Chicago Sun-Times

Communications

• Develop and execute a comprehensive external communications strategy for Chicago Public Media and its portfolio of brands
• Partner with Marketing & Communications leadership to maintain a clear, compelling, and consistent external narrative
• Develop communications strategies for organizational initiatives, partnerships, fundraising campaigns, product launches, and strategic priorities
• Establish goals, KPIs, and reporting to measure communications effectiveness and refine strategy
• Serve as the primary contact for media inquiries and cultivate relationships with reporters, editors, producers, and influencers
• Lead proactive media outreach and secure media opportunities for journalists, editors, and executives
• Write and distribute press releases, media advisories, statements, talking points, FAQs, and other communications materials
• Monitor media coverage and respond to emerging issues
• Partner with executives on public profile, thought leadership, speeches, opinion pieces, award nominations, and executive messaging
• Secure speaking engagements, interviews, conferences, awards, and other leadership opportunities
• Prepare executives for media interviews and public appearances through message development and media coaching
• Advise senior leadership during sensitive organizational issues
• Liaise with the external crisis communications consultant and coordinate planning, messaging, and response efforts
• Support communications during high-profile or time-sensitive situations
• Consult on sensitive internal communications
• Partner with marketing, editorial, development, legal, human resources, and executive leadership
• Provide strategic communications counsel on messaging, positioning, and audience impact
• Represent communications in cross-functional planning for major initiatives and announcements

Director of Communications

General

• Serve as a key member of WBEZ’s externally facing philanthropy team.
• Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individuals’ and families’ philanthropic support of Chicago Public Media’s mission and objectives.
• Report to the Associate Director of Major Gifts.
• Build and manage a portfolio of approximately 125–150 individual donors and families.
• Deepen engagement among existing major donors and increase giving among midlevel donors.
• Grow annual revenue and increase the number of donors giving annually at the $5,000+ level.
• Manage major donors with capacity to make $5,000+ gifts, executing cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship moves.
• Develop personalized cultivation plans to retain and upgrade assigned major donors.
• Identify, research, and qualify prospective major donors.
• Track plans and outreach in the Development database; provide timely follow-up and meeting debriefs.
• Update and track solicitation data and review gift acknowledgments.
• Achieve annual visit targets and fundraising goals.
• Help shape and execute donor cultivation, engagement, and stewardship opportunities, including invitation lists, donor events, and holiday card mailings.
• Assist with or participate in high-level volunteer councils, meetings, and events, sometimes outside business hours.
• Participate in strategy sessions and inform colleagues’ major gifts strategies.
• Build knowledge of Chicago Public Media and relationships across the organization through events, journalism, and professional learning.

Philanthropy Officer

Product Analyst

• Lead analyses that help product, innovation, and business teams understand audience behavior, identify opportunities, and make data-informed decisions
• Map user journeys with data to demonstrate how audiences interact with products
• Translate product, innovation, and business questions into clear metrics, tracking plans, dashboards, and recommendations
• Own analytics tracking and measurement setup across websites, apps, audio products, and editorial analytics tools
• Validate tracking, monitor data quality, and resolve reporting or implementation issues
• Support product launches, migrations, workflow improvements, and experiments through measurement planning, data analysis, and QA
• Develop dashboards, reports, documentation, and automated workflows that help teams monitor performance
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders, vendors, and technology partners on analytics, tracking, and reporting needs

Growth Marketing

• Lead Chicago Public Media’s audience growth and member acquisition engine across all brands, platforms, and channels
• Expand potential membership audiences, increase engagement and registration, and convert audiences into long-term financial supporters
• Oversee acquisition strategy across digital, audio, on-air, paid media, and emerging platforms
• Own acquisition revenue, conversion performance, CPA efficiency, and sustainable long-term growth
• Build scalable acquisition systems moving audiences from discovery to first-time financial support
• Develop acquisition strategies, CPA/LTV frameworks, forecasts, channel plans, and growth models
• Lead acquisition testing, optimization, reporting frameworks, and continuous improvement
• Lead acquisition strategy for emerging products and platforms, including a new product launching in FY27
• Oversee channel performance, conversion optimization, KPI governance, attribution standards, dashboards, and reporting
• Develop audience targeting, offer positioning, and conversion messaging frameworks
• Partner with Product, Marketing, Insights, Development, Editorial, Membership, and Lifecycle teams
• Manage and mentor Growth & Acquisition team members
• Oversee vendor and agency relationships
• Support acquisition planning, budgeting, and resource prioritization

Director of Growth – Acquisition

Engineer

• Operate the broadcast console
• Obtain, edit and upload acquired programming into CPM’s digital audio library system
• Execute programming logs for live, prerecorded and automated programming
• Monitor transmitter equipment to ensure operation within FCC guidelines
• Assist with audio operations and troubleshooting in CPM’s studio complex and remote broadcast and event sites
• Record and edit audio
• Produce and mix content using audio equipment and digital editing software
• Compile and edit material for production, including post-production and sound design
• Engineer live radio programming and/or support the day-to-day technical direction of a radio station
• Perform additional duties as assigned

Master Control Engineer

Journalist

• Co-manage News Desk operations Sunday–Thursday, including a Monday night shift
• Collaborate with the Managing Editor, News, and the early-shift Deputy Managing Editor
• Run afternoon news budget meetings in the Managing Editor’s absence
• Coordinate daily news editing for accuracy, tight writing, deadlines, and best practices
• Collaborate with enterprise desk editors on deeper reporting, background, and daily coverage priorities
• Oversee the daily story budget and identify top storylines across all platforms
• Assign reporters, photographers, videographers, and graphics team members to major stories
• Guide planned and evergreen coverage across coverage areas
• Work with audio, audience, and visual teams to maximize story reach and engagement
• Create stories and other assets for Sun-Times wire clients across platforms
• Supervise assistant city editors and general assignment reporters; coach and develop them
• Mentor and train reporters, including interns
• Oversee News Desk scheduling of reporters and editors
• Help improve editorial excellence, workplace culture, and impact
• Promote diversity, inclusion, and equity

Deputy Managing Editor, News Desk

Director

• Lead Chicago Public Media’s enterprise lifecycle strategy across brands, platforms, and audience touchpoints
• Design systems, frameworks, and strategies that strengthen retention, loyalty, participation, and long-term supporter value following acquisition
• Establish lifecycle architecture, audience segmentation, performance goals, and optimization priorities
• Guide onboarding, engagement, renewal, sustainer conversion, upgrades, reactivation, advocacy, and long-term relationship development
• Design and continually improve scalable lifecycle systems
• Develop retention, churn, and lifetime value models
• Establish lifecycle KPIs, dashboards, performance reporting, and experimentation roadmaps
• Translate behavioral, transactional, and engagement data into strategic recommendations
• Define engagement, loyalty, retention, renewal, upgrade, philanthropic progression, and reactivation strategies
• Establish lifecycle messaging frameworks across email, direct mail, digital, events, and other audience experiences
• Lead cross-functional lifecycle strategy across Product, Marketing, Insights, Editorial, Development, Revenue Operations, and technology teams
• Manage and develop team members responsible for specialized Lifecycle & Retention functions
• Build team capabilities and identify capability, resource, technology, and process gaps