Executive Director

South Side Media Works (SSMW) is the nonprofit home of two community publications: the South Side Weekly and the Hyde Park Herald.

South Side Weekly, founded in 2013 with an all-volunteer staff, is a newsprint magazine dedicated to producing local journalism that is for, by, and about the South Side of Chicago. In 2022, the Weekly merged with the Hyde Park Herald, the oldest neighborhood newspaper in Chicago, which has covered Hyde Park and the South Lakefront since 1893. The Herald covers neighborhood events and local politics and is published weekly in print and near-daily online.

With a staff of 8 and a large network of freelance contributors, the papers reach tens of thousands of readers each week with award-winning original reporting on politics, education, housing, the arts, and more.

Both publications are dedicated to developing emerging journalists and storytellers through strong editorial mentorship and accessible opportunities for emerging journalists to practice their craft. Former editors and writers have gone on to work for local outlets like Block Club Chicago, the TRiiBE, WBEZ, and the Chicago Reader, as well as national outlets like the Washington Post and the New York Times.

South Side Media Works is planning for the future while navigating a critical moment for our work and local journalism er a decade of growth, and on the heels of a historic merger, we believe the next phase of our organizational history will be transformational. We are looking for an Executive Director who is excited to build.

The Executive Director will manage all of the organization’s publishing operations. They will lead the development of our annual budget and be accountable for funding it through subscriptions, advertising, individual donations, grants, and circulation revenue. In partnership with our editorial leadership, the Executive Director will be responsible for designing a clear strategy for reaching and growing our audience. They will ensure the team has clear goals and support, that our administrative systems run smoothly, that our partners and funders are engaged, and that the Board of Directors is fully equipped to advise and support.

We seek a leader ready to step into a moment of dynamic strategic thinking and turn it into an innovative and achievable plan to support community journalism on the South Side of Chicago long into the future.

Note:

This role—and the field of local publishing—requires a wide range of skills, and strong candidates may have most, but not all, of the qualifications below. If you see your work reflected strongly in at least half of these criteria, we strongly encourage you to apply. Our team and Board of Directors are ready to provide intentional support and professional development to the right candidate.

• You care deeply about local civic and cultural institutions, understand the power that local journalism can have on the lives of everyday Chicagoans, and are excited to remind and inspire others of the power of our mission.
• You love creating new systems and processes that make strategic goals come to life.
• You have extensive experience with both organizational leadership - defining and implementing strategy and management - guiding a team to achieve results.
• You are familiar with nonprofit fundraising and have successfully fundraised for an organization or project. (Knowledge of the Chicago fundraising landscape is a significant plus.)
• You have significant hands-on experience managing an organizational budget and get energy from a great spreadsheet.
• You are a compelling communicator, unafraid to make asks, and skilled at motivating people to contribute their time, talent, and treasure to causes you believe in.
• You practice humility,…