Strategic Content Editor (Contract-to-Hire)

About the role

The situation, honestly. Our content department head is going on a planned leave in the near future. Before that happens, we need a senior editor in place who can hold the line on strategy and quality while she's out, then keep raising the bar when she's back. This starts as a contract role with a clear path to a full-time hire based on performance. We're not being coy about it: the leave is the reason for the speed, and the contract period is a working trial on both sides. If you do well, there's a permanent senior seat here with a benefits package.

Requirements

• 5+ years editing strategic marketing content (SEO content, landing pages, email, PPC assets) in an agency or similar fast-moving environment. You've edited for performance outcomes, not just polish
• You can read an SEO strategy document and find its weak points. Keyword selection, intent mapping, funnel logic, content architecture. This is fluency, not familiarity
• You work independently by default. During the leave period, you'll be making editorial calls without a director to escalate to. You need the judgment to make those calls and the documentation habits to make them defensible
• You're a genuine team player. Independent doesn't mean lone wolf. You'll be collaborating daily with writers, strategists, and PMs, and your feedback style needs to build trust fast
• You're direct and kind in the same sentence. Writers should leave your edits better at their jobs, not deflated
• You want more responsibility than your current role gives you. You've probably already been doing unofficial leadership work: mentoring writers, building processes nobody asked for, being the person the team actually goes to

Qualifications

Where this goes: This role exists because our content department is growing faster than one director can quality-control. The interim coverage is the immediate need. The real opportunity is what comes after. The person who succeeds here will help build the editorial function itself: the standards, the QA program, the feedback systems that let a team scale without quality slipping. As the department grows, this seat is positioned to grow into a leadership role, including mentoring and eventually managing editors. You'll be learning team leadership directly from the content director, with real responsibility from week one rather than a title and a waiting period. If you're a senior editor who has hit the ceiling at your current job, this is the next rung.

Benefits

• Contract engagement to start, with conversion to full-time based on performance during the contract period
• Competitive contract rate commensurate with experience ($3,000-$5,000 a month)
• Full-time conversion includes salary, benefits, PTO, and professional development budget