital products. With each project, you will strive to create an engaging, inspiring experience for authors by helping them develop a powerful editorial product that will make an impact on our many audiences.