John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is hiring: Associate/Journalism Program A

Knight Foundation’s Journalism team seeks a detail-focused and curious individual who enjoys working in a collaborative environment to support and facilitate the Journalism program’s investments. The Journalism program advances local news sustainability through investments in business infrastructure, technology innovation and leadership development. It also supports efforts to keep journalists safe, protect the First Amendment and provide legal support to news organizations.

About this role:

Reporting to the vice president of journalism in our Miami headquarters, you will usher the administration of the grant lifecycle from pipeline management, to grant development, to grant distribution, to grant management and monitoring, to grant reporting and to final grant closure with accuracy, speed and an eye on improvements. You will play a key role in driving the team to follow-up on grantee matters and quickly escalate issues. You’ll collaborate closely with a cross section of the organization including the President’s Office, other Program staff, Grants Administration and Finance.

• Support budgeting and forecasting by managing the programmatic pipeline of opportunities ensuring initial entries are made and statuses are tracked and updated.
• Drive regular review of the grant pipeline to get the program team’s sense of probability, size, strategic value and urgency of each grant and updates the forecast accordingly.
• Support the program team in grant development by liaising with the Grants Admin team on FLUXX and/or due diligence issues.
• Support the team and the manager of operations in preparing quarterly board materials (following up on deadlines, due diligence matters, etc.)
• Drive the pace of distribution once a grant is approved and troubleshoot issues in partnership with the grant maker, the grantee and Finance.
• Support the program team with grant management and monitoring and grant reporting by supplying and following up on deadlines and engaging the grantee where appropriate.
• Support the program’s engagement with Knight Chairs of Journalism and Carnegie-Knight Deans.
• Drive the program team to close grants and archive them appropriately and maintain reports on these activities.
• Work with the President’s Office, Program, Grants Administration and Finance to manage a quarterly review of areas of improvement in the administration of the grant lifecycle and manage the execution of those improvements.
• Track, coordinate and facilitate the execution of strategic events and sponsorships that further the program’s outcome goals.
• Research trends, data and issues as directed by program leadership and provide logical and well-written findings.

Things we look for in a successful candidate:

• Strong organizational skills and deep attention to detail.
• Strong prioritization, budgeting and tracking capabilities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage resources to get things done.
• Proficiency in researching and analyzing complex information.
• Good business judgment and relationship management skills.
• Self-motivated, results-oriented and agile.
• Proficiency in management information and contact management systems.
• Digital literacy and project management expertise.
• Exceptional discernment, discretion and ethics.
• Ability to articulate the program strategy and a belief in Knight Foundation’s mission.
• Ability to work effectively and positively in a high-pressure team environment.

We are social investors who support a more effective democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and in the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once published newspapers.

Our approach is inclusive and nonpartisan; we value freedoms of speech and the press, and we often embrace new and innovative technology to achieve our goals. The qualities we look for are openness to new ideas, courage to push for change and the expertise and tenacity to achieve the desired results. Tell us what excites you about this opportunity and why you are right for it.

Knight Foundation offers competitive pay and a generous benefits package and is an equal-opportunity employer. Our hiring range for this role is $50,000 – $55,800.

This is an in-office position located in Miami, Florida.