Staff Writer-Editor, Education and Research Programs

Staff Writer-Editor, Education and Research Programs

Background

Catholics for Choice (CFC) — which serves the pro-choice Catholic majority — was founded in 1973 to encounter, educate, and embolden people of faith who support reproductive freedom.

General Summary

Catholics for Choice seeks a qualified professional to serve as our Staff Writer-Editor, Education and Research Programs. The Staff Writer-Editor is an integral member of our Education and Research Programs, supporting a scaling organization during a period of growth. This role will report to the Senior Advisor, Education and Research Programs, who also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of The Overreach Monitor. The Staff Writer-Editor will lead content creation for The Overreach Monitor, CFC's watchdog platform that exposes Catholic hierarchy overreach into politics and policy (60% of role), while providing editorial leadership across Catholics for Choice's education and research programs (40% of role). This position can be structured as full-time or part-time, depending on candidate fit and capacity.

Catholics for Choice is looking for individuals who are passionate about our mission. Please familiarize yourself with our messaging and programs before applying. If you do not fully support the pro-choice movement, this role is not suitable for you. We welcome applicants from different religions and secular backgrounds to apply, as we are all affected by the Catholic hierarchy's religious overreach. There is no 'perfect' candidate for this role. We seek dedicated and passionate individuals who want to make a difference, and we know not everyone will have all the qualifications identified below.

While journalism experience is preferred, we welcome candidates from advocacy, policy, research, or communications backgrounds who can demonstrate strong writing abilities and commitment to accountability reporting that exposes institutional power structures.

Responsibilities

The Overreach Monitor Content Creation

• Produce 1-2 news articles weekly (400-800 words) covering Catholic hierarchy political activities, policy influences, and institutional overreach through rapid reporting, interviews, analysis pieces, book reviews, and commentary.
• Deliver 2 comprehensive investigative pieces quarterly (1,500+ words) that systematically document patterns of Catholic institutional power and its impact on policy and healthcare access.
• Manage reader tip submissions and cultivate sources within religious institutions, healthcare systems, and policy circles to strengthen our watchdog capacity.
• Edit and fact-check guest submissions, ensuring rigorous standards and accuracy on complex theological and policy matters.
• Collaborate on headlines, metadata, and content optimization to maximize subscriber growth and engagement across our three core audiences: reproductive rights advocates, religious professionals, and the general public.

Cross-Program Editorial Support

• Provide writing, editing, and content strategy support for policy briefs, research reports, educational toolkits, and workshop materials under the direction of the Senior Advisor, Education and Research Programs.
• Collaborate with team on curriculum development, fact sheets, and advocacy resources that translate complex issues for diverse audiences.
• Work across teams to ensure messaging consistency and editorial excellence in all organizational communications.
• Contribute to Catholics for Choice's broader content needs, including Conscience magazine, website content, and special initiatives.
• Support strategic communications planning to amplify investigative findings and research outputs.

Community Engagement & Source Development

• Build and maintain relationships with sources inside religious institutions, healthcare systems, and policy circles.
• Develop systematic documentation processes for tracking patterns of Catholic hierarchy influence and overreach.
• Analyze content performance and reader feedback to refine editorial strategy.
• Participate in strategic planning to ensure The Overreach Monitor serves as an effective tool for advocacy and policy work.

Qualifications

• Commitment to Mission: Deep dedication to reproductive justice, church-state separation, and exposing religious institutional overreach; understanding of how Catholic hierarchy influence intersects with Christian nationalism and harms marginalized communities.
• Exceptional Writing & Research Skills: Demonstrated ability to produce compelling, accurate content under deadline pressure, from breaking news to long-form features, while maintaining rigorous fact-checking standards. Experience with investigative research, source verification, and document analysis preferred.
• Editorial Excellence: Proven ability to edit diverse content types for different audiences while maintaining consistent organizational voice. Experience with cross-program content development and editorial strategy.
• Advocacy or Accountability Experience: Background in journalism, advocacy writing, policy research, or communications with demonstrated ability to expose institutional power structures and hold organizations accountable. We welcome candidates from non-traditional journalism backgrounds who can show strong analytical and investigative capabilities.
• Source Cultivation Skills: Experience building trust with sources in sensitive institutional settings, managing community engagement, and turning reader submissions into investigative leads.
• Racial Equity and Inclusion Competency: Understanding of how religious overreach intersects with white supremacy, affects communities of color disproportionately, and connects to broader patterns of institutional oppression; comfortable discussing these intersections explicitly.
• Digital Platform Experience: Comfortable with online publishing, newsletter platforms, and writing for digital audiences. Experience with Substack or similar platforms preferred.
• Project Management: Ability to manage multiple deadlines simultaneously, balance rapid-response content with long-term investigative projects, and support cross-program editorial needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, policy, religious studies, or related field preferred, but relevant professional experience will be welcomed in lieu of a degree.
• Professional experience in journalism, advocacy writing, policy research, or related field.
• Knowledge of Catholic theology, church hierarchy, canon law, or religious studies.
• Healthcare policy, reproductive rights, or First Amendment law background.
• Experience with FOIA requests and public records research.
• Established network in religion reporting, reproductive rights advocacy, or policy circles.
• Spanish language proficiency.
• Professional experience with content management systems, SEO basics, and digital analytics.

Location

• This job can be located in Washington, D.C., and will follow a hybrid model, with two days in the office and three days working from home. Alternatively, this job can be fully remote if you reside in one of the following jurisdictions: North Carolina, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, or Puerto Rico. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

Compensation & Total Rewards

• Depending on the capabilities and experience of the candidate, we will make an offer at either the Associate level ($65,000) or Specialist level ($75,000). At CFC, we have a modified lockstep base compensation system that sets the starting salary for a staff member based on the level they are hired at. As a result, we do not negotiate salaries within levels.
• CFC's generous employee benefits include:
  • 100% paid medical, dental, and vision insurance and long-term disability insurance for CFC employees.
  • 403(b) Plan with employer contribution (4%) after one year.
  • Paid family and medical leave of up to 12 weeks.
  • Paid parental leave up to 16 weeks.
  • An open leave policy that requires team members to take at least five weeks off each year, in addition to paid holidays and office closures.
  • 13 paid holidays per calendar year.
  • Paid time off during end-of-year office closures (December 23-31); and
  • 36-hour workweek.

Application Process

• Submit cover letter, resume, 2-3 writing samples, and 1 story pitch for The Overreach Monitor.
  • Writing samples should demonstrate your ability to expose institutional power and communicate complex issues to diverse audiences.
  • Please address your experience with both rapid content creation and longer-form analytical work, as well as your understanding of religious institutional influence in contemporary politics.
  • If you do not have traditional journalism experience, please highlight relevant advocacy, research, or communications work that demonstrates accountability-focused writing and investigative capabilities.
  • For your story pitch, provide a brief proposal (1-2 paragraphs) for an Overreach Monitor story you'd be interested in exploring that exposes Catholic hierarchy influence in politics, policy, or healthcare. Include your approach to sourcing and why this story matters for our audience.

AI Use in Applications

• Catholics for Choice recognizes the realistic use of AI in professional work and has established comprehensive AI policies that guide our organizational practices.
• Candidates are permitted to use AI tools to support their application materials, provided they adhere to our core AI principles: accountability and responsibility for all AI-supported work; transparency about AI use; reliability and accuracy in outputs; fairness and non-discrimination; using AI in service of mission to support rather than replace human expertise and creativity; and maintaining trust with the communities we serve.
• In your cover letter, please include a brief disclosure if you used AI tools in preparing any portion of your application materials, describing how you used AI to support your work while maintaining your own expertise and voice.

Catholics for Choice is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our core values include providing a work environment free from discrimination and harassment. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, HIV status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.