Colorado Media & Journalism Workforce Development Coordinator

Job Summary:
The Colorado Press Association is hiring a full-time Workforce Development Coordinator to help improve collaboration among Colorado’s Media & Journalism sector, specifically following the Next Generation Sector Partnership model developed by the Colorado Workforce Development Council (see nextgensectorpartnerships.com for more info)

Team
Our office space and team is located at the new Buell Public Media Center in downtown Denver. We co-convene the sector partnership with the Open Media Foundation, who provides a full-time AmeriCorps VISTA assistant to support this role.Additional support and guidance provided by the Colorado Workforce Development Council.

About Us
Colorado Press Association (CPA) is the leading champion for newspapers and online news outlets throughout Colorado. We support the protection of the First Amendment and Sunshine Laws through advocacy, education and community outreach on behalf of our nearly 150 member organizations. Our association is at the forefront of innovation and thought leadership, actively partnering with like-minded individuals and organizations seeking a financially viable path forward for local news outlets. We offer expertise, resources, training and collaborative opportunities to extend the capacity and sustainability of news outlets in our state. We want to foster a thriving future for our local news outlets at a time when traditional business models and press freedoms are under attack. We have a clear strategic direction, powerful purpose and positive culture.

Responsibilities
The Workforce Development Coordinator is responsible for learning the Next Generation Sector Partnership model developed by the Colorado Workforce Development Council and helping us work with key partners to take our sector partnership to the next level. Successful candidates will have a passion for Colorado’s Media & Journalism sector and a proven track record of providing administrative, project management, and facilitation of focused and productive partnerships across organizations.

The core responsibilities and activities of this position include:

● Coordination:
○ Draft action plans for working groups, working with key stakeholders to identify key needs and timeframes. Share a draft action plan with business leaders for their feedback.
○ Help working groups with working processes and maintain updates to action plans based on results.
○ Ensure announcements and invitations to sector partnership meetings are distributed consistently, as well as summaries and follow-up communications.
○ Coordinate logistics of meeting locations (ideally at business locations) and refreshments.
○ Arrange planning calls with business leaders and key support partners to develop agenda and plan for partnership meetings.
○ Steer conversation towards action items and hold partners accountable to accomplishing tasks within an established timeframe.
○ Distribute launch meeting summary within one week of meetings and facilitate follow up conference calls.

● Communication
○ Primary point of contact for both business leaders and public partners for the sector partnership, acting as an information hub to connect and network partnership participants.
○ Track partnership’s action plans, distributing updates after full partnership or action team meetings.
○ Coordinate with partners to distribute regular updates on partnership activities and progress.
○ Ensure partners are kept up-to-date on partnership progress via updated action plans in Google docs.
○ Cross-promote achievements, events and other activities of sector partners via social media & newsletter.
● Promotion
○ Expand participation in our Sector Partnership and related working groups
○ Work with business leaders to engage additional partners to help implement partnership priorities.
○ Spread the word about the sector partnership among public partners, encouraging them to actively participate and use the partnership as the “shared table” to collaborate with employers from our sector.
○ Educate partners on the NGSP model.
○ Lead sector partners in recruiting business champions and public partners
○ Make 1:1 phone calls, spread the word, and gain commitments for participation

● Facilitation
○ Help sector partners identify common priorities, develop a shared agenda, and translate ideas into action.
○ Facilitate partnership meetings without pushing an agenda or allowing any faction of the sector to dominate priorities to the exclusion of other interests.
○ Ensure all meetings have required materials and appropriate agenda
○ Work with Open Media Foundation to ensure all meetings are streamed, recorded and archived
○ Ensure team sets up the room, has printed name tags, facilitation tools in place
○ Ensure someone is taking notes
○ Help steer discussion towards shared opportunities and champion-driven priorities for action
● Sustaining and Evolving the Sector Partnership
○ Provide ongoing project management and administrative support to the partnership, ensuring that action teams are adequately supported with partners who are actively helping to implement industry priorities and keeping quarterly partnership meetings and ongoing communications.
○ Keep action plans up-to-date to track progress, identify needed support, and communicate successes.
○ Work with Open Media Foundation and other partners to ensure the partnership has a sustainable source of administrative and staffing support, leveraging and braiding funding as needed.

Qualities we seek for this role:
● Trusted: The coordinator must be trusted by businesses and public partners to serve as a neutral party. They must be willing and fully trusted to set aside organizational interest for the interest of the partnership.
● Facilitative: The coordinator ensures the partnership stays focused and action-oriented, helping the group identify goals and practical steps that can be taken to achieve results. That doesn’t mean that the coordinator pushes an agenda; instead, it means that the coordinator helps facilitate group efforts to discern shared priorities and action steps. It’s important that the coordinator is able to strike this balance: supporting the group without directing it, and pushing for action without pushing an agenda.
● Process-Oriented: The coordinator is a champion of the next gen sector partnership model and process. The coordinator must have a strong enough understanding of the business-driven table that the sector partnership is working to achieve and champion the process to get there. It’s particularly helpful if the coordinator sees their roleand the sector partnership as a better way of doing business, rather than a special initiative or project.

Toolsets
● Apple hardware and software
● Basecamp or other project/task management software
● Google G Suite (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Sheets, Slides)
● Social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Slack)

Compensation
● $60,000 starting salary
● Paid holidays and time off
● Simple IRA
● Benefits package including life, health, dental and vision coverage

Work environment
CPA offers a flexible work environment, with a combination of on-site and remote work. For this position, on-site work is expected at least two days per week on average. CPA offers a highly collaborative and supportive atmosphere. The team is
small but committed to its mission of making its members and the news ecosystem in Colorado stronger, more innovative and more inclusive.

About You, the Ideal Candidate
You are mission-driven and organized, believing in widespread participation over centralized and concentrated power in communities and partnerships. You are committed to high quality local independent journalism. You understand the value of journalism to a thriving democracy and advocate for diversity and transparency in news outlets that play in building strong communities while driving accountability and transparency. You have at least three years of experience in promoting partnership and collaboration through results-driven, detail-oriented and innovative leadership. You are capable of collaborating and meeting diverse member needs while quickly developing trust and credibility in the industry. You are detail-oriented and able to track activity across organizations and keep projects moving forward.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The Colorado Press Association is committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion among our staff, volunteers, programs, and partners. We encourage applicants of diverse abilities, backgrounds and life experiences to apply. CPA also is committed to equal employment opportunities and prohibits the unlawful discrimination against applicants or employees based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

How to Apply
Interested candidates should email a cover letter and resume with salary requirements with the subject line “Workforce
Development Coordinator” to careers @openmediafoundation.org. Applications received on or before Thursday, August 27, 2020 will receive priority review.