Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting is looking for a visionary editor in chief to lead its award-winning, multiplatform newsroom.
The editor in chief will set the editorial vision, inspire our newsroom to do its best work and expand the organization’s reputation as one of the country’s most credible and excellent investigative journalism operations. The editor in chief will uphold the highest journalistic standards and stand at the frontlines of protecting the organization from legal and security threats. This position directly manages senior-level newsroom leaders and reports to the CEO.
Our ideal candidate has a distinguished track record of conceiving and executing ambitious, high-impact investigative projects across platforms and getting those stories in front of large audiences. He or she has a proven ability to oversee compelling, relevant, narrative reporting that connects broadly with the public. This individual also understands the power of multiplatform storytelling and how to use our text reporting, data journalism, radio show and podcast, documentary and television projects, website, social media channels and audience engagement strategies to their fullest potential.
The editor in chief will have a strong personal editorial vision and an articulated process for developing, refining and maximizing the ideas and ambitions of others. Key to this role is the ongoing process of building a culture of respect and teamwork within the organization. The person in this position will inspire others, serve as mentor and coach as needed, and continue to foster a high-performing, creative newsroom environment.
Reveal is a leader in collaboration – managing dozens of partnerships every year to co-produce and distribute text and audio stories, produce innovative public engagement events, design and facilitate local reporting initiatives, develop open-source data apps and more. Our editor in chief will be a skillful and diplomatic manager of these collaborations, ensuring journalistic excellence, fair and consistent branding and crediting for all partners, and broad audience reach and impact.
The successful candidate will share our belief that a diverse newsroom results in better reporting and is critical to our long-term relevance, growth and sustainability. Our ideal candidate will have a proven track record of fostering and improving diversity and a commitment to continuing to build and steward a diverse newsroom at Reveal, where we are striving for our leadership, staff, editorial output and audiences to reflect the country we serve.
Because we are a nonprofit, reliant on philanthropic support for the vast majority of our revenue, it is critical that the editor in chief partner with the CEO, development team and board of directors to translate our editorial vision for fundraising purposes. This includes setting an editorial agenda that will inspire supporters, helping draft and edit proposals and reports to funders, and working with the development team to design engaging content for donor events and communications. The editor in chief also has the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that all proposed grant deliverables are met in a timely manner.
Qualifications:
- Experience leading high-impact investigations across platforms. National and/or international experience is preferred.
- Long-form radio and/or video experience is a plus.
- Successful track record of managing people – building strong and collaborative teams, leading with openness and transparency, and attracting and retaining top talent.
- Experience managing successful internal and external collaborations.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity through hiring, mentoring, training or other initiatives.
- Persuasive ability to inspire a variety of stakeholders about our work, including presenting to funders, the board of directors, our journalism peers and our audiences.
- Embrace of creativity and experimentation, with a thoughtful approach to resource allocation that balances investment in new ideas and in our core work.
- Experience monitoring and managing the legal and security protections necessary to support and protect an investigative newsroom.
- Budget management experience; an understanding of nonprofit and philanthropic funding models is valued.
This describes everything we are looking for. Our newsroom is successful because of the sum of its parts – we recognize that no one person will be equally strong in every area and that some candidates will bring other strengths or experiences we haven’t described here. If you are passionate about our work and have a vision to share with us, please apply. We will carefully consider every serious applicant.
This organization has a strong commitment to diversity. We are an equal opportunity employer and intend to develop a diverse candidate pool for this position.
This position is full time; based in Emeryville, California (nestled between Berkeley and Oakland); and offers competitive wages and benefits. To apply, please email your résumé and a cover letter to christa@revealnews.org. In your cover letter, describe what interests you about this position and how you would apply your skills, experiences, leadership style and editorial vision to this role.