Chief Technology Officer

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Chief Technology Officer leads the development and implementation of all aspects of the evolving systems that support information delivery, business processes, and content management at the Chronicle of Philanthropy (“the Chronicle”).

As a member of the executive team, the CTO works in close collaboration with key stakeholders from the Chronicle’s newsroom, as well as the teams responsible for products, content revenue, marketing, and other business and operations efforts.

The initial focus of the CTO will be to transition to new platforms and systems following the Chronicle's spin-off from its parent organization in April 2023.

The CTO's specific duties include responsibility for digital product development, platform strategy, and working with design and development vendors to meet the Chronicle's mission and revenue priorities and focus on a flexible environment in support of continuous improvement.

The Chronicle’s headquarters is in Washington, DC. The CTO can be hybrid or remote.

A NEW ERA OF GROWTH

The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the premier journalistic newsroom covering the $6 trillion nonprofit world, seeks an experienced, ambitious, and innovative technology leader to support the organization's expansion.

The Chronicle plans to substantially increase its revenue and staff over the next five years, extend its storytelling capabilities on more platforms, and step up its collaboration with a range of other journalism organizations around the country and the globe.

This expansion will ensure that we provide insights, professional development, and more to strengthen a broad swath of nonprofits, like the ACLU, United Negro College Fund, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Feeding America, Sierra Club, and many other social sector organizations.

Today we offer numerous information products, including a monthly magazine, newsletters, webinars, briefings, and more. All of them are ripe for expansion as we seek to equip nonprofit professionals to do their jobs better and we're developing many new offerings to meet our audience's needs.

We'll only be able to achieve that goal with a significant investment in our digital capabilities that enables us to reach more people and operate as a lean, nimble, and effective organization.

Our plan for growth is part of a significant transformation of our organization. After raising more than $6 million to become an independent nonprofit organization, we spun off from our longtime parent, the Chronicle of Higher Education, in April. Our new structure allows us to focus more keenly on social impact and audience needs, making this an ideal moment to join our team. In this role, you will help us do more to achieve our mission as a nonprofit journalism and information organization and to fuel the revenue growth that enables the Chronicle to continue its 35-year tradition of delivering outstanding information products and services.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Technology strategy

Develop and execute a comprehensive technology and information strategy that aligns with the organization's goals and objectives, making us efficient and responsive to changing needs and enabling us to enhance our presence and reach broader and bigger audiences.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including editorial, marketing, product innovation, and audience, to develop integrated strategies across multiple channels.

Develop system strategies that provide an integrated approach to user access management – registrations, paid subscriptions, site licensees, etc. -- with tools that support real-time and historical reporting on content and system use.

Provide innovative perspectives that will enable the teams to see new growth opportunities to better meet our audience needs and expand our reach.

Work closely with peers in the media and nonprofit sectors to stay ahead of the latest industry trends and emerging technologies to drive innovation and maintain a competitive edge.

Technology implementation and operations

• Lead digital system and product and platform development, collaborating with colleagues across units, such as the editor-in-chief, chief revenue officer, director of audience and marketing, and the head of product strategy to engage key audience segments to effectively deliver editorial content and advertising products.
• Oversee technology-related budget and spending across the organization.
• Define and implement cybersecurity, privacy, data management, and disaster recovery plans.
• Build a seamless digital environment for user access across different content types, delivery methods, and access requirements (such as subscriber-only or paid newsletters.)
• Lead selection, and implementation of business and marketing platforms such as marketing automation, CRM, job board, ad systems, and more.
• Set and manage priorities and coordinate efforts to ensure that projects are on track to meet agreed-upon timelines and milestones and achieve the desired outcomes.
• Identify and work with vendors and consultants to supplement staff efforts to accomplish the project work of implementing and evolving the Chronicle’s digital platforms.
• Manage and perfect the Chronicle’s use of digital tools and SaaS products to study and engage audiences, including SEO, audience analytics, and social-media tools.
• Monitor and analyze key performance indicators to measure the success of digital initiatives, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions.
• Direct the ongoing development of tools and training needs to ensure that staff on the newsroom and business teams have the resources necessary for effective and efficient reporting and online production.

Team leadership and collaboration:

• Build a team of staff, contractors, consultants, and vendors to meet the system development needs.
• Provide coaching, feedback, and professional development opportunities to direct reports. Develop a strong relationship with contractors, consultants, and vendors to ensure that Chronicle’s needs and goals are being met.
• Foster a collaborative and innovative work environment, encouraging close coordination among editorial, business, technology teams, and technology vendors to leverage digital opportunities.
• Build strong relationships with staff to align digital strategies with our mission, editorial vision, and business strategies.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in the development, implementation, and management of a multifaceted digital and print publication environment.
• Organizational technology leadership experience, including digital strategy and platform leadership experience, ideally focusing on both technical implementation and evolution, and on strategy and operational excellence.
• Experience with large scale journalistic digital media products of all kinds (articles, best practice advice, video, podcasts, virtual events etc.).
• Experience with managing a variety of technology and digital vendors.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Detailed knowledge of and skilled with a range of digital environments and tools, including a strong understanding of the tools needed for content generation and the editing management process, CMS, online newsletters – including production and volume email management, e-commerce, user account/access management – free/registration/paid subscription, online events delivery.
• Expert with leading and participating in technology project work; fluent in digital technology concepts and best practice approaches to developing and operating digital platforms.
• Experience leading strategy, selection, implementation of business and marketing platforms such as marketing automation, CRM, job board, ad systems, online store, and more.
• Clear understanding of digital technology ethics, rules, and laws, including cybersecurity and user data security and privacy.
• Strong communications skills.
• Excellent leadership, coaching, and people management skills. Project management expertise.
• Intellectually curious with a high degree of emotional intelligence.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

• The expected salary range for this position is $180-$200K annually

The Chronicle of Philanthropy offers a generous benefits package including:

• 24 vacation days and 11 paid holidays annually
• Up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave, 16 weeks of paid medical leave, and 2 weeks of paid family leave
• 401k retirement plan with 3% automatic monthly contributions and 3% additional matching contributions
• Health insurance through CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield BlueChoiceAdvantage Platinum plan, including $0 in-network deductible and $10 copay per visit
• Comprehensive vision, dental, disability and life insurance
• Health Care FSA, Dependent Care FSA, public transit and parking pre-tax contribution programs

The Chronicle of Philanthropy is dedicated to equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. The Chronicle of Philanthropy encourages people of all races, colors, national origins, ancestries, creeds, religions, genders, ages, disabilities, veteran status, sexual orientations, and marital statuses to apply.