CISLM Associate Director

Employment Type: Permanent Staff (EHRA NF)

Vacancy ID: NF0010087

Salary Range: Dependent of experience and qualifications

Position Summary/Description:

This position may be eligible for hybrid work schedule. Employees are generally required to reside in North Carolina, within a reasonable commuting distance of their assigned duty station.

The Associate Director is the senior operational leader for the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media ( CISLM ) and serves as the Director’s principal partner in translating the Center’s strategy into coordinated programs, projects, partnerships, and measurable results. The position manages the Center’s day-to-day operations and maintains a comprehensive view of priorities, deadlines, budgets, staffing, grant obligations, events, communications, and external commitments. Working with substantial independence and delegated authority, the Associate Director anticipates needs, resolves operational problems, and brings decisions or risks to the Director at the appropriate time.

The Associate Director coordinates the work of staff, students, contractors, faculty collaborators, and external partners; establishes systems that promote accountability and continuity; and ensures that the Center’s initiatives are completed on time, within budget, and in alignment with its mission. By providing strong internal leadership and operational follow-through, the position enables the Director to devote significant attention to fundraising, donor cultivation, strategic partnerships, thought leadership, and the Center’s long-term growth.

The position also supports grant development and fundraising by organizing proposal development, coordinating information and materials, tracking prospective opportunities and donor follow-up, developing budgets and work plans with the appropriate School offices, and ensuring that funded commitments are carried out and reported accurately.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as the Director’s principal operational and programmatic partner, converting strategic priorities into clear work plans, timelines, assignments, budgets, and measures of success.

• Direct the day-to-day administration and execution of the Center’s portfolio of research, education, professional development, public programming, and industry partnership initiatives.

• Coordinate and supervise the work of staff, student employees, interns, contractors, consultants, and project teams; establish expectations and monitor performance and workload.

• Maintain an integrated view of Center commitments and proactively identify risks, capacity constraints, missed deadlines, resource needs, and decisions requiring the Director’s attention.

• Manage grant and financial operations in coordination with School and University offices, including budgets, expenditures, contracts, purchasing, reporting deadlines, and compliance documentation.

• Support fundraising and grant development through prospect tracking, proposal coordination, research, budget and work-plan development, stewardship materials, and donor or funder follow-up.

• Represent the Center in internal and external meetings as delegated by the Director and maintain effective working relationships across UNC and with news organizations, funders, speakers, vendors, and community partners.

• Oversee the systems, records, communications, and reporting needed to preserve institutional knowledge and demonstrate the Center’s activity, reach, and impact.

Occasional evening or weekend work and limited travel may be required to support Center programs, meetings, and events.

Education and Experience:

• Experience supervising, coordinating, coaching, or mentoring employees, students, interns, contractors, or project teams.

• Experience supporting grant development, proposal preparation, grant administration, fundraising, donor relations, or stewardship.

• Experience in local news, journalism, media, civic information, higher education, research centers, nonprofits, or professional education.

• Experience managing a portfolio of externally funded projects and coordinating narrative, financial, and impact reporting.

• Familiarity with project-management and collaboration platforms, content-management systems, email newsletters, spreadsheets, and constituent or contact databases.

• Experience planning conferences, workshops, speaker programs, training initiatives, or other public-facing events.

• Understanding of the challenges facing local news organizations and the relationship between informed communities and democracy.

Essential Skills:

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex projects, priorities, and deadlines with a high degree of independence and sound judgment.

• Experience translating organizational goals into work plans, coordinating execution across multiple contributors, and holding teams accountable for deliverables.

• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills, including the ability to anticipate needs and resolve routine and non-routine operational issues.

• Experience with budget monitoring, financial tracking, contracts, purchasing, or related administrative processes.

• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with senior leaders, faculty, staff, students, funders, and external partners.

• Ability to create and improve workflows, documentation, project-management systems, databases, and reporting practices.

• Commitment to collaborative, inclusive, ethical, and professionally accountable work.

AA/EEO Statement:

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all to apply without regard to age, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.