Description
Charlottesville Tomorrow is expanding and seeks a Chief Operating Officer who can help grow our nonprofit newsroom, holding our mission and values steady through operations.
The COO will report to and be a close partner to the CEO, supporting both day-to-day management and long-term strategic planning. This person will supervise operational staff, contractors and consultants, guide the team through change, and help create the infrastructure that enables Charlottesville Tomorrow’s community-first journalism to thrive.
A nonprofit newsroom that serves as a public service for the people of central Virginia, we produce journalism that deepens understanding, builds belonging, and enables residents to make informed decisions about their community. We share context that builds transparency and accountability and reporting that inspires, connects, and works toward a more just and vibrant future. Our vision is a future where trusted, inclusive local news strengthens democracy and builds a more connected, equitable community.
We work hard to create a healthy and inclusive work environment that is rethinking how local news is produced, both for the sake of journalists and business staff doing the work and the communities we serve.
While we are outlining job responsibilities and skills here, above all, we are looking for someone who wants to join our team to help build on that culture.
Here’s some of what you’ll do
As a key member of the executive leadership team, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) will oversee essential operations of the organization including finance, facilities, people, benefits and strategic initiatives. This is a systems-level leadership role with the authority to set priorities, steward resources and drive Charlottesville Tomorrow’s mission and strategic goals forward.
Here are some of the responsibilities the COO will have.
- Strategic Operations and Organizational Leadership
Translate vision into execution by designing and leading annual planning, performance tracking and internal accountability systems.
Oversee all internal operations, ensuring teams and systems are aligned, efficient and mission-centered. - Financial Management
Participate in budgeting, forecasting, cash flow planning, and financial scenario modeling, and work with fractional CFO services to improve our reporting and feedback.
Supervise bookkeeping, accounting and audit, and project tracking, ensuring compliance and financial clarity across the organization. - People and Culture
Work with and supervise the People and Culture Officer to design and implement equitable and values-driven HR practices, including hiring, onboarding, performance management and professional development.
Ensure legal and ethical employment practices in collaboration with legal and HR advisors. - Infrastructure and Systems
Oversee office operations, vendor relationships and facilities management.
Serve as team lead for high-stakes, time-bound initiatives (e.g. organizational changes, business initiatives, major tech transitions, strategic partnerships). - Board and Executive Support
Partner with the CEO to prepare board materials, surface strategic risks and opportunities, and align board governance with organizational goals.
Represent Charlottesville Tomorrow in operational matters with funders, vendors and partners, including negotiating contracts.
Here are some skills that will help
We do not expect any one candidate to have all of these skills or experiences, but here are some things we are looking for:
- Proven operational leadership in a mission-driven environment — whether nonprofit, media, civic or startup — with a track record of turning vision into systems that work.
- Financial fluency and comfort with budgeting, forecasting, and scenario planning in small-to-mid-sized organizations.
- Strong people leadership and experience building equitable, inclusive practices across hiring, management and organizational culture.
- Systems thinking and execution skills — you see patterns, set priorities, and implement improvements that scale with integrity and clarity.
- Personal or professional experience in multiple cultural settings and/or non-English language skills.
About Charlottesville Tomorrow
Charlottesville Tomorrow is a community-driven, socially conscious news organization. We serve our neighbors by connecting them to each other and to the issues that affect them most.
This is a newsroom at the forefront of local news. It’s a place for talented journalists and big thinkers to dig into mission-driven work that impacts people’s lives regularly.
Our reporters and editors dig deeply into issues that affect our community, regularly producing work that highlights issues often ignored by other media. We center our organization and news processes on our values — truth, community, and equity — and we work to improve the health of our local news community and ecosystem through our inclusive practices in hiring, journalism and partnership.
Our newsroom covers the issues that are most important in our community with a focus on race and equity and reaches a large share of our market through our free email subscriptions, news apps, social media and events.
Location
Charlottesville is a college town with many opportunities for learning and recreation, and good quality of life. It is a competitive and fast-changing small media market with high visibility in state and national news cycles. And it is a fast-growing, multicultural node in the region’s knowledge and finance economy. The quality of living is high, and it is a short drive from Washington D.C. and Richmond.
This is not a remote position. Our team lives and works in the communities we cover in central Virginia and regularly spends time in our Charlottesville newsroom. This position will also require some travel for meetings and to represent Charlottesville Tomorrow at events.
Compensation
We are building compensation packages to help create equity in the news industry. Our pay is competitive for our local area and among nonprofit news organizations nationwide.
Salary: Starting at $75,000
Paid time off: 20 days, plus Virginia holidays.
Benefits: Medical, dental and vision insurance, health savings account, retirement plan with up to 3% match
Flexible hours: We pride ourselves on building a newsroom that allows you to do work in the ways and hours that are best for you and the community. You have the option of working where you like or in the newsroom most of the time. This is not, however, a remote position because we expect our team, and especially executive leaders, to spend time with each other in person and in the communities we serve. This role in particular will require work in our office, as we develop our space and understand the needs of our growing team. We conduct daily meetings by video and weekly or project meetings in person, and use Slack and phone to communicate throughout the day.
Career advancement: We invest in our team. You will have opportunities to develop your skills and broaden your networks through training and conferences. We support our team as they pursue certifications, fellowships and leadership programs and seek to grow as professionals.
How to apply
Our application process is designed to help us find candidates who will thrive in our newsroom.
The first step is a written application. Candidates who progress should expect two to three rounds of interviews. and a possible paid assessment. This job listing will remain open until we fill the position.
- To get started, please tell us or provide:
Why are you interested in working with Charlottesville Tomorrow?
Tell us about a team that you managed, and specifically a process that you built for that team and a challenge that you dealt with.
To apply, send your resume and/or LinkedIn profile and answers to these questions to hiring [at] thedpi.org, with the subject line “Charlottesville Tomorrow Chief Operations Officer.” Due to the volume of inquiries we receive, we will not be able to answer emailed questions about this role.
