Director, Climate

Position description

The Solutions Journalism Network (SJN) is leading a systems-level change in journalism so that all people – no matter how or where they get their news – have access to rigorous reporting not only about problems, but about promising and evidence-based responses to them as well. This is especially critical for climate change reporting, where apocalyptic, unsolvable, doom and gloom stories far outweigh those that examine meaningful efforts to advance environmental repair, resilience and adaptation. People will only be able to mitigate, adapt and be resilient to the changing climate if they know how to respond to our changing world. The news plays a pivotal role in making this information widely available. More specifically, people need credible information from news sources they trust that increases their sense of possibility, and hope, in this uncertain world. 

A constant barrage of negative stories can unintentionally foster a narrative of inevitability around the climate crisis. Solutions journalism can shift this narrative, emphasizing agency and innovation. Changing the narrative from one of despair to one of informed possibility is needed to stimulate more public engagement and policy action. Research consistently shows that when news reveals what’s working or promising, it elevates the tone of public discourse, making it less divisive and more constructive, allowing communities to see options to work together more successfully.

Solutions stories include rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems, which includes these key elements:

– A response to a social problem — and on how that response has worked, or why it hasn’t

– Insights that show what can be learned from a response and why it matters to a newsroom’s audience

– Evidence in the form of data or qualitative results that indicate effectiveness (or lack thereof)

– Limitations that place responses in context

Since our founding in 2013, over 47,000 journalists have engaged with SJN and used our tools. One hundred journalism schools have taught the next generation of journalists how to tell more complete stories using the solutions journalism framework. Our organizational training partners in Europe, Africa, and Latin America have accelerated the spread of solutions journalism worldwide. 

Role Description

SJN has supported journalists addressing environmental issues since 2014. Four years ago, we made a focused commitment to deepen and expand our investments in climate reporting, launching the first of many climate-focused initiatives.

These include a reporting initiative that helped newsrooms hold businesses accountable for the claims they make regarding their sustainability efforts; a cohort of newsrooms systemically changing their climate coverage to serve as models for others; a series of expert-led trainings to prepare journalists to understand and cover the complex issue of how to sequester carbon or reduce carbon outputs; and a growing “Climate Peer Network” comprised of (in the first three months) 100 journalists committed to sharing their experiences about how to produce climate reporting that inspires agency, hope and action. Along the way, we have forged partnerships with allies in the field, like Covering Climate Now, Climate Central, and Project Drawdown.

Looking ahead, we aim to advance an even more ambitious range of mutually reinforcing climate-related global initiatives – building upon our successes to scale our impact anchored in the credibility and rigor that align solutions journalism with the highest journalistic standards.

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Responsibilities

• Team Leadership and Management: Lead the climate team, which currently includes two direct reports, in fulfilling grant-funded climate initiatives currently underway.
• Work across SJN’s program team in concert with other SJN program directors focused on key areas of solutions journalism programming to ensure shared learning and to capture opportunities for collaboration.  

• Strategic Vision and Planning: Working closely with this team and our executive team to craft a high-level vision for how SJN can have the greatest impact in the area of climate reporting, including articulating measurable goals and strategies for collaboration and scale. 

• Partnerships and Funding: Identifying and engaging with external partners from the journalism ecosystem and beyond to strengthen our efforts and help drive both reach and the scale of our impact.
• Interfacing with SJN’s existing funders in this space and partnering with the CEO and Chief of Strategic Relations to secure additional grants and funding partners.
• Prepare grant proposals and reports with support from the SJN development team.

• Content Development and Training: Developing curriculum and training for a range of partners including journalists and news organizations across text, audio and visual platforms.

• Monitoring and Evaluation: Overseeing the recruitment and application processes for newsrooms and journalists, with a commitment to ensuring SJN meets its equity goals Tracking impact and other metrics. 

• Collaboration and Communication: Partner with SJN’s Chief of Innovation to develop compelling communications, including videos, blog posts, newsletters etc. Representing SJN at conferences and workshops.

• Financial Oversight: Work with the SJN finance team to ensure all expenditures are within budget and approved as necessary.

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Qualifications

• You are a strategic thinker with demonstrated experience translating vision into strategy and implementation
• You have a minimum of 10 years of significant journalism experience 
• You have a minimum of 5 years of team management experience
• You have high credibility in the field reporting.
• Aptitude and talent for training: You love to teach and coach.
• Experience reporting on or editing climate-focused stories
• Solutions journalism reporting and/or editing experience

• Passion and understanding of the climate crisis and a belief that by identifying solutions, not just problems, we help communities most affected by the climate crisis to mitigate, adapt and be resilient in the face of the climate crisis

• Exemplary project management skills: You are organized, disciplined, and focused. You know how to function effectively with multiple moving parts and with diverse partners.

• Collaborative and able to adapt: You consistently communicate with clarity and transparency and welcome constructive feedback.

• A Relationship-Builder: You are passionate about connecting with people and building deeper relationships. You are happiest when you are engaging with new people and bringing them into your community–both internally at SJN and externally within our network.

Salary & Benefits

$95,000 – $125,000 a year‍

Benefits: 100% premiums covered by SJN for employee medical insurance, access to dental and vision insurance, 20 days paid vacation, 3 floating personal days, 6 sick days, 8 paid holidays, the last week of December off, a remote work stipend, flexible work schedule.

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Location

Hybrid/Remote within the U.S. Preference will be given to candidates in the New York City area who are able to work from SJN’s midtown office two days a week.

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Timeline

Application closes: November 8th, 8:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm PT

Interviews: November 15th through 21st

Start Date: Mid-December

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on tendersglobal.net