Technical Copy Editor - Pact, Inc.

PACT Overview:Pact is an international nonprofit that works in nearly 40 countries building solutions for human development that are evidence-based, data-driven and owned by the communities we serve. Founded in 1971, Pact works with partners to build resilience, improve accountability, and strengthen knowledge and skills for sustainable social impact.Department:Programs - Pact strives for a world where all people are heard, capable, and vibrant. The Programs Team helps realize this objective by bridging program management, technical support, and business development, enabling Pact to achieve its global strategy. We ensure program excellence through continuous learning, monitoring and evaluation and provide organizational and industry-wide thought leadership by leveraging a complementary set of cross-functional, multi-disciplinary skills, expertise, and experiences. The Programs team: influences progressive change through the development and implementation of global and regional strategies and business plans; supports advancement of innovative solutions; pursues new business opportunities; and drives effective internal and external engagement to maximize Pact’s impact across the globe. Across all aspects of its role, the Programs Department adheres to and promotes a culture of inclusion, accountability, and respect.Position Overview:

The Technical Copy Editor ensures that Pact technical proposals and external-facing technical publications are of high quality, compliant to donor and other Pact requirements, and inspire reader engagement in both digital and print formats. The Technical Copy Editor proofreads, formats, and edits for technical coherence, grammar, syntax, style, and audience responsiveness. Situated in the larger Programs team, the Technical Copy Editor is part of the technical unit that is responsible for project design and delivery, business development, and thought leadership, and as such, plays an important role in the advancement of top quality technical written documents on topics ranging from health, environment, women and youth, governance, and more. The Technical Copy Editor works closely with technical teams, project teams, business development teams, and Pact’s Integrated Communications team, engaging with a diverse group of individuals globally.  The Technical Copy Editor also contributes to capacity development on the topic of technical writing and editing through Pact’s communities of practice and via individual mentoring.

Key Responsibilities:

Copy Editing Technical Publications and Project Deliverables

• Reviews and revises written products (proposals, performance reports, technical reports, guidebooks, technical briefs, etc.), ensuring documents designated for external publication conform with Pact’s standards and other requirements.
• Reviews document content for lucidity, completeness, and effectiveness, performing copy editing (proofreading, syntax, grammar, style), and suggests revisions, as necessary.
• Reviews documents against donor requirements and international development, academic, and Pact standards.
• Formats publications in MS Word.
• With support of the VP of LEAP, manages a pipeline of copy-editing requests from various teams to ensure responsiveness to deadlines.
• Liaises with project staff, technical staff, and business development staff.
• Liaises with Technical Writers to ensure coordination to address Pact’s diverse editing and writing needs, backstopping colleagues on demand, and collaborating across portfolios to ensure excellence in writing.

           Support to Pact’s Strategy

• In keeping with Pact’s strategy to advance thought leadership, contributes to Pact staff improvements in technical writing and editing through Pact’s communities of practice, by providing tailored trainings, mentoring, and by updating, developing, and sharing guidance documents and templates to ensure compliance with Pact and donor styles.
• Supports LEAP in managing Pact’s internal thought leadership library, disseminating learning documents, and contributing to Pact’s key performance indicators related to publications.
• Liaises with Pact’s Integrated Communications team on technical content production, Pact brand standards and style, MS Word template needs, and other items as needed.

Employee complies with all company policies and procedures, including completing all compliance training topics by the deadline to satisfy each and receiving the corresponding acknowledgment statement that the training has been completed.

All other duties as assigned.

Basic Requirements:

• Master's degree with five (5) years work experience or bachelor's degree with at least seven (7+) years work experience
• Advanced degree in English, communications, publishing, or a similar field preferred. 
• At least 3 years of experience in editing and managing publication workflows
• Superlative grammar, editing, and proofreading skills; fluency in English.
• Portfolio of developed or supported public-facing thought leadership publications.
• High proficiency in Microsoft Word.
• Experience in mentoring and coaching others to write and in executing writing-focused education initiatives, particularly for non-native English speakers.
• Thorough knowledge of major style guides, particularly APA and Associated Press.
• Ability to work independently and to perform and prioritize multiple tasks.
• Ability to establish and sustain interpersonal and professional relationships with Pact staff and in donor and peer organizations.
  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of donor publication and reporting requirements, particularly US Government.
• Familiarity with Adobe Creative Cloud Suite (particularly Acrobat, Illustrator, and InDesign) and intranet platforms.
• Proficiency in a non-English language of a country in which Pact operates.
• Experience coordinating with international field offices and staff for whom English is not their first language.