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About News/Media Alliance: The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,200 news and magazine media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.


Executive Director – American Press Institute

News/Media Alliance is hiring an Executive Director for their 501(c)3, the American Press Institute. The Executive Director (ED) will be a passionate and inspirational advocate for API’s work to advance an innovative and sustainable news industry in a rapidly changing audience, business, cultural, and political landscape. In partnership with the Board of Trustees, staff, and key external stakeholders, the ED will build upon the organization’s momentum and strong foundation to lead the strategic direction and overall effective management of the organization. The Executive Director will report to the CEO of the News/Media Alliance, parent 501(c)(6), and the Chairman of API’s Board of Trustees. The position will be based at API headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

API is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization affiliated with the News/Media Alliance. API is dedicated to the mission of making journalism sustainable and the concept that the publishers that thrive in the 21st century will be those with a deep understanding of rapidly changing economics and audiences. API advances an innovative and sustainable news industry by helping publishers understand and engage audiences, grow revenue, improve public-service journalism, and succeed at organizational change by providing research, insights, training, tools, and other forms of assistance.

The Institute initially was located at Columbia University’s Journalism School before moving in 1974 to Reston, Va. In early 2012, the Institute merged with the NAA Foundation of the Newspaper Association of America (now known as the News/Media Alliance). The NAA Foundation was established in 1963.  Currently, API has a staff of 12, an annual budget of $5M (including sponsored research), and over $50M in reserves.

API is dedicated to the concept that the publishers that thrive in the 21st century will be those with a deep understanding of rapidly changing economics, technology, including AI, and audiences. API has committed to the following disciplines through programs and products across the organization:

  1. Understanding audiences: API uses a blend of professional research methods and products that provide insights into the news and technology habits of the American public, explain emerging behaviors, and show publishers how to adapt.
  2. Growing revenue: API studies and experiments on approaches to getting more subscriptions and reader revenue to sustain news publishers. Journalism has continuously fluctuated between areas of support, including advertising, subscriptions and reader revenue, and API is helping publishers navigate that shift.
  3. Engaged journalism: API has been a leader in expanding engaged journalism in the American political ecosystem. Currently, API is leading journalists toward a more community-focused future that centers on building trust and knowledge among the public.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Executive Director will build the organization’s capacity to effectively manage and implement API’s priorities. Specifically, the Executive Director is responsible for the following:

Strategic Vision and Execution:

  • Developing and refining API’s strategic plan in conjunction with the Board of Trustees and staff, with focused execution; aligning the budget and staff accountabilities to these priorities; and regularly communicating with the Board on progress toward achieving the organization’s goals.
  • Forging a transparent, collaborative, and trusting relationship with the Board, engaging board members as appropriate for strategic guidance and insights.
  • Maintain collaborative and supporting relationship with parent-association, N/MA.

External Affairs and Strategic Communications:

  • Strengthening and extending API’s brand equity nationally to support the organization’s visibility among diverse target audiences and stakeholders.
  • Serving as a principal spokesperson.
  • Executing a strategic communications plan to amplify awareness and adoption of API’s work.
  • Communicating a strong value proposition to stakeholders and funders; creating a compelling agenda that attracts, engages, and sustains strategic involvement by senior leaders among these diverse organizations.

Partnership and Relationship Development:

  • Developing and maintaining strong relationships with current and prospective key partners and stakeholders across the news publishing and media community to advance the industries’ priorities and garner increased visibility and impact for API’s work.
  • Cultivating key collaborations with peer organizations to include public speaking engagements, national and regional meetings, webinars, publications, blogs, among others.

Fiscal Management:

  • Ensuring API is financially sound to meet short- and long-term financial obligations.
  • Presenting the Board with an annual budget that is aligned to the strategic plan for review and approval. Communicating with the Board regularly on the organization’s short-, intermediate- and long-term fiscal health.

Organizational and Staff Leadership:

  • Attracting, engaging, retaining, and developing a talented diverse team of professionals to achieve API’s objectives utilizing clear and measurable accountability across the organization.
  • Cultivating a culture of collaboration, teamwork, innovation, service, and results.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate is an executive-level leader with the passion, leadership experience, credibility, and knowledge of the news industry to advance API’s mission and effectively implement the organization’s strategic plan. The appropriate candidate will have demonstrated strategic and visionary leadership, and will have delivered against this vision in measurable ways, with an organization of similar reach and complexity. They will possess executive gravitas and influencing skills, essential for garnering the trust and engagement of the industry, key stakeholders, the Board of Trustees and staff. They will have served in executive leadership positions with people management responsibility, leading teams through periods of change and transformation. The appropriate candidate will have an outstanding reputation for integrity, trust, fairness, and transparency. Specific experience and qualifications include:

  • Visionary leadership, capable of anticipating and addressing significant trends and drivers impacting API’s current and future agenda. Demonstrated agility to address disruption, lead change and manage through ambiguity.
  • Outstanding interpersonal and relationship building skills, key to forging and sustaining strong relationships and engagement with the Board, current and future funders, and other key stakeholders. Effective at engaging diverse stakeholders, managing conflict, and influencing others.
  • An articulate, credible, and persuasive spokesperson with outstanding listening skills.
  • Inspirational marketer responsible for creating and successfully executing programs that increase support from a variety of sources to drive sustainability of the organization and its programs.
  • Experienced staff leader, with demonstrated track record for attracting, developing, retaining, and engaging strong diverse professional talent, and building and managing a high-performing, collaborative team in a results-oriented, fast-paced environment. An effective delegator to senior staff.
  • Proven organizational management, administration, and financial acumen.
  • A collaborative style, with strong consensus building skills both internally and externally.
  • The courage to proactively address challenging or controversial situations and, as appropriate, make critical decisions.

EDUCATION

Bachelor’s Degree required, with an Advanced Degree preferred.

To apply, submit a cover letter and resume to jobs@newsmediaalliance.orgAPI/NMA’s head office is located in Arlington, VA. We prefer candidates for this role who reside in the Washington, D.C. area. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States. Please mention “API Executive Director” in the subject line so we can direct your application to the right people. Please be prepared to provide up to three professional references upon request.

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