Project Manager

Delaware Journalism Collaborative
Wilmington, Delaware

Description:

A diverse network of media outlets throughout Delaware has come together for a statewide journalism project.

Over the course of 18 months, the Delaware Journalism Collaborative will combine resources to explore issues and offer solutions to problems around the increasing polarization in our communities. The reporting will bring to the fore the reasons this happens and ways to bring community members together despite differences.

The Collaborative is backed by Solutions Journalism Network, a media nonprofit based in New York City that encourages rigorous, regular reporting on solutions to problems.

The Collaborative is seeking a Project Manager to start work in October who will coordinate logistics in coverage with the editorial goals set by the network partners.

This is an 18-month, salaried contract position based in Delaware requiring an average of 20-25 hours per week, much of it during regular business hours. It will not include benefits but will include stipends for equipment use and travel. The project manager will report to the Collaborative partners, while working closely with the SJN program staff in New York and possibly with a project coordinator in Delaware.

Role and responsibilities:

• Be the leader and spokesperson for the project, ensuring that it is staying true to its vision and managing the relationships between the partners. This includes representing the collaboratives in public forums and sessions.
• Be responsible for ensuring that project coverage, as a whole, is meeting the goals and strategies set by the partners.
• Maintain project budget management and approve invoices for payments.
  Convene monthly (or more frequent, if needed/desired) conference calls or in-person meetings, attended by at least one representative from every newsroom partner, to reflect on the project’s coverage; discuss concerns and problems; adjust goals and strategy; and determine near-term editorial priorities.
• Encourage and seek to facilitate as much multimedia and cross-newsroom coverage as possible.
• Build social media networks to push community engagement from the work with the collaborative.
• Consult the project’s editorial advisors regularly for input and discussion.
• Reinforce the solutions approach by providing guidance from Solutions Journalis. Study other collaboratives around the country to discover best practices that could be applied in Delaware.
• Taking on the role of “traffic cop,” which entails coordinating story deadlines and pointing out potential conflicting or overlapping story plans. The project manager will offer advice, whenever possible, on ways to maintain the reporting efforts and integrity of each newsroom’s work.
• While this is not an editorial authority position, the input of project manager to identify gaps in coverage or lapses in deadlines would be encouraged to enhance the project.
• Monitor partner websites to fully understand the types of coverage among the partners as a way to better understand the types of reporting that will be done and broaden the social outreach of the collaborative’s work.
• Setup logistics of community engagement.

Qualifications:

• The Project Manager should live in the quad state region of Delaware, South Jersey, Southeastern Pa, and Northeast Maryland. Even though this job can be done mostly on a remote/virtual basis, the project manager should plan to visit Delaware as needed.
• Familiarity with the state of Delaware and thinking on political and social polarization story topics is desirable.
• Proven organizational experience and conceptual leadership of large projects.
• Experience working with a diverse array of media outlets.
• Marketing and budgeting familiarity.
• Familiarity with solutions journalism.
• This is a flexible work hour position, much of the coordinating work will be done during normal business hours, though some community outreach events could fall on nights and weekends.

Please send resume and cover letter to DE****************@gm***.com

Interested, but have questions before you apply, email DE****************@gm***.com