Injustice Watch is seeking an innovative and collaborative editorial director to lead our nonprofit newsroom. The ideal candidate is an experienced manager with a passion for investigative reporting and a strong commitment to community-driven journalism. The editorial director will work across departments to ensure our editorial projects have a wide-ranging impact. This is an opportunity to test new ideas and help shape organizational strategy for a growing, mission-driven media outlet.
Our Editorial Director will:
- Lead the editorial team in developing and executing a strong editorial vision and strategy for public-service and investigative projects on issues of equity and justice in the court system.
- Build and maintain collaborative and strategic partnerships with other newsrooms and community organizations in coordination with the rest of the team.
- Lead hiring for our editorial team, ensuring that our newsroom staff reflects the diversity of Chicago and the communities we cover.
- Foster and maintain an equitable, collaborative, and inclusive newsroom culture.
- Support the editorial team with the resources, guidance, and professional development needed to execute on ambitious public-service and investigative journalism projects.
- Ensure that our projects, reporting, and commentaries center the voices and lived experiences of people most affected by the court system.
- Collaborate across the organization and meet regularly with our development, engagement, and operations teams to advocate for editorial priorities and ensure the organization’s strategic goals are being met.
- Administer the newsroom budget.
- Represent Injustice Watch by appearing at public forums, conferences, and other events and communicating with stakeholders, as needed.
We’re looking for someone who:
- Has at least five years of newsroom management experience and a track record of producing and editing impactful, human-centered journalism.
- Is a collaborative editor, manager, and mentor who loves to champion and support the work of a team and has experience developing the skills of younger journalists.
- Has documented success building relationships across departments and with other newsrooms and community organizations.
- Has a strong vision for journalism that is responsive to the people and communities most affected by the issues we cover.
- Is an organized, ambitious, and creative leader who can articulate and execute a vision.
- Is committed to building a caring work environment and culture by respectfully providing and accepting feedback, encouraging and modeling work-life balance, and embodying a growth mindset.
While nothing below is a requirement, it’s a plus if you:
- Have experience reporting or editing stories related to the courts and/or issues that intersect with the court system, such as policing, housing, immigration, domestic violence, and debt.
- Are knowledgeable about Chicagoland history, politics, institutions, and communities.
- Have experience producing, editing, or overseeing large-scale investigative journalism projects.
We know there are skills and experiences we haven’t thought of and strong candidates who don’t have this exact set of qualifications. If that’s you, we strongly encourage you to apply and tell us what you could bring to this role.
Reports to: Executive Director
Directly supervises: Managing Editor, Investigations Editor
Also works closely with: Audience Director, Development and Operations Director
Time commitment
This is a full-time position based in Chicago. Our regular working hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Injustice Watch offers flex-time and flexible schedule accommodations with prior approval. Our team is currently working remotely, with the option to utilize our downtown Chicago office, as needed.
Compensation
Salary: $95,000-$110,000, commensurate with experience
Benefits of working at Injustice Watch
- Vacation time (12 days in first year)
- Sick leave (12 days per year)
- Holidays (13 days per year, plus a paid winter break)
- Family leave (6 months, including 3 months fully paid and 3 months of flexible leave)
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Annual professional development and workspace stipend ($1,500)
- Phone and internet stipend ($50/month)
- Flexible work schedule
- 401K plan
How to apply
Please apply using this application form. The priority deadline for applying is Wednesday, July 19 at 11:59 p.m. CT. We will start reviewing applications then and continue until the position is filled. Email [email protected] with “Editorial Director” in the subject line if you have any questions or to request a 15 minute informational conversation with executive director Juliet Sorensen.
About Injustice Watch
Injustice Watch is a Chicago-based nonprofit, nonpartisan journalism organization that focuses on issues of equity and justice in the court system. Our goal is to listen to and center people impacted by institutional injustices and provide them with the perspectives, information, and resources needed to hold power to account. We do this through our public-service journalism (such as our Cook County judicial election guides); innovative investigative reporting (such as The Circuit, our collaborative investigation examining decades of Cook County court data); and intentional audience engagement and community-building.