Associate Editor

Title: Associate Editor

Location: Washington United States

Job Description:

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization with a mission to promote high-quality early learning for each and every child, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)-the leading voice for high-quality early learning-is seeking an Associate Editor to support the development and production of our professional periodicals and digital content. If you have a sharp editorial eye, a passion for developmental editing, and a deep appreciation for educational content, we invite you to apply and help us connect policy, practice, and research to benefit children from birth through age 8.

The Associate Editor will contribute to the editorial development, copyediting, proofreading, and production of NAEYC's flagship periodicals-Young Children and Teaching Young Children. In addition, the role supports editing projects across departments including blog posts, training materials, marketing content, and conference materials. This role offers the opportunity to collaborate closely with authors, designers, and internal teams to shape engaging and accessible publications aligned with NAEYC's mission and editorial standards.

Responsibilities

• Serve as lead editor on assigned periodicals articles, performing developmental editing and offering substantive revisions.
• Collaborate directly with authors to refine content, strengthen research foundations, and align manuscripts with NAEYC's position statements and style.
• Assist in maintaining and updating NAEYC's editorial style guides.
• Edit and develop other content as needed, including digital and cross-departmental materials.
• Review layouts, proofs, and online formats for editorial accuracy and clarity.
• Coordinate corrections using InCopy, PDF, and HTML tools.
• Suggest visual content (photos, graphics) to enhance storytelling and reader engagement.
• Work with Creative Services and other departments to maintain smooth production workflows.
• Copyedit manuscripts following The Chicago Manual of Style and NAEYC style guides.
• Ensure accurate citation, grammar, usage, and attribution of visual and quoted materials.
• Verify that all publication elements are complete and properly credited.
• Provide editorial support across projects and departments as needed.
• Fulfill administrative and project management responsibilities in support of editorial operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (preferably in English, Communications, Journalism, or related field).
• 1-2 years of editorial experience in a publishing or professional setting.
• Experience in developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading.
• Familiarity with collaborative editorial processes and working with design/production staff.
• Excellent writing, editing, and proofreading skills.
• Strong project management and time management abilities.
• Ability to work independently, meet deadlines, and adapt to shifting priorities.
• Effective communication with authors and collaborators.
• Familiarity with The Chicago Manual of Style preferred.
• Understanding of early childhood education or related fields is a plus.
• Proficient in Microsoft 365 and Adobe tools (e.g., InCopy, Acrobat); comfortable learning new software.

Physical Demands:

There are specific physical demands that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. For example, walking and moving throughout a building, handling materials and objects, and communicating freely writing, speaking, and listening. Further discussion and reasonable accommodations will be considered to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Position Designation(s): Hybrid: This role is based in the DC Metro Region and is required to physically be on-site in the DC office one day a week. Employees are expected to be in the office on Wednesday's unless otherwise determined by immediate supervisor and department leadership.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

NAEYC is dedicated to providing equal opportunities to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, matriculation, genetic information, disability, or protected veterans status, or any other factor that is a prohibited consideration under applicable laws and regulations.