Washington, August 29, 2019 – The Fund for Investigative Journalism is seeking a full-time executive director to succeed Sandy Bergo, who will be retiring at the end of the year, after leading the nonprofit for ten years. A search committee is actively seeking candidates. Here is the job posting:
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Who We Are
For 50 years, the Fund for Investigative Journalism has financed reporting projects that expose injustice, government wrongdoing, corporate malfeasance, and abuses of human and environmental rights. The Fund is the nation’s leading nonprofit supporting independent investigative journalists whose work is published in established media outlets around the world. Each year, the Fund awards dozens of grants to help reporters complete their investigations, and provides mentors, access to legal advice and fellowships to diversify the profession. FIJ-supported projects have been awarded many journalistic honors, including three Pulitzer Prizes (recently the 2019 Pulitzer for General Nonfiction), two National Magazine Awards, the Raymond Clapper Award, the George Polk Award, the Sigma Delta Chi Award, the Worth Bingham Prize, and the New York Newspaper Guild’s Front Page Award. Authors working on books with an FIJ grant have won the Frank Luther Mott Award for the best-researched media book, as well as the MacArthur Foundation’s coveted “genius” award.
Who You Are
You have a desire to make the world better by funding high-impact investigative reporting projects that would not be possible without support from FIJ. You connect donors to FIJ’s mission and help each one understand how their support makes a difference. You are skilled at finding new resources and partners to expand FIJ’s work. You are an ambassador for high-quality journalism and the First Amendment. You understand how to reach out to freelance reporters and journalism networks about FIJ’s benefits. You have demonstrated a commitment to diversity and bring that to bear in both programming and grant-making for the organization. You are a self-starter, and if you do not know the answer to a problem you are able to find the people who do. You have experience managing people, developing budgets, and overseeing multiple projects and contractors. Preferably, you have worked with nonprofits and boards of directors. While FIJ has historically been led by someone who lives in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area, that is not a requirement for the right applicant who has a demonstrated ability to manage remotely and who could be present for all board meetings and program activities.
Your Responsibilities
As executive director, you will provide strategic and operational leadership to FIJ and will report to FIJ’s board of directors. You will:
● Lead the growth of FIJ by nurturing current funders and partners, developing new revenue sources and partnerships, and expanding the number of reporting grants given out annually. ● Oversee the grant-making program by ensuring proposed projects are properly evaluated for news value, journalistic integrity and quality. Manage all supporting programs, including FIJ’s mentor program, diversity fellowships and legal support partnership. ● Develop and execute a strategy that ensures FIJ will support high-quality, high-impact investigative journalism for many years to come. With your leadership, the organization will increase its financial capacity to support the role of the free press in our democracy. ● Collaborate effectively with the board of directors on strategy and operations, ensuring a unity of vision and a transparent relationship. ● Ensure the fiscal integrity and legal compliance of the organization by managing the annual budget, enforcing fiscal controls, and otherwise ensuring policies and records are accurate and current. ● Communicate FIJ’s purpose and accomplishments with vigor and clarity, through personal relationships and the best use of current technology, including a dynamic website and social media plan.
Interested individuals should submit a cover letter, resume and any supplemental material to: [email protected] The Fund for Investigative Journalism is an equal opportunity employer and offers a competitive compensation and benefits package.