Job Title: Audience / Digital Editor — Full-time, Remote 

Role Overview

We’re looking for an experienced social media editor to strategize, distribute, and manage our content across Instagram, X, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Substack to grow and sustain our audience. You will be the bridge between the pieces we publish on our website and our audience, working closely with editors to distill the essence and key ideas of our articles for social media. This is an editorial role for a sound communicator and strategist with an excellent sense of writing, design, and audience engagement.

You will serve as the bridge between our long-form journalism and our audience, working closely with editors to distill arguments, context, and political urgency into clear, compelling social and digital formats. This role requires editorial judgment, narrative intelligence, and a strong grasp of how power, algorithms, and attention operate online.

About Us

The Polis Project, Inc. is a New York-based digital magazine and hybrid research and journalism organisation founded in 2017 that documents communities in resistance at the intersection of politics, art, and culture. Our work sheds light on the rise of authoritarianism, especially in democracies, and focuses on issues of racial, class, and caste injustice, Islamophobia, and State oppression around the world. We have a small editorial team of five people, and the social media editor would join them.

Why We’re Hiring

Over the past year, we have expanded our coverage of culture and politics and grown from a primarily India and South Asia-focused publication to a more global one. Our journalism is reaching further, but audience growth, engagement, and sustainability now require dedicated editorial leadership. We are hiring an Audience Editor to take ownership of our communications, deepen engagement, and ensure our work reaches the people who need it, read it closely, and return to it.

What You’ll Do (Responsibilities)

• Devise and lead audience and communications strategies across social platforms, including long-term campaigns and rapid-response publishing during major news moments.
  
  
• Own the social editorial calendar and set platform-specific priorities.
  
  
• Conceptualise new content formats and interventions based on the news cycle, reporting priorities, and the Polis editorial ethos.
  
  
• Distill key arguments, language, and framing from published pieces for social platforms without flattening political complexity.
  
  
• Write original contextual copy, threads, captions, and explainers where needed.
  
  
• Design Instagram slides for articles, announcements, podcasts, and reports.
  
  
• Edit and package Instagram reels and short-form videos for podcasts and other video work.
  
  
• Write and edit regular Substack newsletters.
  
  
• Attend weekly editorial meetings and work closely with editors and reporters.
  
  
• Collaborate with designers, video editors, and freelancers, and manage them where relevant.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means sustained, meaningful audience engagement and growth rather than viral spikes.

• Clear growth across platforms, with priority given to Substack and YouTube.
  
  
• Conversion of existing momentum into durable subscriptions, repeat readership, and deeper engagement.
  
  
• A coherent and recognizable visual and editorial aesthetic across social platforms, podcasts, and video.
  
  
• Editorial consistency that reflects Polis values, politics, and voice.
  
  
• Regular analysis of performance, with clear reporting on what is working, what is not, and why.
• You will be expected to work with analytics tools and help refine or build audience reporting systems over time. Performance will be reviewed quarterly.

 

Requirements (Must-Haves)

• 3+ years of experience producing and managing editorial social media content across platforms.
  
  
• Background in journalism, research, communications, or adjacent editorial fields.
  
  
• Strong understanding of social media platforms, audience behavior, and algorithmic shifts in media ecosystems.
  
  
• Excellent writing skills and editorial judgment.
  
  
• Strong design and video editing skills, including experience with tools such as Canva, Adobe, Premiere Pro, and or DaVinci Resolve.
  
  
• Demonstrated experience growing an audience for an institution or individual.
  
  
• Working knowledge of Google Analytics, YouTube analytics, SEO best practices, and basic paid promotion tools.
  
  
• Deep interest in politics, culture, and the global news cycle, with clear alignment with Polis values.
  
  
• close attention to detail and a strong sense of audience intelligence.
  
  

Who You’ll Work With

You will report to Suchitra Vijayan, founder and executive director, and collaborate closely with the editorial team. This role has significant editorial autonomy and decision-making power and is expected to shape audience strategy, not simply execute it

Work Environment & Expectations

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range: to be discussed based on experience and location.
  
  
• Paid time off and sick leave.
  
  
• Additional benefits and stipends will be discussed during the interview process and may vary by geography.
  
  

Employment Terms

This is a full-time role. Employment classification and payroll arrangements will depend on the candidate’s geographic location and will be clarified during the hiring process. We are committed to transparency and fairness and will discuss compensation early in the process.

How to Apply

Please send:

• A CV.
• A cover letter explaining your relevant experience, editorial approach to audience work, and interest in Polis.

Email applications to: Ophelia@thepolisproject.com
Subject line: Audience Editor Application

We review every application.

Deadline: 15 February 2026
Applications may be reviewed on a rolling basis.