• Job Description

  Req#: 542

  About Chicago Public Media

  Home to WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Public Media is the largest local non-profit news organization in the country. WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times serve more than 2 million people weekly across broadcast, print, and digital platforms. As a mission-driven organization, we aspire to become the essential and most trusted news source that Chicago turns to each day for understanding the people, events, and ideas that shape our community.

  WBEZ is home to local and national news programming as well as a growing portfolio of popular podcasts. WBEZ serves the community with fact-based, objective news and information, and its award-winning journalists ask tough questions, dig deep for answers and expose truths that spark change and foster understanding. WBEZ is supported by more than 86,000 members, hundreds of corporate sponsors and major donors. In 2022, WBEZ received more than 20 awards for its journalism, including two prestigious National Edward R. Murrow Awards.

  Chicago Sun-Times is known for its breaking and daily news coverage, hard-hitting investigative reporting, in-depth political coverage, timely behind-the-scenes sports analysis, and insightful entertainment and cultural coverage. Chicago Sun-Times is the winner of eight Pulitzer Prizes and countless other awards. In recent years, the Sun-Times has focused on a digital transformation to deliver its news and content to a growing digital audience. Most recently, the Sun-Times dropped the paywall on suntimes.com to expand access to its local news and shifted to a community-funded digital membership program supported by voluntary member donations .

  Chicago Public Media believes independent journalism is essential to a well-functioning democracy and access to fact-based, objective news and information is a right of every citizen. We serve the public interest by creating diverse, compelling content that informs, inspires, and enriches. We connect diverse audiences and help them make a difference in the community, the region and the world. And, we employ 300+ staff who want to belong to an organization that inspires, supports, and challenges them to do their best work.

  For more information, please see the Chicago Public Media Annual Report .

  The Opportunity

  The Director of Strategic Planning will be responsible for leading the development and execution of our strategic plans, with a focus on partnering with the Executive Leadership Team to execute the strategic plan and develop plans for new initiatives.

  This position reports directly to the CEO and works closely with members of the broader management team.

  The Director's key responsibilities include facilitating the development of a strategic plan that aligns with the organization's mission; analyzing internal capacity and capabilities and external trends; identifying growth opportunities and risks; and monitoring and measuring progress against strategic initiatives and goals. The ideal candidate will have a strong strategic planning background, understand how public media organizations operate and have experience leading collaborative, organizational-wide planning efforts.

  Key Responsibilities

  • Lead organization-wide strategic planning process resulting in a 3-5 year strategic plan, including conducting environmental scans, evaluating trends, facilitating workshops, and synthesizing feedback and recommendations.
    

  • Support leadership in implementing the strategic plan by authoring an annual operating plan and helping align resources, and budgeting, with content, audience, revenue and operational efforts with strategic priorities.
    

  • Establish, monitor and track key metrics and performance indicators to measure progress against strategic plan goals and assess organizational impact and effectiveness.
    

  • Prepare regular reports and presentations on strategic plan implementation and metrics for staff, leadership and board. Lead the creation of quarterly board presentations
    

  • In partnership with the CEO help to prepare and facilitate effective executive and senior leadership team meetings.
    

  • Identify and analyze significant issues and opportunities facing Chicago Public Media and make recommendations for how to address them in pursuit of strategic goals. This includes staying abreast of trends in public media, media technology, community needs, and other external factors that could impact the organization's strategy.
    

  • Partner with department leads to conduct research and analysis to identify market trends, audience needs, and competitor strategies, and use this information to inform our organization's strategic decisions
    

  • Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including editorial and audience teams, advancement, sponsorship and others, to identify new opportunities and partnerships
    

  • Work with finance to ensure the strategic plan accounts for the financial resources needed ensure that new initiatives are completed on time and within budget
    

  • Analyze and report on the effectiveness of our organization's strategic initiatives, and adjust plans as needed to meet our goals

  Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in business, journalism, or a related field; Master's degree preferred
    

  • 8+ years of experience in strategic planning or a related field, with a proven track record of developing and executing successful strategic initiatives
    

  • Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to use data to inform decision-making
    

  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders
    

  • Strong leadership skills, with the ability to collaborate and creatively problem-solve.
    
    

  The essential functions described above are not all-inclusive and may change periodically to meet the needs of Chicago Public Media (CPM). The information contained in this job description is not intended to create any contractual or other legal commitment. Chicago Public Media may change the content or format of this job at any time in its sole and exclusive discretion without notice.

  Any applicant who is interested in this position may visit wbez.org to apply or click on this link .

  Working at Chicago Public Media
  

  Our associates are in service of our mission. Our full-time employee population hovers around 150 people, and approximately half of our team is represented by SAG-AFTRA. We work at our newly renovated open and collaborative space at Navy Pier in Chicago, IL. We know it is imperative that our workplace reflects our community so we can, in turn, provide content that connects people. We are committed to having a workplace that thrives by creating a place of belonging where everyone can contribute their talents. If you share our passion for public service news and information, join us! Check out our LinkedIn page for further details: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chicago-public-radio/?viewAsMember=true

  Chicago Public Media is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we actively seek and welcome people from all backgrounds, orientations and life experiences to join our team.

• About the company

  WBEZ – branded WBEZ 91.5 – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area.

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