Program Manager, Communities of Practice

Title: Program Manager, Communities of Practice

Reports to: Director, Communities of Practice

Position Type: Full Time

Compensation: $75,000 - $95,000

Location: Remote, U.S.-based, (some travel)

Exempt or Non Exempt: Exempt

Benefits: 100% premiums covered by SJN for medical insurance, access to dental and vision insurance, 20 days paid vacation, 3 floating personal days, 10 sick days, 8 paid holidays, the last week of December off, work schedule flexibility, and a remote work stipend.

Timeline:

Application deadline: Aug 31, 2025 8:00pm EST

Application review: Sep 1, 2025 - Sep 5, 2025

Interviews: Sep 8, 2025 - Sep 15, 2025

Potential Start date: Oct 1, 2025 

Background:

Since 2013, the Solutions Journalism Network (SJN) has worked to legitimize and spread solutions journalism — rigorous reporting that examines not just problems, but also effective efforts to respond to them — in order to rebalance the news. We’ve made a strong case for how and why audiences and society benefit when solutions journalism is integrated into the news — and we’ve had real success. We’ve worked with over 600 news organizations and 25,000 individual journalists and, based on growing demand for our work, currently staff are working across the United States as well as in Africa and Europe. Around the world, solutions reporting is being adopted by news organizations because it increases audience trust and engagement, sharpens accountability and can open up new sources of revenue.  

Today we believe it is more urgent than ever that we take bold action and significantly broaden our reach. Building on our foundational work with newsrooms, we are embarking upon an ambitious new strategy aimed at advancing a system-level change across the field of journalism, in which strong communications will play a critical role. Working with a core group of journalists, educators and allies, we aim to engage tens of thousands more along with hundreds of news organizations in a movement to ensure ready access to news that is informed by solutions reporting. Our vision of success is sweeping but achievable. With broad adoption of solutions journalism, we envision an increase in society’s capacity to solve problems, widespread reach of more complete and accurate coverage, advances in fairness in reporting and a public that is actively involved in the stories being told about their communities.  

Role Description: 

The program team at SJN is responsible for ensuring the smooth execution of a range of fellowships and other initiatives, with program managers providing support to colleagues and pitching in across the team as needed. At the outset, when joining the SJN staff the CPPM will launch and run the Latino Health Reporting Fellowship, focused on advancing high-impact reporting that surfaces and investigates effective responses to systemic health disparities in Latino and Hispanic communities based in the US. The work will build on SJN’s previous health equity fellowships that focused on systemic health disparities and Indigenous communities.

The Program Manager will also help manage and expand our established climate peer network, collaborate with external partners on climate webinars, and, over time, lead other initiatives, as initiative areas, program design and individual assignments can shift over time. 

This position is central to ensuring that journalists, newsrooms, and field experts have access to the necessary resources, training, and support to effectively practice solutions journalism and train others to do so. This position reports to and coordinates closely with the Communities of Practice Director to align program activities with broader goals and provide support to the Director to enhance the impact and effectiveness of programs. 

Year 1: Program Inception and Launch:

This role will be instrumental in the foundational stages of the program focused on newsrooms seeking to report on health issues facing the Latino and Hispanic community based in the US, transforming it from concept to reality. Building on the success of SJN’s previous health reporting fellowship, your initial focus will be on curriculum development and strategic partnership establishment to ensure a robust and relevant learning experience. You will then design and launch the program's application process, including creating the application itself, hosting informative sessions for prospective participants, and assembling a diverse selection committee. A critical component of this phase will be managing the application review process and conducting interviews to identify top candidates. By the third month, you will be responsible for communicating selection decisions to all applicants. The remainder of Year 1 will involve onboarding participants and initiating their project work and reporting. This will be supported by regular monthly meetings, targeted training, and personalized coaching.

Year 2: Sustained Growth and Impact:

A significant portion of this year will be dedicated to facilitating networking activities, connecting participants with key stakeholders and opportunities to broaden their reach and enhance their professional development. You will continue to provide ongoing support through monthly meetings, training, and coaching as needed. The culmination of Year 2, at the 24-month mark, will involve finalizing all projects and overseeing the preparation of comprehensive final reports, documenting achievements and outcomes.

• Fellowship ManagementProgram Design & Oversight: You'll lead the fellowship's launch, from conducting information sessions and managing the application and selection process for five news organizations or collaboratives, to developing training on equitable narratives and addressing unconscious biases in reporting.
• Ongoing Support & Impact Tracking: You'll regularly meet with participating newsrooms to foster collaboration, share best practices, and connect them with experts. This also involves equipping newsrooms with engagement strategies to build trust with audiences, tracking their progress through self-assessments, and completing necessary reports to document the program's impact.
• Fostering Newsroom Transformation: You will guide participating newsrooms as they dedicate staff to solutions-oriented coverage of health disparities, with the aim of building internal capacity and fostering cultural shifts that continue beyond the fellowship.
• Program Implementation & Support: Work with the communities of practice team to support day-to-day operations, specifically the climate peer network and partnership webinars. Coordinating activities, organizing virtual or in-person gatherings, and providing direct support and resources to participating journalists and newsrooms to ensure their success in adopting solutions journalism practices.
• Content Development & Learning Facilitation: Develop and curate resources, training, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities that reinforce solutions journalism principles. Facilitate discussions, identifying best practices, and helping to capture and share insights from the communities with the wider organization and external partners.
• Tracking Impact & Relationship Building: Work with the Impact Research Manager to monitor and track the progress and impact of community members and programs, collecting data and contributing to reports on effectiveness and growth. Support the Director of Communities of Practice in nurturing relationships with partner organizations and community members. Represent SJN at relevant events or in online forums.

• Passion for and experience in solutions journalism: Significant experience writing and/or editing strong solutions journalism, and at least five years of experience as a news reporter or editor. 
• Project management skills: Demonstrated ability to effectively plan and execute projects by developing comprehensive timelines, allocating resources efficiently, and ensuring timely completion of deliverables. You are organized, disciplined and focused. You know how to function effectively with multiple moving parts and keep projects moving forward, including working with project management systems such as Asana and Salesforce. You look beyond assigned tasks, anticipate potential successes or bumps in the road ahead, and possible solutions. 
• Cultural Competency and Empathy: Especially for the initial fellowship focus, a deep understanding of and sensitivity to the experiences and perspectives of Latino/non-white Hispanic communities. This extends to understanding diverse viewpoints across all program areas. Exposing journalists to the often-unconscious biases that permeate coverage of minority communities, while introducing new approaches to ensure more respectful and accurate reporting
• Collaborative and able to adapt: Experience collaborating with diverse stakeholders, including trainers, journalists, newsrooms, and partners, to ensure alignment and effective communication throughout the project lifecycle. You consistently communicate with clarity and transparency and welcome constructive feedback. 
• Strong Networking and Relationship-Building Skills: The ability to cultivate relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including journalists, academics, community leaders, funders, technology experts, and business professionals.

• Bilingual Proficiency (Spanish/English): The ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, in Spanish and English.
• Evaluation and Improvement: Experience in conducting post-project evaluations to assess effectiveness and gather feedback. This includes analyzing results to inform future project strategies and improve processes.
• Subject Matter Curiosity & Learning Agility: A genuine interest in diverse topics like health and climate science. The ability to quickly grasp new information, terminology, and key players in different fields.
• Data Literacy and Analytical Skills: the ability to understand and interpret data to inform program strategy, evaluate impact, and identify trends (e.g., audience engagement metrics, program effectiveness data).
• Entrepreneurial Mindset / Comfort with Ambiguity: You thrive in dynamic environments where you can identify opportunities, and adapt to changing priorities.
• Storytelling and Communication: Beyond standard program updates, the ability to articulate the "why" and "impact" of the programs in a compelling way to diverse audiences, including funders, participants, and the public.
• Facilitation and Coaching Skills: The ability to guide group discussions, foster collaboration, and provide constructive feedback to participants.

Does this sound like your calling? We hope so: We’re an energetic, ambitious, and fun bunch, and we want great people to join us.

Equity, Justice, Diversity and Inclusion at SJN means a workplace where individual differences are recognized, appreciated, respected and responded to in ways that fully develop and utilize each person’s talents and strengths. Diversity of perspective, identity, and experience is important to us.  We want to reflect and serve the whole of society. As a result, we encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to seek employment, and we make all employment decisions without regard to race, age, gender, sexual orientation, or any other factors protected by federal, state or local law. To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Eva Blanc, [email protected]

SJN Application & Hiring Process FAQ

Q: Where’s the best place to learn more about the Solutions Journalism Network and the work that you do?

A: Start with this “brief but spectacular” video made for PBS and featuring David Bornstein, one of SJN’s co-founders. Check out the SJN website, new research on how audiences respond to solutions journalism, our most recent survey of our newsroom partners and this study on how solutions journalism can lead to increased revenue. 

Q: Where do I submit my cover letter?

A: The SJN application does not include a cover letter. Instead, we ask a series of questions that we hope will provide the opportunity for you to share your thoughts. All applicants respond to the same questions, which removes the guesswork of a cover letter and enables you to focus on the things we’re most interested in knowing about your qualifications for this role. (note: after the application questions, you will see a final box that says "ADDITIONAL INFORMATION" and the preview text says "add a cover letter or anything else you want to share”. Please do not upload a cover letter here.

Q: What happens after I submit my application?

A: Once the application period closes, a team of SJN staffers will review all of the applications and contact candidates who move to the next stage of the process, which will include 1-2 rounds of interviews and, possibly, an additional (brief) assignment.