Summary
The Management, Business, and Information Services Division, which provides editorial and publishing services for the agency, seeks an editor with extraordinary talent someone who can see both the forest and the trees, who can transform drafts if necessary and can catch small errors that others miss.
Clarification from the agency
DO NOT APPLY THROUGH USAJOBS or EMAIL- APPLY ONLINE AT www.cbo.gov/careers
Duties
The Congressional Budget Office seeks an editor with extraordinary talent -someone who can see both the forest and the trees, who can transform drafts if necessary, and who can catch small errors that others miss.
As part of the Editing and Publishing Services unit, CBOs editors help ensure that the agencys reports, presentations, and other publications are clear and accessible to a broad audience. That audience includes Members of Congress, Congressional staff, researchers, journalists, and other members of the public, who look to CBOs nonpartisan analyses to understand the effects of policy decisions on the federal budget and the economy. Projects cover issues related to the federal budget, including such topics as demographic changes, flooding risks, prescription drugs, and weapons systems. Editors handle a range of projects and work with economists, policy analysts, and other technical experts across the agency. In addition to copyediting and proofreading, editors routinely engage in substantive editing, which may include working with authors to reorganize drafts and rewrite portions of drafts. They also work with graphics editors to ensure that charts and graphs tell the story of the research. Editors have followed varied career paths to CBO, coming from academia, journalism, magazine publishing, nonprofits, government, and freelance editing. But they have in common the commitment to understanding complicated ideas and the ability to convey those ideas in straightforward language.
Conditions of Employment
- US citizenship or current permanent residents seeking citizenship
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:Tier One Background Investigation
Qualifications
See Technical Qualifications TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS:Candidates must have at least three years of professional experience in editing publications similar to those produced at CBO that is, books, reports, magazines, academic journals, or other publications covering serious subjects in careful detail. Candidates must also hold a bachelors or advanced degree, preferably in English or another field in the humanities. They must have broad editorial skills ranging from guiding authors in writing and organizing drafts, to making complex and difficult drafts clear and graceful, to proofreading with a superior eye for detail. They must thoroughly understand English grammar and syntax, should be sensitive to style and to nuances of tone and meaning in writing and editing, and should be at ease with technical subjects and quantitative information presented in tables and graphs.
A bachelor's or advanced degree, preferably in journalism, English, communications, or another field within the humanities;
At least three years of professional experience in editing publications similar to those produced at CBOâthat is, books, reports, magazine and journal articles, or other publications covering serious subjects in careful detail;
Broad editorial skills that include guiding authors in writing and organize drafts, making complex and difficult drafts clear and graceful, and proofreading with a superior eye for detail;
Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to exercise patience and understand othersâ viewpoints, as drafts undergo review by many people who suggest changes;
Strong project management skills, including the ability to usher drafts through the editing, review, and production process;
A thorough understanding of English grammar and syntax and the nuances of tone and meaning in text and images;
Comfort with quantitative information presented in tables and graphs and an interest in data visualization; and
Facility completing tasks under deadlines and the flexibility to occasionally work evenings and weekends when necessary.
Education
EDUCATION:Candidates must also hold a bachelors or advanced degree, preferably in English or another field in the humanities.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
See https://www.cbo.gov/about/careers/benefits
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your application includes your, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a not qualified determination. Those who aren't qualified will be informed and not considered further. Others will be referred to the hiring division for further consideration.
Please submit a cover letter, a resume, at least one editing sample (see the Job Applicant FAQs on CBOs website for a description), and contact information for three references at www.cbo.gov/careers. CBO may request additional editing samples.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
DO NOT APPLY THROUGH USAJOBS or EMAIL- APPLY ONLINE AT www.cbo.gov/careers
Please submit a cover letter, a resume, at least one editing sample (see the Job Applicant FAQs on CBOs website for a description), and contact information for three references at www.cbo.gov/careers. CBO may request additional editing samples. To ensure consideration, apply by May 5, 2024. Incomplete applications will not be considered. This position is covered by the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act.
Next steps
You will receive an email confirming that you have applied to the position. Once your application is reviewed, it will be forwarded to the hiring division if you are qualified. If you don't meet qualifications, you will be informed by email and your application will not be considered further. All qualified candidates will be informed by email when the position has been filled.
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