Chicago Education News Collaboration Manager

Civic News Company, parent company of the nonprofit newsrooms Chalkbeat, focused on telling the story of education in America; Votebeat, dedicated to in-depth reporting on elections and voting; and Healthbeat, covering public health and health policy both nationally and locally, is seeking a part-time contract Chicago Education News Collaboration Manager, Chalkbeat to support coverage of the 2026 Chicago school board election by providing facilitation, coordination, and project management services to newsrooms participating in a collaborative reporting effort.

Chalkbeat Chicago serves as the project lead, overseeing the editorial strategy in partnership with participating news organizations. The initiative is supported by Press Forward Chicago and a coalition of funders as  part of a broader effort to strengthen the local media ecosystem and deepen coverage of Chicago schools.

The key responsibilities for this role include:

• Designing and documenting the operational framework for the collaborative.

• Establishing documentation systems to track deliverables, timelines, and partnership commitments.

• Designing and facilitating cross-newsroom meetings, predominantly virtual, to support collaborative education coverage initiatives.

• Preparing meeting agendas and written summaries documenting decisions and action items.

• Maintaining shared project tracking systems and coordination documents.

• Identifying operational barriers to collaboration and recommending process improvements.

• Providing periodic written progress updates and a post-election evaluation memo summarizing lessons learned and recommendations for improvement.

What background and skills do you have? (We know not all strong candidates will have all the skills we list. That’s OK. What else do you bring to the table? Please tell us!):

• Demonstrated experience facilitating multi-stakeholder collaborations, partnerships, or cross-organizational initiatives.

• Strong project design and process management skills.

• Ability to build trust across independent organizations with differing priorities and newsroom cultures.

• Experience working in or alongside journalism, nonprofit media, or civic organizations.

• Clear written communication skills.

• Familiarity with Chicago’s civic or education landscape.

• Ability to operate independently, manage your own workflow, and deliver agreed-upon project milestones.

Bonus points if you’ve got:

• Experience facilitating journalism collaborations or newsroom partnerships.

• Background in nonprofit capacity-building or media ecosystem development.

The part-time contract is expected to run from April 1, 2026, through November 30, 2026, with hourly compensation ranging from $72 to $86. Attendance at periodic, mutually agreed-upon meetings in Chicago to track progress and plan will be required.

Civic News Company recognizes a staff bargaining unit, Civic News Company, affiliated with the Writers Guild of America, East, a labor union representing thousands of members who write content for news and online media, motion pictures, and television. This position is not included in the Civic News Company bargaining unit.

About Civic News Company

At Civic News Company, our mission is helping people understand how America works so they can make it work better. Committed to equal employment opportunities, Civic News Company welcomes applicants and employees from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to races, colors, national origins, ancestries, creeds, religions, genders, ages, disabilities, veteran status, sexual orientations, and marital statuses. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply and contribute to our shared vision.