What are the responsibilities and job description for the Editorial Assistant position at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
Job Description
To succeed in sharing the history of the Church and serving Church members throughout the world, the Church History Department seeks to hire people with diverse experiences, backgrounds, and insights. With that in mind, we encourage all qualified applicants to apply.
The Publications Division of the Church History Department publishes Church history for Church members and scholars. Recent publications include The Joseph Smith Papers (print, web, ebooks, podcasts), Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days (print, web, app, podcasts), and the Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells (web). Many future division publications will focus on the early Restoration period, women’s history, and the global Church.
The Publications Division seeks an Editorial Assistant to help check facts, quotations, sources, and source citations on current publishing projects. This is a benefited, full-time position. The position is located at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City and may be eligible for a hybrid work schedule. The Editorial Assistant will work as part of a large team of editors, historians, archivists, and writers. This is a rare opportunity to learn about Latter-day Saint history, work with primary sources, contribute to significant publications, and use and develop a variety of editorial skills.
Responsibilities
QUALIFICATIONS
Church employees find joy and satisfaction in using their unique talents and abilities to further the Lord’s work. From the IT professional who develops an app that sends the gospel message worldwide, to the facilities manager who maintains our buildings— giving Church members places to worship, teach, learn, and receive sacred ordinances—our employees seek innovative ways to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. They are literally working in His kingdom.
Only members of the Church who are worthy of a temple recommend qualify for employment. Apart from this, the Church is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its employment decisions on any basis that would violate U.S. or local law.
Qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, national origin, color, gender, pregnancy, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or other legally protected categories that apply to the Church. The Church will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities.
To succeed in sharing the history of the Church and serving Church members throughout the world, the Church History Department seeks to hire people with diverse experiences, backgrounds, and insights. With that in mind, we encourage all qualified applicants to apply.
The Publications Division of the Church History Department publishes Church history for Church members and scholars. Recent publications include The Joseph Smith Papers (print, web, ebooks, podcasts), Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days (print, web, app, podcasts), and the Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells (web). Many future division publications will focus on the early Restoration period, women’s history, and the global Church.
The Publications Division seeks an Editorial Assistant to help check facts, quotations, sources, and source citations on current publishing projects. This is a benefited, full-time position. The position is located at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City and may be eligible for a hybrid work schedule. The Editorial Assistant will work as part of a large team of editors, historians, archivists, and writers. This is a rare opportunity to learn about Latter-day Saint history, work with primary sources, contribute to significant publications, and use and develop a variety of editorial skills.
Responsibilities
- Checks facts for accuracy.
- Checks quotations from original sources, making sure spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are correct.
- Analyzes sources to determine whether they have been used appropriately.
- Does in-depth research when necessary.
- Uses databases and other resources to find primary and secondary sources.
- Digitizes and files copies of sources.
- Formats citations according to the Chicago Manual of Style and the press’s internal style guide.
- Corresponds with historians and other editors through multiple review and correction cycles.
- Other responsibilities may include proofreading, copyediting, coding documents in the project’s XML database, and assisting with producing transcripts of documents.
- Additional responsibilities may be given, depending on project needs and individual interests and capabilities.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree in English or related field, plus 0-3 years of editing experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience
- Reference editing, copyediting, and proofreading abilities (including as demonstrated on editing tests that are used as part of the evaluation process).
- Familiarity with Chicago Manual of Style (seventeenth and eighteenth editions) and ability to learn and apply in-house style.
- Ability to research in nineteenth-century sources; experience working with primary sources a plus.
- Ability to work in harmony with a wide variety of people.
- Ability to give scrupulous attention to detail, sustain concentration for long periods of time with the highest level of accuracy, and perform repetitive tasks.
- Ability to manage time effectively, be dependable, balance priorities on more than one project, and regularly meet deadlines under pressure.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; must be a critical thinker and have a natural curiosity.
- Ability to work autonomously but provide regular updates to manager and other team members.
- Familiarity with text markup (such as XML or HTML)
- Interest in history; knowledge of early Church history
Church employees find joy and satisfaction in using their unique talents and abilities to further the Lord’s work. From the IT professional who develops an app that sends the gospel message worldwide, to the facilities manager who maintains our buildings— giving Church members places to worship, teach, learn, and receive sacred ordinances—our employees seek innovative ways to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. They are literally working in His kingdom.
Only members of the Church who are worthy of a temple recommend qualify for employment. Apart from this, the Church is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its employment decisions on any basis that would violate U.S. or local law.
Qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, national origin, color, gender, pregnancy, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or other legally protected categories that apply to the Church. The Church will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities.
