Editorial Director

We're seeking a strategic, mission-driven editorial leader to guide the newsroom at Spotlight PA, an award-winning independent news organization covering Pennsylvania's Capitol, urgent statewide issues, and local government through a growing network of regional teams. The mission of Spotlight PA is simple: to hold powerful private and public forces to account by producing journalism that gets results and serves the public good.

Spotlight PA has the largest collaborative network of its kind in the United States, with stories shared across 125+ partner newsrooms, allowing our journalism to be read by millions of Pennsylvanians each year.

The editorial director will refine and oversee Spotlight PA’s ambitious editorial vision and strategy, ensuring we meet our high bar of high-quality journalism centered around one or more of our value pillars: relevant, revelatory, unique, useful, and impactful. Reporting directly to the CEO, the editorial director will set editorial priorities and oversee workflow across the newsroom, including story production and editing, newsletters, engagement (social, audio, video, games, etc.),

and partner initiatives. The editorial director will ensure a consistent pipeline of investigative and enterprise projects and maintain our high standards for clear, accurate, and compelling writing, regularly measuring progress and impact against the organizational mission and Spotlight PA's Vision 2035 strategic plan. The editorial director will regularly update the CEO on strategy, major investigations and projects, and new initiatives, and collaborate closely with the CEO and Director of Growth and Product Strategy on audience and product goals, ensuring effective use of resources and engagement of underserved residents.

The editorial director will recruit, supervise, mentor, and evaluate editorial leaders, and oversee the same for editors and reporters; identify new or changed roles the newsroom needs, and work with the CEO to fund them; and communicate opportunities for advancement, skill-building, and training. They will communicate goals and strategy to the full editorial staff and provide updates as needed, establish a process for frank and constructive feedback, serve as a sounding board, and hold office hours to take feedback and questions.

The editorial director will also oversee newsroom policy, writing and implementing high-level policy documents — including on the newsroom’s use of AI — and will embrace the responsible use of technology to serve as many Pennsylvanians as possible. The editorial director will be the face of the newsroom with staff, donors, board members, community members, and other stakeholders, participating in board meetings, community events, conferences, and funding-related cohorts.

They will serve as the point person for potential editorial partnerships and collaborations — both internally and with outside partners — ensuring each one fits the newsroom’s capacity and strategic direction. The editorial director will manage the newsroom budget and participate in the annual budgeting process, and will work with the development team to advance fundraising, membership growth, revenue-generating editorial products and projects, and newsroom-based grants.

Throughout, they will work to protect Spotlight PA’s editorial independence, prevent siloing, and keep communication seamless between the newsroom and the wider organization.

The editorial director should have significant experience leading accountability journalism at a high level, including managing editors and reporters and seeing ambitious and innovative investigative projects from idea through publication and impact. Applicants should have…