Managing Editor, Asia

Overview

Job Title: Managing Editor, Asia

Department: Editorial

Reports To: Executive Editor

Location: Taipei, Taiwan | Hybrid

Schedule: Full-Time

Who We Are

Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with editorial and operational bureaus in Taipei, Bangkok, and Seoul. A congressionally funded grantee of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), RFA operates with full editorial independence.

Our mission is to provide accurate, uncensored news and information to people living in countries where a free press does not exist. We broadcast in nine languages and dialects - Mandarin, Cantonese, Tibetan, Uyghur, Burmese, Vietnamese, Lao, Khmer, and Korean - reaching audiences across China, North Korea, Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and beyond via shortwave, satellite, and the internet. Our journalists work in some of the world’s most difficult media environments, often at considerable personal risk, filling a critical gap in access to truthful, timely news for millions of people who would otherwise have very little of it. That reality shapes everything about how we work and who we hire to lead this organization.

Job Summary

The Managing Editor, Asia leads RFA's editorial operations across the Asia time zone - overseeing the Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean, and international desks through the Asia news cycle. This is one of two Managing Editor roles that together maintain 24-hour editorial continuity across RFA's global newsroom; the Asia and Washington positions are designed as counterparts, not as headquarters and satellite.

The role carries full editorial authority during the Asia shift: setting desk priorities, approving high-stakes stories, resolving cross-desk conflicts, and routing standards, safety, and legal escalations to the right decision-makers. It also carries people leadership responsibility for Asia-based editorial staff - recruiting, developing, and managing the Editors in Charge and their teams.

RFA's Asia desks operate in one of the most complex editorial environments in international journalism - covering closed governments, high-surveillance reporting contexts, and audiences who face real risk in accessing the journalism. The Managing Editor, Asia must bring both the editorial authority to lead in that environment and the regional depth to understand what is at stake in every significant coverage decision.

Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

• Lead editorial operations across Asia-based desks throughout the Asia news cycle: setting the daily editorial agenda, ensuring consistent standards, and driving timely, high-quality publication across the Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean, and international desks.
• Manage the Editors in Charge of each Asia desk: set desk priorities, allocate editorial resources, resolve cross-desk conflicts, and maintain clear lines of accountability across the Asia portfolio.
• Partner with the Managing Editor, Washington to ensure 24-hour newsroom coverage through written handoffs, weekly video sync, and consistent editorial direction across time zones.
• Drive coverage ambition across Asia desks: working with Editors in Charge, the Investigations Desk, and shared resources, including the Coverage Editor, OSINT Journalist, and Data Journalist, to ensure the Asia portfolio pursues high-impact journalism, not only daily output.
• Act as escalation point and routing decision-maker for Editor-in-Charge issues during the Asia shift: standards concerns route to Standards Editor, safety concerns to Safety Director, legal concerns to General Counsel.
• Approve high-stakes or sensitive stories before publication on Asia desks, in consultation with Standards Editor or Deputy Standards Editor and Director of Journalist Safety.
• Represent RFA editorially in Asia: relationships with regional partners, peer newsrooms, sources, and stakeholders.
• Lead recruiting, performance management, and professional development for Asia-based editorial staff,
• Oversee Asia editorial budget in coordination with the Executive Editor and operations leadership, including resource allocation, travel approvals, and staffing decisions
• Participate in the organizational on-call rotation for breaking news escalations that fall outside normal shift hours (dead-zone), providing senior editorial judgment when the news cycle demands it.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Journalism, International Relations, Political Science, Asian Studies, or a related field required
• Minimum 15 years of progressive experience within a professional news organization, with at least 10 years in senior editorial management roles (Managing Editor, Editor in Charge, or equivalent); preference given for experience overseeing multiple, simultaneous teams across distinct coverage areas, languages or platforms, with direct accountability for budget authority, resource allocation and performance outcomes across each unit.
• Demonstrated professional experience reporting on, editing or managing coverage that falls under the Managing Editor, Asia’s Portfolio, with direct knowledge of the political, cultural and media landscape across the regions. Candidates without direct professional or lived experience in one of the five regions will not be considered.
• First hand cultural fluency across the East Asia regions, reflecting genuine familiarity with the distinct political, social, and cultural contexts that shape journalism in each area. This may be evidenced through personal or professional ties to the region, experience managing journalists native to it, or a sustained career engagement with its communities and complexities.
• Familiarity with the specific editorial and operational challenges of reporting on closed or authoritarian governments, including source protection in high-surveillance environments, legal risk in restricted jurisdictions, and the limits of access-based reporting.
• Established source network in the region, with demonstrated ability to maintain and grow sensitive source relationships responsibly
• Strong and demonstrable news judgment across story types - breaking news, investigations, explainers, and sensitive or legally exposed stories.
• Ability to make difficult editorial decisions under time pressure and on stories with pre-publication risk.
• Proven ability to recruit, develop, and manage senior editorial staff, including performance management and succession planning.
• Demonstrated skill in managing editorial conflict - between desks, between editorial and operational priorities, and under deadline pressure.
• Experience working across language teams and managing multi-platform output (web, social, video, podcast, shortwave)
• Proficiency in at least one RFA broadcast language that falls under the Asia portfolio - Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, or Korean - is a significant advantage.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience leading international newsrooms or language services serving Asian audiences
• Familiarity with safety and security protocols for journalists in restrictive environments
• Prior experience managing multilingual or multicultural editorial teams
• Experience working with diaspora communities and exiled source networks
• Prior experience at an international broadcaster, wire service, or multi-desk news organization with comparable operational complexity
• Possession of valid work authorization for Taiwan is highly advantageous for this role

Physical Requirements / Working Conditions

Flexible working hours are required to accommodate coordination across multiple time zones, including the Asia region and the United States.

To be considered for this position, please include a cover letter with your application.