Strategic Content Editor (Contract-to-Hire)

Regex SEO · Washington, DC · 4 wk ago

MarketingContract

About the role

The content department head is going on planned leave; we need a senior editor to hold the line on strategy and quality during her absence and continue raising the bar upon her return. This starts as a contract role with a clear path to a full-time hire based on performance. The contract period serves as a working trial for both sides; strong performance leads to a permanent senior position with a benefits package. We need someone who can ramp quickly and operate independently, with real onboarding, documented strategy, and a capable team.

RGX is a digital marketing agency built for home service businesses (HVAC, pest control, plumbing, electrical, and the trades). Our clients are serious service businesses with $1.5M+ annual revenue, investing in growth. We help them clarify their offerings, sharpen their target audience, and articulate why a customer should choose them—strategy first, every sentence accountable to the business it serves.

Responsibilities

Review strategy before content exists: read content briefs, keyword strategies, and funnel plans; pressure‑test targeting, search intent, and funnel logic.
Edit for strategic alignment: verify copy matches persona, CTA fits funnel stage, and content satisfies targeted search intent.
Create editing standards where they don’t exist: identify recurring writing problems, missing tone‑of‑voice guides, or gaps in the editorial process and build fixes with team buy‑in.
Spot ranking opportunities the brief missed: analyze SERPs, flag chances for featured snippets or unclaimed keyword clusters, and adjust accordingly.
Run quality control: be the final set of eyes before content ships, checking clarity, flow, tone, accuracy, brand voice, internal links, metadata, and formatting; help formalize the QA process.
Give writers feedback that makes them better: provide direct, specific, actionable notes that explain the strategic reasoning behind edits.

Requirements

This role exists because the content department is growing faster than one director can quality‑control. The interim coverage is the immediate need; the real opportunity is helping build the editorial function itself—standards, QA program, feedback systems—that lets the team scale without slipping quality. Success can grow into a leadership role, mentoring and eventually managing editors, learning directly from the content director with real responsibility from week one.

Who does well in this role

5+ years editing strategic marketing content (SEO content, landing pages, email, PPC assets) in an agency or fast‑moving environment; edited for performance outcomes, not just polish.
Ability to read an SEO strategy document and find its weak points—keyword selection, intent mapping, funnel logic, content architecture—with fluency, not just familiarity.
Works independently by default, making editorial calls without a director to escalate to, and documenting those decisions defensibly.
Genuine team player: collaborates daily with writers, strategists, and PMs, using a feedback style that builds trust quickly.
Direct and kind in the same sentence—writers leave edits better at their jobs, not deflated.
Desire for more responsibility than current role provides; likely already doing unofficial leadership work (mentoring writers, building processes, being the go‑to person).

Benefits