CEO, Philadelphia Public-Interest Information Network

Posted by on April 11, 2011

POSITION:    Chief Executive Officer

ORGANIZATION:    Philadelphia Public-Interest Information Network
REPORTS TO:                        Board of Directors
LOCATION:    Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia Public-Interest Information Network (PPIIN)

With a multi-year commitment of funding from the William Penn Foundation and in partnership with Temple University, a start-up venture provisionally called Philadelphia Public-Interest Information Network will become a public-interest news and information organization founded with the goal of strengthening public-affairs discourse in Philadelphia through journalism, information sharing, data transparency, and analysis.  The initiative aims to transform interactions among Philadelphians, public-affairs news and information providers, and decision-makers, and to leverage the ways in which news and information can effect policy change.  Beyond support for individual projects or missions, PPIIN will build connections between projects and audiences to grow, sustain, and add to existing public-information efforts, thereby strengthening the array of news and information sources that serve the Philadelphia region.

PPIIN seeks a visionary and entrepreneurial Chief Executive Officer to provide immediate leadership and vision for this effort.  The CEO will be responsible for creating a financially sustainable organizational model to support the mission of good government, transparency, and accountability for PPIIN and for the network of news organizations and news users it will support, foster, and create.  The ideal CEO candidate will have experience in building an organization from the ground up and will bring a background in public-affairs and/or new media to the incubation, incorporation, and launch of a self-sustaining non-profit venture.

The Position

The CEO will be responsible for all aspects of PPIIN’s launch, growth, and success, and will have considerable autonomy to shape the design and evolution of an organization that can fulfill the vision of its founding investors and stakeholders.  She/he will oversee the growth and diversification of PPIIN’s constituency by collaborating with the existing array of news sources in Philadelphia, enhancing entrepreneurship and innovation where present, and catalyzing further development of this ecosystem. These activities will potentially include strengthening and expanding the scope of existing news producers, commissioning new content, developing new audiences, and nurturing the creation of innovative news organizations.

Given that PPIIN is an ambitious and original concept, the CEO should expect to focus during the first year on certain foundational activities, including the development of a strategic plan for the first three to five years of the organization; the recruitment of a Board of Directors; the recruitment and development of a senior management team to include a network editor, a director of technology strategy and design, and a director of business development and revenue generation; and the piloting of several initiatives.

In ensuring PPIIN’s success, the CEO will succeed in making the case that motivated the William Penn Foundation’s original grant, namely that high-quality public-interest news and information improves civic life and public policy outcomes in the Philadelphia region.

Responsibilities

•    Develop and work with a senior management team to develop an audience-focused start-up content plan that includes strategies for generating revenue and for developing network and partnerships and feedback mechanisms relative to issues in the community.

•    Oversee growth of PPIIN’s constituency through engaging the existing network for public-affairs and public-interest news and information in Philadelphia, including decision-makers, news organizations, non-profits working in the public-affairs arena, sources, partners, and audience members.

•    Recruit a strategically minded Board of Directors; interact with the Board and oversee preparation for Board meetings and significant organizational events.

•    Hire and lead a talented professional staff to advance the organization’s work.

•    Develop a culture within the organization that reinforces the transparent mission that PPIIN seeks in government and other civic decision-makers.

•    Build the organization’s public profile and local and national credibility to ensure that it has the capacity to act as a watchdog on public-interest issues.

•    Serve as a primary spokesperson and public face for the organization’s mission.

•    Develop the brand of the organization including the selection of a name to replace the placeholder ‘PPIIN’.

•    Oversee revenue-generation staff in sustainability strategy development and overall organizational cash flow, including partnerships within the network.

•    Participate directly in major-gift development with support from staff and Board.

•    Develop forecasts for use in organizational and departmental planning, including hiring and partner support.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate for this venture’s CEO role will be a visionary and experienced entrepreneur with demonstrated success launching a sustainable, mission-oriented organization.

In addition, the ideal candidate will bring the following experience and attributes:

•    Experience in media and a deep understanding of journalism best practices and ethics.

•    Non-profit management/social entrepreneurship experience.

•    Experience in digital media, social networking, and non-traditional content delivery.

•    Deep commitment to transparent government and to the importance of public-interest journalism.

•    Demonstrated ability to recruit and manage a diverse, skilled, and professional team.

•    Experience managing relationships with diverse stakeholders.

•    A dynamic, facilitative leadership style that will motivate staff and partner organizations for mission-driven efforts.

The CEO role will start to lead PPIIN as soon as possible. The William Penn Foundation has provided initial funding to Temple University to enable the launch of this venture as soon as the CEO starts. In the near term, the CEO would begin to build PPIIN at Temple University and its Center for Public-Interest Journalism, but the goal is to launch the venture as an independent non-profit corporation as soon as it is able to function as such.

The William Penn Foundation

The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Greater Philadelphia region through efforts that foster rich cultural expression, strengthen children’s futures, and deepen connections to nature and community. In partnership with others, the Foundation works to advance a vital, just, and caring community. The Foundation’s assets were approximately $2 billion at the close of 2010. For more information, visit the Foundation’s website, http://www.williampennfoundation.org.

Temple University
Founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple College became Temple University (http://www.temple.edu) in 1907 and has evolved over the last century into a comprehensive urban research institution.  Talented faculty and a broad curriculum of nearly 300 academic programs provide superior educational opportunities for academically talented and highly motivated students without regard to their status or station in life.   In fall 2010, the University had a total enrollment of 32,207 full-time and 7,377 part-time students at all campuses.

Temple University comprises 17 schools and colleges, including the School of Communication, Arts, and Theater, which houses the Journalism Department. Temple is one of the largest providers of professional education (law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and podiatry) in the country. In addition to its seven professional degree programs, the University offers two associate degree programs, 134 bachelor’s degree programs, 121 master’s degree programs, and 56 doctoral degree programs at seven campuses and sites in Pennsylvania, its international campuses in Rome and Tokyo, and at sites in London, Beijing, and six other locations worldwide.