Climate & Energy transition Science Editor / Fact-checker (2 positions)

Science Feedback is seeking two science editors or fact-checkers (full-time or part-time freelance) to collaborate on crafting explainers and evaluations of significant claims pertaining to climate science and the energy transition alongside scientific experts.

We are looking for methodical and rigorous candidates committed to scientific objectivity. If you are motivated to tackle viral misinformation and empower readers to be better informed and resist manipulation, we want to hear from you.

Job responsibilities:

PRIMARY

• Write “Insight” articles explaining the state of knowledge on questions of public interest, with emphasis on the scientific method and on debunking misleading narratives and tactics employed by purveyors of misinformation;
• Write reviews assessing the veracity of viral claims purporting to be science-based.
  This entails:
1. monitoring social media and the news to identify relevant claims to investigate,
2. identifying experts and seeking comments from sources including our network of scientists , finding and evaluating the strength of bibliographic references in the peer-reviewed literature,
3. writing the content of reviews and editing the contributions made by scientists;
• Review drafts from other writers in the team.

SECONDARY

• Engage with our network of contributing scientists and extend invitations to new experts;
• Assist in promoting our reviews with media partners and on social media.

Skills required:

• Excellent writing and editing skills:
• ability to communicate complex concepts to a broad audience,
• proficiency in articulating accurate, well-supported articles that encompass all relevant evidence,
• Excellent understanding of the scientific process for validating or refuting hypotheses;
• Excellent understanding of the scientific publication process. Science editors need to be able to identify academics’ expertise based on the quality of their scientific publications and detect potential conflicts of interest;
• Perfect mastery of English. Fluency in other languages is a plus;
• Ability to publish content using WordPress (Gutenberg);
• Non-partisanship: Our staff and freelance contributors are required to not be involved in advocacy/political campaigning and be willing to debunk misinformation wherever it comes from.

Experience needed:

• Minimum 2 years of experience in science communication, journalism, scientific editing, or fact-checking;
• Prior experience in writing about science and collaborating with scientists;
• Familiarity with communicating about climate change science (causes and consequences) for the ’climate’ role and renewable energy sources, fossil fuels, electric vehicles, etc., for the ’energy’ role;
• Candidates with a scientific background (PhD or Master of Science) and communication skills or a science journalism background are both encouraged to apply.