Senior Video Editor

Position Summary

The Senior Video Editor is the Council on Foreign Relation (CFR)’s key storytelling creative, bringing narrative shape, editorial instinct, and motion graphics craft to the full range of the team's video work. This person will lead the editorial development of video explainers, short-form documentaries, and other high-impact productions from script through final delivery. They will also serve as a creative resource and collaborator for fellow producers, helping them refine and elevate their own projects. The ideal candidate is a gifted visual storyteller with deep post-production expertise, a sophisticated eye for motion graphics, and fluency in social video formats including vertical video for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. A genuine passion for making complex foreign policy ideas accessible and compelling to a wide audience is essential. Experience with video podcast production is a plus.

This full-time position is based in New York City office, at least four days per week. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are considered institutional anchor days where all staff are required to be onsite. CFR’s remote working schedule is subject to change. 

Essential Functions/Responsibilities

• Serve as the team's primary narrative editor, developing and shaping story structure, pacing, and editorial voice across video explainers, short-form documentaries, and other long-form productions.
• Collaborate with fellow producers and staff to provide editorial guidance on projects across the team, helping shape narrative arc, script, and edit from early development through delivery.
• Write, edit, and produce scripts, interview questions, and substantive outlines for a range of video formats.
• Design and execute motion graphics and animation that translate complex foreign policy ideas into visually compelling stories, consistent with CFR's editorial voice and style guide.
• Edit and produce social video content for YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and other digital platforms, with fluency in vertical and platform-native formats and strong command of pacing, structure, sound design, and visual rhythm.
• Adapt long-form editorial content into short-form and vertical social video, finding the story within the story for platform-specific audiences.
• Use storytelling principles and the video medium to explain foreign policy concepts and ideas to a wider audience through evocative imagery and motion graphics.
• Mentor junior and mid-level producers, modeling high editorial and craft standards through collaborative, hands-on engagement with their work.
• Research photo and footage needs and work with vendors to negotiate licensing terms.
• Produce and direct on-camera interviews in the studio and in the field as projects require.
• Maintain awareness of trends in video storytelling, motion graphics, and the competitive digital media landscape, including best practices, video SEO, and emerging platforms.
• Manage project timelines and communicate deliverables to the Head of Production and relevant colleagues.
• Support video podcast production as needed.
• Perform any other duties or tasks as assigned or required.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience

• At least 7 years of experience editing and producing video, with a strong portfolio demonstrating narrative storytelling across documentary, explainer, long-form, and social video formats.
• BA in film and TV production, journalism, or a related field; advanced degree a plus.

Related Skills & Other Requirements

• Demonstrated mastery of story structure, pacing, and editorial craft for both short-form and long-form video.
• Deep experience designing motion graphics and animation for video productions, with the ability to develop original graphic systems as well as extend existing visual styles.
• Fluency in vertical video and platform-native social formats, with a strong understanding of what drives performance and engagement across platforms.
• Experience writing and editing scripts and conducting interviews for non-fiction video storytelling.
• Mastery of Adobe Premiere and After Effects.
• Proficiency with the full Adobe Creative Cloud suite including Audition, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
• Experience working in a deadline-driven editorial or newsroom environment.
• Strong familiarity with and genuine interest in international affairs and foreign policy.
• Ability to work independently and take creative initiative on complex, multi-stage projects.
• A collaborative spirit and a generosity with creative expertise.
• Experience with video podcast production is a plus.

Required Application Materials

Please submit a résumé and cover letter stating your interest in the position and website, reel, or digital portfolio of work.

Compensation and Benefits

• The full-time annual compensation range for this position is $100,000 – $125,000, depending on experience.
• In addition to competitive salaries, the Council on Foreign Relations offers a benefits package that is among the best offered by nonprofit institutions today, including an award-winning health and wellness program, an on-site fitness center, and generous leave policies and health insurance programs.

About CFR

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is committed to fostering a foreign policy community in the United States that is more representative of American society, recognizing that diverse backgrounds and perspectives contribute to broader, more informed participation in the foreign policy debate and lead to an enhanced understanding of the world and the United States’ role therein. To that end, CFR is dedicated to continuing to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout its work and workplace by building a more diverse membership and staff, producing and dispensing thoughtful analysis on a broad range of foreign policy issues, and developing relevant, wide-reaching programming that also serves to expand the foreign policy talent pipeline to underrepresented populations.