Membership Director

Job Description

The Tiny News Collective equips visionary news entrepreneurs in underserved communities to transform journalism from the ground up, making it more equitable, accessible and connected. Through coaching, tools and strategic support, we nurture a network of independent media founders to launch and grow community-rooted news organizations that endure.

The Tiny News Collective seeks a membership director to help us realize our mission of building a more equitable, just and inclusive future for journalism.

We believe that more diverse media ownership leads to more relevant, accurate and culturally conscious local news — so everyone can more fully engage in civic life, make more informed decisions, and better understand the world around them.

To that end, we welcome applicants from a broad range of professional and educational backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. If you feel like you are a good fit but are worried that your experience might not be exactly aligned with this job description, please consider applying anyway.

Job description

Through a range of shared services, the Tiny News Collective helps early-stage founders build sustainable news organizations that reflect and serve their communities.

The Tiny News Collective serves a distinct segment of the founder community. With their deep community knowledge, our members help fill gaps in local news and information, whether they are serving a news desert or a geography or community that has been neglected by traditional media. They build news organizations in communities with multiple intersecting challenges, complex historical relationships with media and long journeys toward building trust. Our founders are part of the communities they serve, but many of our members are new to running a business and leading an organization. Our members look to us for guidance on the best use of their limited time and resources. 

The Tiny News Collective provides a full-featured publishing platform, but we offer far more than technology. We help our members learn to navigate media, philanthropy, technology and business ecosystems. We provide legal support, expertise, training, community, mentorship, as well as low-cost fiscal sponsorship — everything a founder needs to grow and thrive. We support founders from the moment they decide to apply to the day they outgrow us.

The ideal candidate understands the needs of small news business owners. This candidate can foster the growth and development of the Collective as a source of mutual aid and solidarity. They can represent the organization and its mission to external stakeholders, including to funders. And they can think strategically and lead the organization collaboratively through a rapidly evolving, local news environment.

The Tiny News Collective team works fully remotely but is united by shared values. An ideal candidate has a leadership style of “collaboration with,” rather than “power over.” They have a deep commitment to growing culturally competent news and information ecosystems and approach their work with integrity and resourcefulness.

Position Type: Full time
Location: Fully remote, must be based in the United States. Preference for candidates in the Eastern and Central time zones but open to other locations.
Travel: Intermittent travel to attend convenings, conferences and team events.
Application deadline: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, with review beginning on May 19, 2025.

Responsibilities

1. Serve as a key member of the TNC leadership team and collaborate regularly with colleagues, consultants, partners, the board and other stakeholders. 
2. Collaboratively develop and execute TNC’s vision for the entirety of the membership experience from our first interaction with a potential member. That includes recruitment, application and selection, onboarding, managing member services and programming and the offboarding experience.
3. Be the primary point of contact for TNC members and actively build relationships and engage with members so as to serve their needs more effectively.
4. Manage a team of contractors who provide membership services for TNC, including making assignments, setting priorities and ensuring timely and responsive provision of services to members.
5. Design, plan and facilitate delivery of programming and training for members, primarily virtually but with the option for in-person programming. That includes cultivating a roster of trainers, speakers and other presenters as well as acting as a facilitator.
6. Manage and coordinate the suite of member services TNC provides and work closely with partners and third parties to enhance offerings.
7. Plan, manage and produce member-facing communications tailored to varying needs and delivery methods.
8. Design and implement systems for maintaining accurate records about TNC members and for collecting quality actionable feedback from members. 
9. Collaborate with the TNC team to use data and information about our members to highlight and amplify their work.
10. Collaborate with the executive director and operations director on TNC’s overall strategic planning, priorities and presence to prepare for smart, planned member- and mission-driven growth.

Benefits

• 20 days paid vacation and 20 days paid sick leave (accrued each pay period), 3 personal days
• 10 company holidays each year, in addition to the week between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day
• 401K plan, with an employer contribution
• Employer-reimbursed medical, dental and vision insurance
• 10 weeks of paid parental leave
• Flexible work schedule — TNC is a remote-first organization with team members in many time zones.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your resume and answers to our application questions in the application form. 

Have questions about the role or Tiny News Collective before you apply? Connect with Executive Director Amy Kovac-Ashley during these office hours.

The Tiny News Collective is a proud equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, and we particularly encourage applications from candidates belonging to communities historically under-represented in the media ecosystem. We actively seek a diverse applicant pool and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. It is our policy to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, creed, age, national origin, citizenship status, gender (including gender identity and expression), sexual orientation, disability, arrest or conviction record, pregnancy, credit history, salary history, caregiver status, marital status, partnership status, or status as a victim of domestic violence, stalking and sex offenses, religion, sex, genetic information, military status, unemployment status or any other characteristic as protected by law. With regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act and other related laws, we will endeavor to make reasonable accommodations for persons due to their religious beliefs; disability; pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition; or because the individual was a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence or stalking.

Job Requirements

Must haves

1. Experience as a facilitator and skilled at community management and/or conflict negotiation
2. Strong understanding of the media landscape and working knowledge of journalism entrepreneurship
3. Skilled at building partnerships and managing relationships with stakeholders
4. Is a systems thinker and builder
5. Practices leadership and decision-making as a collaborative, equitable process and has experience working on small, entrepreneurial teams
6. Experience building an organization, department or business-critical function
7. Experience creating a culture of inclusion, access and belonging with internal and external stakeholders
8. Experience managing multiple projects effectively
9. Strong writing and communication skills and an attention to detail
10. Experience designing and executing programming for professionals

Preferred

1. Familiarity with technology and platforms regularly used by the TNC team, including AirTable, G-Suite, Zoom, Slack and Ghost, or a demonstrated openness to learning new systems
2. Interest and openness to new developments in journalism models, technology, tools, trends, user experience, etc., to stay abreast of industry changes
3. Proficient in industry skills our members need, such as community-rooted journalism, audience engagement, community listening, product development, user experience, fundraising, revenue development
4. A demonstrated understanding of the journalism funding space and/or fundraising overall

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