Chief Development Officer

About Chicago Public Media

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Home to WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Public Media is the largest local non-profit news organization in the country.

WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times serve more than 2 million people weekly across broadcast, print, and digital platforms. As a mission-driven organization, we aspire to become the essential and most trusted news source that Chicago turns to each day for understanding the people, events, and ideas that shape our community.

WBEZ is home to local and national news programming as well as a growing portfolio of popular podcasts. WBEZ serves the community with fact-based, objective news and information, and its award-winning journalists ask tough questions, dig deep for answers and expose truths that spark change and foster understanding.

WBEZ is supported by more than 86,000 members, hundreds of corporate sponsors and major donors. In 2022, WBEZ received more than 20 awards for its journalism, including two prestigious National Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Chicago Sun-Times is Chicago’s oldest continuously published daily newspaper serving Chicago and is known for its hard-hitting investigative reporting, in-depth political coverage, timely behind-the-scenes sports analysis, and insightful entertainment and cultural coverage.

Chicago Sun-Times is the winner of eight Pulitzer Prizes and countless other awards. In recent years, the Sun-Times has focused on a digital transformation to deliver its news and content to a growing digital audience.

Most recently, the Sun-Times dropped the paywall on suntimes.com to expand access to its journalism, and shifted to a community-funded digital membership program supported by voluntary member donations.

Chicago Public Media believes independent journalism is essential to a well-functioning democracy and access to fact-based, objective news and information is a right of every citizen.

We serve the public interest by creating diverse, compelling content that informs, inspires, and enriches. We connect diverse audiences and help them make a difference in the community, the region and the world.

And, we employ 300+ staff who want to belong to an organization that inspires, supports, and challenges them to do their best work.

The Opportunity

Chicago Public Media (CPM) is searching for a Chief Development Officer (CDO) at a time of enormous opportunity and innovation that CPM is leading in nonprofit journalism.

The Chief Development Officer will lead all fundraising efforts on behalf of Chicago Public Media, including developing a strategic plan to maintain and increase philanthropic revenue.

The Chief Development Officer will ensure the achievement of annual and long-term goals for major gifts, foundations, planned giving, annual fundraising events, and corporate giving.

The Chief Development Officer will be an active representative of Chicago Public Media, building relationships across the community to advance and strengthen the mission and amplify the role that philanthropy can have on the organization.

Responsibilities

• Execution defining and leading the execution of comprehensive, diversified, and integrated fundraising activities that maximize financial growth, including the development, implementation, and evaluation of annual and multi-year goals and strategies;
• Revenue strategy creating new strategies to increase and diversify revenue, including but not limited to an increase in number of donors and giving per donor;
• Advisor acting as a trusted advisor to the Chief Executive Officer on fundraising objectives and contributing as a member of the leadership team on the development and implementation of strategic revenue-generating plans;
• Board of Directors maximizing the participation and impact of the Board of Directors by building relationships that advance the fundraising objectives of Chicago Public Media;
• Major donors managing a select donor portfolio of top prospective donors including individuals, foundations, and corporations, developing and sustaining relationships that increase financial support;
• Team-building recruiting, training, managing, and nurturing fundraising staff through goal-setting, mentorship, evaluation, and recognition;
• Networking within Public Media coordinating with public broadcasting leaders : APM, NPR, and other public broadcasting stations and content producers on best practices and opportunities for collaboration;
• Organizational strategy participating in the development of strategic objectives to grow audience and drive revenue from multi-platform activities;
• Organizational leadership working with events, communications, digital, and content teams to find opportunities to add value to the donor experience;
• Budget & planning preparing and monitoring the annual development budget, overseeing contributed revenue and expenses, projections, and forecasting;
• Communicating synthesizing fundraising data into comprehensive reports for senior management; and
• Operational developing, implementing, monitoring, and assessing fundraising and gift processing policies and ensuring all development strategies incorporate and maximize the use of CRM data.

Skills and Qualifications

• Passion a passion for public media and a commitment to the belief that a shared, independent, and trusted public media space remains central to an effective and informed democracy;
• Leadership an ability to lead and thrive in all major fundraising functions including major gifts / principal giving, foundations and government grants, data management, budget administration, marketing, and communications;
• Relationships an ability to build meaningful and trusted relationships with donors with a preference for individuals with knowledge of the Chicago philanthropic landscape;
• Vision an ability to articulate and execute a fundraising vision for Chicago Public Media to internal and external stakeholders;
• Communication an ability to communicate clearly, without ambiguity, to diverse audiences internally and externally as an advocate for public media and for the objectives and goals of Chicago Public Media;
• Cultural competency a high level of cultural competency and a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace expressed in both approach and experience;
• Collaborative a desire to work as a member of a team, work across internal and external stakeholders, and strategically partner with and support the CEO, Board of Directors, other leaders, and the development team in identifying fundraising opportunities and strategies;
• Team-building experience as a visible and effective leader and the ability to recognize and nurture talent while building and retaining a successful team;
• Financial fluency an ability to develop and maintain financial projections and budgets; and
• Technology a high level of competency with technology, an aptitude for mastering new technology, and an ability to develop a unified vision for the CRM system.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of Chicago Public Media to serve as a cornerstone of the public conversation;

as a central pillar of civic community; and to reassert itself as the heart of innovation within public media.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the successful candidate has been selected.

To apply for this position, visit : Chief Development Officer, Chicago Public Media .

To nominate a candidate, please contact Steven Wallace : [email protected] .

All inquiries will be held in confidence.

Working at Chicago Public Media

At Chicago Public Media, we care deeply about our employees as we know attracting, developing, and growing talent is key to our success and enhancing our impact.

Our culture is one where collaboration, ideas, and innovation are encouraged. We value colleagues who will enhance our culture by bringing new ideas, diverse experiences, and talents to our dynamic workplace.

Chicago Public Media’s dedication to promoting diversity and inclusion is reflective across our brands, WBEZ 91.5 FM, Chicago Sun-Times, and Vocalo 91.

1 FM, in our staff and in our work. We are fully focused on equality of opportunity and believe deeply in diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, experience, and all other fascinating characteristics that make us different.

At Chicago Public Media we believe dedication to a great workplace includes supporting our employees and their families. As a result, we provide a broad and generous benefits package for you at hire and in the years to come.

Our benefits include :

• 6 weeks fully paid family leave
• High quality Medical, Dental, and Vision plans at an affordable cost
• A 403(b) retirement plan with a company match
• Generous paid time off, including starting with 3 weeks’ vacation and 4 personal days.

The essential functions described above are not all-inclusive and may change periodically to meet the needs of Chicago Public Media (CPM).

The information contained in this job description is not intended to create any contractual or other legal commitment. Chicago Public Media may change the content or format of this job at any time in its sole and exclusive discretion without notice.

Chicago Public Media is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we actively seek and welcome people from all backgrounds, orientations, and life experiences to join our team.

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