Editor Job Description Templates
Free editor job description templates with duties, salary, and FLSA guidance. Content, copy, video, social, and web editor versions. Download as DOCX.
Editor Job Description Templates
5 templates with FLSA and pay guidance. Download as DOCX.
The word editor covers a lot of different jobs. A content editor shaping your blog, a copy editor catching every grammar slip, a video editor cutting footage, a social media editor polishing posts, a web editor running your site, these are genuinely different roles with different skills, different pay, and even different overtime rules. A single generic template serves none of them well.
At FirstHR, we build templates for the small businesses and agencies making this hire, often their first editorial hire, where one person ends up wearing several of these hats at once. The five templates below cover the editor types a small company actually hires, each with pay benchmarks and the FLSA classification built in, and they are written to be combined when one editor does it all. Fill in the brackets and post, and the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
What Is an Editor?
An editor plans, reviews, and revises content so it is clear, accurate, and ready to publish. Depending on the type, that content is written articles, marketing copy, video, social posts, or website pages. The written-content editor role maps to editors (SOC 27-3041), while video editing is a separate occupation, film and video editors (SOC 27-4032), with its own pay benchmark.
For the employer writing the posting, the key point is that editor is an umbrella term: the duties, skills, and even overtime classification depend on which type you are hiring, and at a small business one person often covers several. The five templates split by type so the document matches the real role.
Types of Editor
The realistic editor hires for a small business or agency fall into five types, and they differ enough that the matched template reads more credibly than a generic one. Larger publications add associate, senior, managing, and executive editors, but those are big-media roles rather than small-business hires.
| Type | Focus | Closest pay benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Content editor | Editorial calendar, written content | Editors (BLS 27-3041) |
| Copy editor | Grammar, style, fact-checking | Editors (BLS 27-3041) |
| Video editor | Footage, motion graphics, sound | Film and video editors (27-4032) |
| Social media editor | Editing and scheduling social | Tracks content editor |
| Web / digital editor | Website and digital content | Tracks content editor |
At a company of five to fifty employees, these roles frequently blend into one hire. Use the type that best matches the bulk of the work as your base, and pull in duties from the others as needed.
Editor Duties and Responsibilities
Editor duties center on editing and quality, planning and process, collaboration, and performance. The emphasis shifts by type, more software for video, more SEO for web, but these four areas hold across nearly every editor role. These are the duties grouped the way the templates use them.
A strong posting grounds these in your specifics: your content, your brand voice, your tools and style guide, and the team the editor works with. For a structured way to scope any role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by the type of editing the role mostly does. The editorial core runs through all five, but the tools, skills, and pay benchmarks differ enough that the matched version is worth starting from. Use this guide to choose, and combine templates if one editor will do several jobs.
5 Free Editor Job Description Templates
Download all five as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: company and role summary, key responsibilities, required and preferred qualifications, the FLSA note, pay, and how to apply, with an EEO statement. Fill in the brackets and post.
Template 1: Content Editor
The general editorial baseline: editorial calendar, reviewing drafts, brand voice, and working with writers. Start here for most content hires.
Template 2: Copy Editor
For grammar, punctuation, style-guide, and fact-checking work. Includes a note on when this role may be non-exempt and overtime-eligible.
Template 3: Video Editor
For video: assembling footage, motion graphics, sound, and platform-ready edits. A distinct occupation with its own pay benchmark.
Template 4: Social Media Editor
For editing and scheduling social content: brand voice, the content calendar, and reviewing posts before they publish.
Template 5: Web / Digital Editor
For website and digital content: editing across formats, SEO, CMS management, and using analytics to guide decisions.
Editor Skills and Qualifications
Most editor roles weigh demonstrated editing skill and a portfolio over a specific degree. List what is truly required separately from what is preferred, and ask for samples so you can judge the actual work.
| Type | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Core skills | Editing judgment, grammar, style, storytelling |
| Education | Bachelor's in English/journalism (preferred) |
| Tools | CMS, style guide, plus role-specific software |
| Evidence | Portfolio, samples, or a reel |
List a degree as preferred rather than required unless you have a specific reason, and keep the language neutral and job-related, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics. For a fuller framework, the SHRM guide to writing a job description covers the standard sections. Always ask for a portfolio or samples, since the work itself is the best predictor of fit.
FLSA: Are Editors Exempt or Non-Exempt?
Editors are usually exempt, but this is the area small employers most often get wrong, because exempt status depends on the actual work rather than the title, and one common editor role can go either way.
Treat a genuinely creative editor as exempt and a routine-correction copy editor cautiously, likely as non-exempt. For the underlying rules, the exempt vs non-exempt guide and the Fair Labor Standards Act guide explain the tests. Several states set a higher salary floor than the federal level, so this is general information, not legal advice; confirm with an employment attorney for your specific roles and state.
Editor Pay
Editor pay depends on the type of editor, the industry, the location, and experience. Because the role spans two federal occupations, the data anchor comes from both.
Social media and web editor pay tends to track the content editor benchmark depending on scope. Set your range using current market data for your specific role, industry, and region, and remember that for an exempt editor the salary must also meet the FLSA threshold to keep the exemption valid.
Hiring an Editor for a Small Business
A large publication hires specialized editors for each function. A small business usually hires one editor who does several jobs, often as its first editorial hire, and faces two things most templates skip: how to scope a blended role, and how to classify it under the FLSA. Here is how to handle both.
After You Hire: Onboarding an Editor
The job description is step one, and for an editor the goal is to get them producing good, on-brand work quickly. Start with the basics before day one: send the offer letter with the correct FLSA classification and salary, collect the signed offer, complete Form I-9 and tax forms as part of the new hire paperwork, and prepare access to your CMS, style guide, brand assets, and analytics.
Then give them the context an editor specifically needs: your brand voice, your audience, your editorial standards, and a clear first-90-days plan. The documents follow the usual sequence: the offer letter template for the terms and the onboarding checklist template for the first days, with signed onboarding documents and your style guides kept in one place.
FirstHR fits the people side of this: e-signature for the offer letter and policy acknowledgments, document management to store the signed offer, style guides, and brand policies, task workflows and an AI onboarding wizard to build the first-week and 30-60-90 plan, training assignments for tools and standards, and an HRIS with an org chart placing the role on the marketing or content team, all of which help a small business handle the hire cleanly. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so connect your payroll and benefits providers for those functions. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an editor do?
An editor plans, reviews, and revises content so it is clear, accurate, and ready to publish. The core work is consistent across editorial roles: reviewing and improving drafts, maintaining a consistent voice and style, fact-checking, working with writers, and meeting publishing deadlines. The specifics depend on the type of editor. A content editor owns the editorial calendar and shapes written content, a copy editor focuses on grammar, style, and accuracy, a video editor assembles footage into finished videos, a social media editor edits and schedules social content, and a web or digital editor manages content across the website and digital channels. At a small business, one editor often does several of these jobs at once. The templates on this page split by type so the document matches the editor you are actually hiring, and they are written to be combined when one person covers multiple areas.
What are the different types of editor?
There are several, and they map to different work and even different pay benchmarks. A content editor (sometimes called a general or managing editor at larger companies) plans and shapes written content and the editorial calendar. A copy editor focuses on grammar, punctuation, style, and fact-checking. A video editor works in a separate field entirely, assembling footage with motion graphics and sound. A social media editor edits and schedules content for social channels, and a web or digital editor manages content across a website. Larger media companies also have associate, senior, managing, and executive editors, plus an editor-in-chief, but those are roles for sizable publications rather than small businesses. For a company of five to fifty employees, the realistic hires are content, copy, video, social, and web editors, often blended into one role, which is why this page covers those five with combinable templates.
Are editors exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
Editors are usually exempt from overtime, but exempt status depends on actual duties and salary rather than the job title. The most common path is the creative professional exemption, which applies when the editor's primary duty requires invention, imagination, originality, or talent, that is, genuinely analyzing, interpreting, shaping, or creating editorial work, and when the role meets the salary threshold of $684 per week ($35,568 per year). An editor doing real creative or editorial judgment work typically qualifies. The important exception is a routine copy editor: someone whose work is mostly correcting grammar and reformatting routine or already-public information, without contributing original analysis or creative judgment, may not meet the creative professional test and could be non-exempt and owed overtime. Several states also set a higher salary floor than the federal level. So classify each editor role on the actual duties and pay, treat genuinely creative roles as exempt, be cautious with routine-correction roles, and confirm with counsel, since this is general information rather than legal advice.
Is a copy editor exempt or non-exempt?
It depends on what the copy editor actually does. If the role involves genuine editorial judgment, shaping and improving content, making substantive calls about clarity and meaning, contributing original analysis, it can qualify for the creative professional exemption and be treated as exempt, provided it also meets the salary threshold. But if the role is primarily mechanical, correcting grammar, spelling, and punctuation and reformatting routine or already-public text without original creative or analytical contribution, it may not meet the creative professional test, and the employee could be non-exempt and entitled to overtime. The federal guidance is explicit that workers who only collect, organize, and record routine information, or who do not contribute a unique interpretation, are generally not exempt creative professionals. For a small employer, the safe approach is to look honestly at the duties: a substantive editorial copy editor is usually exempt, a pure proofreading-and-correction role should be treated cautiously and likely as non-exempt. Confirm with an employment attorney, since misclassification creates back-pay risk.
How much does an editor make?
It depends on the type of editor. For editors in the general editorial sense (content, copy, and similar written-content roles), the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $75,260 in May 2024, with the lowest 10 percent under $36,200 and the highest 10 percent over $140,840. Film and video editors are a separate occupation with a median of $70,980 in May 2024, ranging from under $39,170 to over $145,900. Actual pay varies widely by industry, location, experience, and the exact role, and a small business hiring its first editor will often pay toward the lower-to-middle of these ranges, especially for a blended or junior role. Social media and web editor pay tends to track content editor levels depending on scope. Set your range using current market data for your specific role, industry, and region, and post an honest range, since a growing number of states require one.
Do you need a degree to be an editor?
Usually a bachelor's degree is typical but not always strictly required, and it matters less than demonstrated skill. Most editor roles list a bachelor's in English, journalism, or communications, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that editors typically enter the field with such a degree plus writing and proofreading experience. That said, what actually predicts success in the role is the work itself: sharp editing judgment, command of grammar and style, and a portfolio or samples that show it. For a small business, it is often more useful to weigh a strong portfolio and a relevant editing test than to require a specific degree, which can screen out capable self-taught or career-changing candidates. For specialized roles like video editing, the relevant software skills and a reel matter more than the degree. In the job description, list the degree as preferred rather than required unless you have a specific reason, and ask for a portfolio or samples so you can judge the actual work.
What should an editor job description include?
A strong editor job description includes a short company and role summary, the core responsibilities, the required and preferred qualifications, the employment and pay details, and a clear application step that asks for a portfolio or samples. For responsibilities, focus on the actual editorial work: reviewing and improving content, maintaining voice and style, fact-checking, working with writers, and meeting deadlines, plus the specifics of the type (CMS and SEO for web, software for video, scheduling for social). Two things most templates skip but that matter: state the FLSA classification thoughtfully, since it depends on whether the role is genuinely creative, and name the tools and style guide you use. The details that make a posting effective are specifics: your brand, your content, an honest pay range, and a request for a portfolio. The templates on this page give you a type-matched, fill-in-the-blank starting point with the FLSA and pay guidance built in.
What happens after I hire an editor?
Once you hire, the work shifts to onboarding, and for an editor the goal is to get them producing good, on-brand work quickly. Start with the basics before day one: send the offer letter with the correct FLSA classification and salary, collect the signed offer, complete Form I-9 and tax forms, and prepare access to your CMS, style guide, brand assets, and analytics. Then give them the context an editor specifically needs: your brand voice, your audience, your editorial standards, and a clear first-90-days plan so they understand what good looks like at your company. Because a small business making its first editorial hire usually runs HR on the side, a repeatable process keeps it clean. FirstHR handles that people side, from the e-signed offer letter and stored style guides and policies to the onboarding workflow, tool and standards training, and the 30-60-90 plan. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so connect those providers separately. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.