Director of Photography, POLITICO

Job Description: POLITICO is looking for a curious and ambitious Director of Photography to lead our newsroom to tell rich, photo-driven stories. The right fit for this role has a passion for storytelling and showing the impact of policy on our everyday lives. The Director of Photography will sharpen POLITICO'S approach to photojournalism on everything from daily assignments to elections, and from magazine profiles to long-term investigations. They'll manage contracts and relationships with wire services and, importantly, have a knack for spotting the right photo opportunities early — with a deep rolodex of freelancers to get the job done right.

The Director of Photography will be comfortable coaching journalists and producers on photo selection, leading and assigning photo-driven stories, and working in the cms to build their own work. Not only will they work independently, but they'll be a versatile team player, eager to brainstorm ideas and solve problems alongside Politico's visual, interactive news, policy and innovation teams.

What You'll Do:

  • Work with RNC, DNC, Senate Press Photographers gallery to build our photo strategy for 2022 and 2024

  • Manage relationship with policy, section and states editors top pinpoint opportunities early and advise on approach

  • Build and oversee photo protocols, including sharpening our pipeline for photo requests, training the newsroom on best practices and budgeting

  • Oversee timely invoicing and licensing agreements across photographers, agencies, and our legal department

  • Monitor newsroom editorial budgets for photo opportunities

  • Research, edit, assign and produce photo-driven stories

  • Work with Senior Photo Editor to field and winnow photo asks to our best targets and work closely with the Visuals team and freelancers to pitch, or sharpen, photo essays

  • Build photo-driven stories in the cms and contribute to research across stories

  • Advise on copyright and fair use questions and source archival or difficult to access photography

Job Requirements:

  • Demonstrated news judgement and excellence as a visual journalist

  • 5-10 years of experience preferred

  • Excellent leadership skills, with a proven ability to work across various teams to drive dynamic storytelling

  • Passion for the impact of politics and policies is a must, and experience covering an election — local or national — is strongly preferred

  • A proven record of delivering accurate, complex visual storytelling on long and short deadlines

  • Ability to advise or lead research on copyright quandaries, working with others and Politico counsel to bulletproof our approach

  • Fast, resourceful photo researcher with a wide knowledge of photo sources and deep understanding of scouring

  • Ability to process and write photo captions

This job reports to the Managing Editor of Design and Data.

Type of Job: Director of photography, photo editing

City: Arlington

State/Country: VA

Duration: Full-time

Benefits: We value our people. We offer a competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits package, including health and wellness benefits, commuter and cell phone reimbursements, retirement plans, as well as work-life balance flexibility and opportunities for career development. Click here for more on what we offer and what it’s like to work for POLITICO.

Company: POLITICO

About Our Company: POLITICO strives to be the dominant source for news on politics and policy in power centers across every continent where access to reliable information, nonpartisan journalism and real-time tools create, inform and engage a global citizenry.

We are driven by our values. We are relentless contributors, disruptors of the status quo, collaborators, talent cultivators and DEI stewards. Our culture is defined by grit, total integrity and a prioritization on innovation.

How to Apply: https://recruiting.ultipro.com/PER1013PCLL/JobBoard/b972ff6a-41b7-4e97-9c71-273c2595c77d/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=d6d5ecf7-c95c-4ed6-a4d1-55c8ef4cfc48