Associate Editor, Investigations

The Houston Landing is growing our team of passionate people on a mission to advance democracy in our communities and strengthen the lives of all Houstonians one story at a time. Houston Landing is launching an independent, nonprofit digital news operation that will cover a broad range of topics serving the Greater Houston community. Houston Landing is initially supported by a coalition of three of Houston’s leading philanthropies including Arnold Ventures, The Houston Endowment, and the Kinder Foundation.

The Houston Landing team is hiring an Associate Editor for Investigations, who will act as a player/coach. We are looking for an experienced and inspiring journalist with a proven record of producing top-tier investigative projects, as well as mentoring other reporters on their stories. 

Houston is one of the most dynamic and interesting cities in the world. Our region is growing and requires a deeper examination of consumer safety, exploitation, public health, public spending, medical issues, the environment and more. This is a role that allows for multi-platform storytelling, especially video, collaboration with our data and visualization experts, our audience and product teams and work with our marketing team to promote our journalism.

Requirements

The Associate Editor will report investigative stories of high interest to Houstonians while also serving as a story coach. 

On the reporting side:

• We want the AE to produce a high-impact investigative or watchdog project ideally in each quarter of the year. Some of these projects may take the form of rolling investigations. 

Depending on news opportunities, during some quarters the position might produce multiple watchdog stories on one or more topics – or focus on one larger investigative project.

• When appropriate the AE will partner with other reporters on investigative and watchdog stories.

On the coaching side:

• The AE will be a resource for reporters to brainstorm story ideas and reporting strategies. 
• The AE can also serve as a sounding board on storytelling approaches. Some specific areas for coaching would include:
• Helping reporters identify documents, data and human sources.
• Providing suggestions for effectively using public records requests.
• Discussing strategies for managing and juggling beat stories while working on investigative projects.
  

We seek an award-winning journalist who sees Houston and our region as a career opportunity to make a positive mark through investigative reporting. A minimum of 10 years of successful investigative work is required, along with examples of how you have elevated the work of others.

In short, it is a fun and inspiring job in a city where there is no shortage of stories. The AE will report to Editor-in-Chief Manny García with a dotted line to Managing Editor Angel Rodriguez.

Benefits

Our Values:

EXCELLENCE: We wake up every day with the intent to be the best at what we do. We hustle. We have grit. When we make mistakes, we’ll learn from them.

INCLUSION: We aren’t all the same, and those differences are what make us better. We’ll respect each person’s uniqueness. Perspective, context and life experiences help us to tell the story.

AMBITION: We will be bold and creative, open to all ideas big or small. We really mean it.

FUN: We are not making widgets, although there is nothing wrong with widgets. We tell stories - and stories are often fun, so we believe in having lots of fun.

COLLABORATION: We are all in this together. We may not always agree, but we will listen to each other and communicate candidly and respectfully.

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Healthcare 100% premium paid for employee and 50% for dependents
• 20 vacation days
• Ten sick days
• Generous paid parental leave
• Hybrid work policy (initially we all work together to build culture)
• Stipend for development / learning

We’re committed to building an inclusive organization that represents the people and communities we serve. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, veterans, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities.