Editor - Writing Specialist
zenith prep academyLas Vegas (NV)
About the role
Writing Specialist
Job Description:
- Zenith Prep Academy
- DepartmentEditorialReports ToManaging Editor
- Employment TypeFull-time
Position Summary:
The Writing Specialist (WS) is responsible for editorial support of Zenith Prep Academy students and Educational Strategists (ES). Live student editing is the role's highest priority given its direct impact on student outcomes. Beyond editing, the Writing Specialist contributes to the training and oversight of ESs on editing standards, supports the Sit Down & Write (SD&W) student programming series, and helps develop editorial resources and processes for the broader team.
Key Responsibilities:
- EditingMonitor assigned editing queues throughout working hours and complete edits on or before assigned deadlines.
- Notify Educational Strategists promptly when an edit is complete, using the queue's autogenerated completion notification.
- Proactively communicate and adjust internal deadlines with a Managing Editor when a full queue cannot be completed on schedule, while avoiding delivery of feedback on the final day of an editing round.
- Adapt turnaround expectations to seasonal shifts in student editing volume, prioritizing direct student work above other departmental tasks.
- Administrative: Meetings & Attendance
- Co-host weekly editing office hours for internal professional development and peer support.
- Attend biweekly Writing Specialist team meetings and weekly informal pod check-ins.
- Attend ES editing training meetings, contributing to training needs assessment, materials development, and skill monitoring.
- Attend Sit Down & Write (SD&W) prep meetings and host SD&W sessions at the frequency required for the current time of year.
- Attend monthly 1:1s with a Managing Editor to review KPIs and performance metrics.
- Attend quarterly 1:1s with the Head Editor to discuss progress, professional development, and long-term goals.
- Attend an annual performance review each January covering the Professional Development Plan (PDP) and yearly goals.
Communication & Core Tasks:
Participate actively across editorial Slack channels (pod channel, all-team channel, and Ask-the-Editors), meeting response-time expectations for each.
Rotate through weekly on-call shifts staffing the Ask-the-Editors channel, acknowledging questions within 24 business hours and fully resolving them within 72 business hours.
Complete Daily Notes to accurately track and report core health metrics spanning editing, communication/admin, and project work.
Participate in qualitative review and grading of completed ES training packets.
Participate in periodic qualitative oversight review of ES editing quality during live editing rounds.
Complete weekly Google Classroom assignments.
Project WorkCreate training packets and supporting materials for ES editing training.
Create lesson outlines and slide decks for Sit Down & Write sessions.
Support the ongoing development of writing and editing resources, processes, and best practices.
Complete periodic professional development tasks as assigned.
Qualifications:
RequiredExceptional writing and editing skills, with strong command of grammar, style, and structure.
Strong written communication skills and comfort working primarily through Slack and Google Workspace.
Ability to manage a high volume of deadline-driven work while maintaining quality and consistency.
Demonstrated reliability with deadlines and proactive communication when timelines shift.
Comfort giving direct, constructive feedback to both students and colleagues.
Preferred:
Experience with college application essays, admissions consulting, or academic editing.
Experience training or mentoring others in a writing or editing capacity.
Familiarity with Google Docs collaborative editing tools (Suggesting mode, Grammarly, version history).Experience presenting or hosting live sessions for a student or youth audience.
Success Metrics:
- Performance is evaluated primarily through Daily Notes and Monthly KPIs across editing support, editing oversight, training, Sit Down & Write, and administrative categories.
- Editing Oversight
- Oversight Completion RatePercent of oversight edits/feedback completed based on what is in the WS' communicated queue.
- On-Time Oversight Completion RatePercent of oversight edits/feedback completed on time (by the communicated deadline).Editing Support
- On-Time Edit RatePercent of edits completed on time (by the communicated deadline).Turnaround Time
- Average time it takes to complete an edit (date assigned to date completed/submitted for return).ES Editing Training
- Training Meeting AttendanceAttendance at all ES editing training meetings.
On-Time Training Materials CompletionPercent of ES editing training materials completed on time (by the communicated deadline).On-Time Packet Review Assignment CompletionPercent of ES editing training packet review assignments completed on time (by the communicated deadline).SD&WSD&W Prep AttendanceAttendance at all SD&W prep meetings.
On-Time SD&W Materials CompletionPercent of SD&W materials completed on time (by the communicated deadline).Sessions HostedPercent of scheduled/assigned SD&W sessions co-hosted.
Communication: On-Time Daily Notes CompletionPercent of daily notes completed on time.
Channel Participation:
Average response time to messages in the pod channel, the all team channel, and the ask-the-editors channel.
Response Time (Internal): Average time it takes to respond to internal messages/requests.
Meetings and Attendance:
- Weekly Pod Meeting + Biweekly WS Team Huddle AttendanceAttendance at all pod meetings and biweekly WS team huddles.
- Office Hours HostedPercent of scheduled/assigned editing office hours co-hosted.1:1 Attendance + Meeting Prep
- Attendance at 1:1s with ME with required preparation.
Quarterly & Annual Review + PDP/Goals Completion: Attendance at quarterly and annual reviews with required preparation.
Google Classroom Completion: Complete assigned weekly tasks on Google Classroom.
Other Resource Development
Resources Created/Updated:
On-time creation of resources that support writing/editing instruction, both student-facing and for the BO.
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