Staff Writer-Editor, Education and Research Programs Job at Nashville Public Rad

Catholics for Choice seeks a qualified professional to serve as our Staff Writer-Editor, Education and Research Programs.

The Staff Writer-Editor is an integral member of our Education and Research Programs, supporting a scaling organization during a period of growth. This role will report to the Senior Advisor, Education and Research Programs, who also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of The Overreach Monitor. The Staff Writer-Editor will lead content creation for The Overreach Monitor, CFC's watchdog platform that exposes Catholic hierarchy overreach into politics and policy (60% of role), while providing editorial leadership across Catholics for Choice's education and research programs (40% of role). This position can be structured as full-time or part-time, depending on the candidate's fit and capacity.

Catholics for Choice is looking for individuals who are passionate about our mission. Please familiarize yourself with our messaging and programs before applying. If you do not fully support the pro-choice movement, this role is not suitable for you. We welcome applicants from different religions and secular backgrounds to apply, as we are all affected by the Catholic hierarchy's religious overreach. There is no 'perfect' candidate for this role. We seek dedicated and passionate individuals who want to make a difference, and we know not everyone will have all the qualifications identified below.

While journalism experience is preferred, we welcome candidates from advocacy, policy, research, or communications backgrounds who can demonstrate strong writing abilities and commitment to accountability reporting that exposes institutional power structures.

Responsibilities

The Overreach Monitor Content Creation

• Produce 1-2 news articles weekly (400-800 words) covering Catholic hierarchy political activities, policy influences, and institutional overreach through rapid reporting, interviews, analysis pieces, book reviews, and commentary.
• Deliver 2 comprehensive investigative pieces quarterly (1,500+ words) that systematically document patterns of Catholic institutional power and its impact on policy and healthcare access.
• Manage reader tip submissions and cultivate sources within religious institutions, healthcare systems, and policy circles to strengthen our watchdog capacity.
• Edit and fact-check guest submissions, ensuring rigorous standards and accuracy on complex theological and policy matters.
• Collaborate on headlines, metadata, and content optimization to maximize subscriber growth and engagement across our three core audiences: reproductive rights advocates, religious professionals, and the general public.

Cross-Program Editorial Support

• Provide writing, editing, and content strategy support for policy briefs, research reports, educational toolkits, and workshop materials under the direction of the Senior Advisor, Education and Research Programs.
• Collaborate with team on curriculum development, fact sheets, and advocacy resources that translate complex issues for diverse audiences.
• Work across teams to ensure messaging consistency and editorial excellence in all organizational communications.
• Contribute to Catholics for Choice's broader content needs, including Conscience magazine, website content, and special initiatives.
• Support strategic communications planning to amplify investigative findings and research outputs.

Community Engagement & Source Development

• Build and maintain relationships with sources inside religious institutions, healthcare systems, and policy circles.
• Develop systematic documentation processes for tracking patterns of Catholic hierarchy influence and overreach.
• Analyze content performance and reader feedback to refine editorial strategy.
• Participate in strategic planning to ensure The Overreach Monitor serves as an effective tool for advocacy and policy work.

Qualifications

• Commitment to Mission: Deep dedication to reproductive justice, church-state separation, and exposing religious institutional overreach; understanding of how Catholic hierarchy influence intersects with Christian nationalism and harms marginalized communities.
• Exceptional Writing & Research Skills: Demonstrated ability to produce compelling, accurate content under deadline pressure, from breaking news to long-form features, while maintaining rigorous fact-checking standards. Experience with investigative research, source verification, and document analysis preferred.
• Editorial Excellence: Proven ability to edit diverse content types for different audiences while maintaining consistent organizational voice. Experience with cross-program content development and editorial strategy.
• Advocacy or Accountability Experience: Background in journalism, advocacy writing, policy research, or communications with demonstrated ability to expose institutional power structures and hold organizations accountable. We welcome candidates from non-traditional journalism backgrounds who can show strong analytical and investigative capabilities.
• Source Cultivation Skills: Experience building trust with sources in sensitive institutional settings, managing community engagement, and turning reader submissions into investigative leads.
• Racial Equity and Inclusion Competency: Understanding of how religious overreach intersects with white supremacy, affects communities of color disproportionately, and connects to broader patterns of institutional oppression; comfortable discussing these intersections explicitly.
• Digital Platform Experience: Comfortable with online publishing, newsletter platforms, and writing for digital audiences. Experience with Substack or similar platforms preferred.
• Project Management: Ability to manage multiple deadlines simultaneously, balance rapid-response content with long-term investigative projects, and support cross-program editorial needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, policy, religious studies, or related field preferred, but relevant professional experience will be welcomed in lieu of a degree.
• Professional experience in journalism, advocacy writing, policy research, or related field.
• Knowledge of Catholic theology, church hierarchy, canon law, or religious studies.
• Healthcare policy, reproductive rights, or First Amendment law background.
• Experience with FOIA requests and public records research.
• Established network in religion reporting, reproductive rights advocacy, or policy circles.
• Spanish language proficiency.
• Professional experience with content management systems, SEO basics, and digital analytics.