who we are

Journalism is in urgent need of repair. Its preoccupation with dysfunction, corruption and pathology undermines public discourse, inhibits citizenship, and fails to provide society with key information to self-govern and self-correct. The endlessly negative coverage has fed people’s loss of trust in the news – further eroding journalism’s viability.

The Solutions Journalism Network is leading a mindset shift and practice change to confront this failure, building capacity for reporting about responses to social problems. In SJN’s five years, solutions journalism has become a credible reporting practice recognized for driving high impact in society. Over 10,000 journalists have been exposed to our curriculum. More than 180 news organizations have worked with SJN to produce reporting projects that cover society more comprehensively, revealing possibilities for civic agency and connection.

We’re looking for a catalytic development professional to help us realize our ambitious fundraising and strategic goals. Working with SJN’s CEO and executive team, the development director will coordinate fundraising activities; identify and help build relationships with foundation and individual donors; and manage funder communications. This is a full-time position.

More specifically, the development director will:

• Determine SJN’s fundraising pool, identifying and researching potential funders 
• Approach and cultivate new donors, working with SJN’s executive team  
• Work with SJN’s CFO to manage our development pipeline against budget needs 
• Write or contribute to grant proposals and reports 
• Help develop ongoing correspondence to build and sustain donor relationships 
• Design and manage funder events 

This role is a key piece of a bigger plan. SJN’s team has nearly doubled in the last year. We are building capacity to support high-impact solutions-focused reporting and engagement activities across our growing nationwide network, focusing on a range of issues including education, health, justice, economic mobility, inclusion, and others. By 2020, we aim to reach at least 250 newsrooms and 27,500 journalists, covering every state – and expanding rapidly outside the U.S. – with the goal of revitalizing public discourse, activating civic power, and rebuilding trust and common purpose.

Does this sound like your calling? We hope so: We’re a passionate and ambitious bunch, and we want someone great to join us. We need a serious development professional for this job, someone who can speak to funders with confidence and authenticity. But you don’t need a lot of years of experience; what we really need is an entrepreneur – someone who knows how to solve problems, with an appetite for experimentation and an appreciation for ambiguity.

Also, the stuff that you’d expect us to want:

• Extremely strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills 
• Writing chops 
• Attention to detail 
• Unflagging team orientation, but an ability to work solo 

Diversity of perspective, identity, and experience is important to us: We want to reflect and serve the whole of society. As a result, we encourage diverse applicants to seek employment, and we make all employment decisions without regard to race, age, gender, sexual orientation, or any other factors protected by federal, state or local law. SJN is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

SJN is based in NY, but we’re open to you being remote if you really are That Good. The job will require moderate travel across the United States and, possibly, internationally. The Solutions Journalism Network is a 501(c)3 organization offering competitive salary with health benefits; generous paid time-off and work-schedule flexibility; and a crew of seriously great colleagues.

The Solutions Journalism Network is leading a mindset shift and practice change to build capacity for reporting about responses to social problems. In SJN’s almost six years, solutions journalism has become a credible reporting practice recognized for driving high impact social change in society. Over 10,000 journalists have been exposed to our curriculum. More than 180 news organizations have worked with SJN to produce reporting projects that cover society more comprehensively, revealing possibilities for civic agency and connection.

We’re looking for an outstanding Development Operations Associate to join our fundraising team in a full time capacity. This position will be responsible for planning, organizing and executing key components of the development function, including but not limited to:

• Managing the grant application and grant reporting processes from start to finish; working with a range of SJN staffers to submit all applications and reports in a timely fashion
• Organizing and maintaining internal fundraising records and databases. For example, the Associate will keep Salesforce and Dropbox – as well as other potential applications - updated with the most current and comprehensive information
• Coordinating internal fundraising and strategic planning meetings to further SJN’s annual goals
• Managing online donations
• Provide selected administrative support to senior SJN fundraising professionals as needed

This is an essential role for SJN’s entire development function. A successful Development Associate will possess the ability to meet deadlines, multitask, and solve problems creatively in a fast paced entrepreneurial environment. 

We are seeking applicants who…

• Hold a minimum of a bachelor’s degree
• Have administrative and grant reporting knowledge; preferably a minimum of 2-5 years 
• Possess excellent written and oral communication skills
• Have hands on experience working in Salesforce (or another CRM)
• Are innately curious and eager to develop new skillsets
• Have enthusiastic team spirit, but the discipline and confidence to work solo

If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you. We’re a passionate and ambitious bunch and are looking for someone great to join us. 

This position is based at our New York City headquarters. The Solutions Journalism Network is a 501(c)3 organization offering competitive salary with health benefits; generous paid time-off and work-schedule flexibility; and a crew of seriously great colleagues. 

Diversity of perspective, identity, and experience is important to us: We want to reflect and serve the whole of society. As a result we encourage diverse applicants to seek employment, and we make all employment decisions without regard to race, age, gender, sexual orientation, or any other factors protected by federal, state or local law. SJN is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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