Scope of Work
The Milton Academy Communications team is looking for an innovative, hands-on storyteller and project manager to serve as Editor of Milton Magazine, our award-winning, biannual alumni publication. This is a part-time, contract position for an excellent wordsmith who is excited to share the story of Milton Academy—a selective, vibrant K–12 independent school just south of Boston—and its alumni in the most compelling and surprising ways possible. Someone who is both:
- A creative thinker and passionate storyteller who informs, engages, and motivates audiences through big ideas and effective long-form journalism.
- A talented, driven, and organized individual who can conceptualize, create and execute compelling publications.
The Editor will partner closely with dynamic communicators, photographers, designers, and others working together to bring Milton Academy to life for multiple audiences. Our ideal Editor will have a passion for journalism and education, deep publishing experience, and excellent project management skills. They will capture the Milton of today—the successes of Milton’s exceptional alumni, the meaningful work of our faculty and staff, the many achievements of our students and other compelling human-interest stories that foster strong connections to the school, create community and deliver support and engagement.
We are looking for someone who can:
- Conceptualize, manage, and contribute to the production of engaging and entertaining content that amplifies and strengthens strategic brand messages, building brand equity and driving audience engagement
- Effectively prioritize responsibilities, setting and meeting realistic deadlines
- Develop strong relationships with communications team members, advancement and development team members, faculty, staff, and students to identify and tell Milton Academy’s most compelling stories—aligned with our mission, vision, and core values
- Work with the team to create strong creative briefs to guide content creation
- Identify and secure the best freelance talent to make our stories come alive
We are looking for someone who is:
- An amazing communicator with exceptional written and verbal communication skills; a meticulous proofreader
- Creative, innovative, and results-oriented
- Able to manage multiple project components in a publishing environment simultaneously, set priorities, utilize resources, identify and address problems, eliminate obstacles, meet deadlines, and stay within budget—a strategic thinker who gets things done
- A good-humored, hard-working, entrepreneurial self-starter who collaborates well on a team and is excited to add value to our work
We are looking for someone who has:
- Extensive experience in publishing
- A passion for community building through storytelling
- Excellent project management skills with proven experience shepherding ideas from inception to completion
- Strong communication and relationship-building skills
- The ability to accept and incorporate feedback while maintaining the integrity of creative ideas and concepts
- Good judgment
- Enthusiasm for multimedia/digital storytelling and eagerness to support the communications team’s goals of expanding the magazine’s online impact and reach
Essential Functions and Responsibilities:
- Work with the Chief Communication Officer to set the Magazine’s strategy in support of the school’s engagement, alumni relations, and fundraising goals and objectives, making the case for supporting Milton’s strategic priorities and ensuring messaging is consistent and aligned institutionally.
- Work with CCO and the magazine’s associate editor to determine theme and story content for each issue.
- Oversee project schedule, keeping all parties, internal and external, apprised of deadlines.
- Write feature stories and shorter pieces for each issue.
- Work closely with the magazine’s design and print vendors, and develop and manage production schedule.
- Oversee designer and direction of layout, reviewing/approving photos and illustrations. Also gather secondary photos and illustrations; write headlines, subheads, captions, and inserts.
- Ensure thoughtful and meaningful allocation of resources.
- Develop and maintain a highly collaborative working relationship with the associate editor and the Milton Communications and Advancement teams.
- Develop relationships with school leaders, faculty, and staff, as well as alumni and other members of the Milton community.
- Embrace Milton Magazine’s commitment to excellence and further its reputation as a model of high-quality journalism and community engagement.
Location
This position is remote but does require this individual to occasionally be on campus for meetings, interviews, etc. and does require some occasional travel. Editor also will be expected to commit to familiarizing themselves with Milton’s campus culture–sitting in on classes and attending meetings with a select group of faculty and administrators.
Education/Certification/Licensure
Preferred: A bachelor’s degree in liberal arts
Experience
- 8 years of hands-on experience in publishing, media, or a related field.
- Experience with higher ed/independent school alumni magazines, or nonprofit publications, a bonus.
- Experience with multimedia storytelling is a bonus.
About Milton Magazine
View the latest issue of Milton Magazine. Milton Magazine is a beloved alumni publication with a strong tradition of engaging and informative writing and visual storytelling. Since the magazine’s redesign in 2020, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has recognized Milton Magazine with four Gold awards for independent school/international school magazines in its Circle of Excellence Awards.
“This is a first-rate magazine that stands above other entries for the quality of its design, use of art and illustration, smart organization, and professional writing,” Circle of Excellence judges wrote in 2024. Milton Magazine in 2022 received the Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year Award, becoming the first publication not from a college or university to win in the award’s 80-year history. The magazine was a finalist for the Sibley award in 2023 and 2024; it has also been recognized with design and photography awards. The magazine is designed by Patrick Mitchell of MO.D (Modus Operandi Design), a creative and experienced leader in magazine publishing.
Published in the spring and fall, each issue is approximately 64 pages long, organized around a theme reflecting the school’s mission and priorities. This unique approach supports stories from a diverse range of alumni and students—focusing not only on the community’s best-known members but on compelling and untold stories that highlight the lifelong impact of a Milton Academy education.
Although the magazine does not focus explicitly on driving financial support for the school, it is a critical tool in building and nurturing relationships with all constituencies.
The next magazine Editor will work with the communications team to expand and enhance online storytelling through the school’s website and social media. The team is actively working to match the excellence of its print product with digital and multimedia storytelling.
Submitting a letter of interest
All letters of interest must be accompanied by a résumé. Reviews will begin immediately and continue until the successful candidate has been selected. Please send your letter of interest to eileen_newman@milton.edu.
To nominate a candidate you think might be perfect for the role, please contact communications@milton.edu with the phrase “magazine editor” in the subject line.
All inquiries and nominations will be kept confidential.
About Milton Academy
Dynamic, complex, and buzzing with intellectual excitement, Milton Academy encourages its K–12 students to explore their passions, discover new interests, and take risks in a supportive, academically rigorous environment. “Dare to be true,” the independent school’s treasured motto, is alive on Milton’s vibrant campus—located just south of Boston—where diverse and talented students from across the U.S. and around the world are nurtured in the development of their identities and encouraged to be themselves. One of very few schools in the U.S. to offer a K-12 academic experience that includes a boarding and day program in its upper grades, Milton strives to engage students in ambitious preparation for college and for life in an environment that stimulates intellectual and personal growth.
Evolving and enduring, the school maintains the academic standards throughout its three divisions that have earned Milton its national and global acclaim, while continually adapting teaching and learning practices to ready students for the modern world.
Since 1798, Milton graduates have made significant impacts in business, medicine, government, literature, art, science, education, technology and beyond. Alumni are spread throughout the world and remain deeply engaged with the Milton community throughout their lives.
Milton’s mission statement describes the school’s celebration of inclusion, community-building, and individual expression and development:
Milton Academy cultivates in its students a passion for learning and a respect for others. Embracing diversity and the pursuit of excellence, it creates a community in which individuals develop competence, confidence, and character. This active learning environment, in and out of the classroom, develops creative and critical thinkers, unafraid to express their ideas, prepared to seek meaningful lifetime success and to live by the motto, “Dare to be true.”
DARE TO BE TRUE
Adopted in 1898, Milton Academy’s motto resounds in the minds and hearts of today’s students and graduates. Often cited by both faculty and students as the litmus test for word or action, “Dare to be true” not only states a core value, but it also describes Milton’s culture. Milton believes that a vital and effective community is built on individuals’ self-confidence and shared exchange of ideas. Grounded in values, deeply respectful of diversity, and fully aware of the issues of their time, Milton students graduate fully prepared to continue working to meet their own high expectations in the many venues which follow.
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