What does a senior editor do?
A Senior Editor determines the editorial content for a publication. They supervise the content creation process and manage junior editors.
Senior editor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior editor resumes:
- Contract and manage editorial freelancers and full-service vendors for successful high school Spanish and Latin textbook and ancillary programs.
- Post video to the Fox17 website and youtube.
- Complete several robust DVD authoring projects for clients.
- Redesign the look and the style of lifestyle magazine.
- Double traffic on the Instagram page with newly implement marketing plan.
- Content editing for automobile DVD user manuals (English, French and Spanish).
- Act as director of photography on video shoots to create a high-end finish product for clients.
- Improve natural language processing to work with shorter title and description metadata provide by YouTube API.
- Judge fiction, poetry, and non-fiction submissions, as well as attended to subscriptions and advertising.
- Contribute to the growth of the TpTFacebook page with over 780K members and launch TpT's Instagram account.
- Produce the online version of the bi-monthly print magazine, converting files from InCopy and publishing them in Drupal.
- Train new hires, mentor and top-edit junior editorial personnel in writing, editing, CMS, and site maintenance.
- Experience in a wide range of medical and scientific areas as well as occasional fiction, museum catalogs, etc.
- Analyze user specifications and requirements in DTD structures and syntax in document conversion to XML, SGML, and HTML.
- Supervise website content management, including basic HTML, uploading text and pictures, and staying detail-orient on quality assurance.
Senior editor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Senior Editors are proficient in Edit Content, Video Content, and SEO. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Detail oriented, and Good judgment.
We break down the percentage of Senior Editors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Edit Content, 11%
Work with editorial team to analyze, evaluate and edit content across all of our publications, projects and products.
- Video Content, 7%
Film, edit and upload video content from the League's president on various topics related to the League's mission.
- SEO, 7%
Write, link and SEO approximately five to ten stories a day, while also editing and assigning all other stories.
- Digital Content, 6%
Report, edit and produce online news stories, analysis and other digital content for English language website.
- Project Management, 4%
Directed account and project management activities - composed and edited client communications to elevate relationships and promote services.
- Facebook, 3%
Garnered interest for publication via Twitter and Facebook.
"edit content," "video content," and "seo" are among the most common skills that senior editors use at work. You can find even more senior editor responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a senior editor to have is creativity. Their role and responsibilities require that "editors must be imaginative, curious, and knowledgeable in a broad range of topics." Senior editors often use creativity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "adhered to creative standards by suggesting color correction and artwork retouching as necessary. "
Detail oriented. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior editor duties is detail oriented. The role rewards competence in this skill because "editors must be meticulous to ensure that material is error free and matches the style of a publication." According to a senior editor resume, here's how senior editors can utilize detail oriented in their job responsibilities: "supervised website content management, including basic html, uploading text and pictures, and staying detail-oriented on quality assurance. "
Good judgment. senior editors are also known for good judgment, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to senior editor responsibilities, because "editors decide whether certain stories are ethical and whether there is enough evidence to publish them." A senior editor resume example shows how good judgment is used in the workplace: "developed original story ideas and assigned news and feature stories balancing news judgment with search data analysis to maximize site traffic. "
Interpersonal skills. A big part of what senior editors do relies on "interpersonal skills." You can see how essential it is to senior editor responsibilities because "in working with writers, editors must have tact and the ability to guide and encourage them in their work." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical senior editor tasks: "attended to online and multimedia content, interpersonal interaction with colleagues, and managed online articles and content. "
Writing skills. Another common skill required for senior editor responsibilities is "writing skills." This skill comes up in the duties of senior editors all the time, as "editors ensure that all written content has correct grammar, punctuation, and syntax." An excerpt from a real senior editor resume shows how this skill is central to what a senior editor does: "executed subsequent phases of the content development process, from preparations for writing to approval of printer proofs and online content. "
The three companies that hire the most senior editors are:
- Meredith Corporation15 senior editors jobs
- McKinsey & Company Inc14 senior editors jobs
- Dow Jones6 senior editors jobs
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Compare different senior editors
Senior editor vs. Proposal writer
Proposal Writers help clients win contracts, grants from the government, or even permission to perform a consulting service. They must ensure that all important information is included in the paperwork and documents.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, senior editor responsibilities require skills like "edit content," "video content," "seo," and "digital content." Meanwhile a typical proposal writer has skills in areas such as "business development," "proposal content," "past performance," and "smes." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Proposal writers tend to make the most money working in the insurance industry, where they earn an average salary of $70,514. In contrast, senior editors make the biggest average salary, $87,572, in the finance industry.On average, proposal writers reach similar levels of education than senior editors. Proposal writers are 3.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior editor vs. Editorial internship
An editorial intern is responsible for assisting the editorial team in publishing digital and media content, writing articles, and managing readers' reviews. Editorial interns must have excellent knowledge of the industry they work for, suggesting the latest trends and featured topics, taking notes of the tenured employees' advice and observations, and actively joining brainstorming sessions. An editorial intern must be detail-oriented and take constructive feedback as an opportunity to learn. It is also crucial to have outstanding communication and proofreading skills and keep all the materials confidential until release.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior editor resumes. While senior editor responsibilities can utilize skills like "edit content," "video content," "digital content," and "project management," editorial interns use skills like "fact-check," "editorial intern," "administrative tasks," and "content management system."
Editorial interns earn a lower average salary than senior editors. But editorial interns earn the highest pay in the media industry, with an average salary of $33,508. Additionally, senior editors earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $87,572 annually.editorial interns earn lower levels of education than senior editors in general. They're 6.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior editors in the next 3-5 years?
Bradley Shreve
Editor, Tribal College Journal
Senior editor vs. Editor & producer
A Production Editor is responsible for the process of launching a publication. They format, edit, and proofread book manuscripts.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from senior editor resumes include skills like "edit content," "digital content," "project management," and "editorial calendar," whereas an editor & producer is more likely to list skills in "video production," "dslr," "promotional videos," and "photography. "
Editor & producers earn the best pay in the internet industry, where they command an average salary of $59,270. Senior editors earn the highest pay from the finance industry, with an average salary of $87,572.editor & producers typically earn lower educational levels compared to senior editors. Specifically, they're 5.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior editor vs. Technical writer and editor
A technical writer and editor is primarily responsible for producing written content that defines and explains technical concepts to inform and educate readers. As a writer, it is essential to research and fact-check details to ensure the material's accuracy and value. They mostly follow directives and complete materials within an allotted deadline and format. Moreover, as an editor, they must also review and proofread materials for any errors and inconsistencies, perform corrective measures, and revise as needed.
Types of senior editor
Updated January 8, 2025
