Jobs at Grist
Grist is hiring:
Were you the kid who got in trouble for doodling during math class, but still got an A on the test? Grist wants you! We’re a fast-paced Seattle media company seeking a talented web design associate to take on a wide range of responsibilities. The successful candidate will work closely with news editors, web developers, marketers, and fundraisers on short- and long-term projects. We’re looking for someone who’s able to manage and prioritize multiple projects and comfortable pushing internal partners to improve ongoing and new projects.
Here’s what you’d be doing:
- In partnership with newsroom staff, plan and execute creative elements for editorial packages; perform photo research and customization; develop infographics, icons and logos; and collaborate on style sheet changes and new page/template layouts.
- Design print/hard copy materials to support marketing and development projects.
- Collaborate with technology team on sitewide template and design projects.
- Study web metrics with an eye toward evaluating usability of the site, suggesting improvements, and helping execute agreed upon changes.
- Train other staff to perform basic Web design tasks (photo editing, illustrations, etc.).
- Manage a budget for creative and photo acquisition.
Here’s what you need:
- 4-6 years of Web design experience, ideally at a media organization.
- Bachelor’s degree or degree from an art/design program; persons with journalism degree with design emphasis are encouraged to apply.
- Good copyediting skills.
- Experience working in teams and managing projects from start to finish.
- Expert background in Photoshop, HTML, and CSS coding. Macromedia Flash design and programming expertise strongly preferred.
- Still photography and videography production/editing background a plus.
- A well-developed funny bone (Grist offers up "Doom and gloom with sense of humor").
- Passion and interest in environmental and sustainability issues.
Grist offers good benefits, the opportunity to play a crucial role in an environmental media organization, and a friendly, fun workplace.
To apply: Please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@grist.org with "Web Design Associate" in the subject line. We are looking for a thoughtful, personalized cover letter that demonstrates your qualifications and writing style. No phone calls, please. Grist is an equal-opportunity employer.
About Grist:
Grist shapes the country’s environmental conversations, making green second nature for our monthly audience of 800,000. We reach the next generation by cutting through the noise to connect big issues like climate change to daily life, and by spotlighting the people and ideas that are leading us to a more sustainable future. Founded in 1999, Grist partners with major media such as Yahoo! and The Washington Post. Our work has been featured in the likes of The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and on NBC’s Today; big guns such as Time have ranked us as a top green website. Why? Because planetary problems we take seriously -- ourselves, not so much.
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As the country's leading online source of environmental news and analysis, Grist informs, inspires, and links America's next generation of green citizens -- with an irreverent twist that keeps people coming back for more. Our work has garnered many awards and frequent citations in major media including The New York Times, Vanity Fair, National Public Radio, and the London Independent.
We've been serving up our special blend since 1999, and now that green is everywhere, we're the one site users can count on to help make sense of it all. Each day, we crank up our Clarity-o-Meter to draw out the real meaning behind the headlines, and to connect big issues like climate change to daily life. We count on our monthly audience of 800,000 to bring stories to the table, too -- through blogs, photos, and whatever else they care to share. Except Jell-O molds. Those things scare us.
At Grist, we take our work seriously, but we don't take ourselves too seriously. Because of the many things this planet is running out of, sanctimonious tree-huggers ain't one of them.
The Job
At Grist, we have ambitious fundraising goals for the next three years. To keep us rolling in dough, we seek a personable, entrepreneurial, experienced development director with proven success designing and executing a full range of philanthropic fundraising strategies.
Reporting to Grist’s CEO, the Director of Development will be responsible for leading the design, implementation, and evaluation of all aspects of the organization’s fundraising. This includes efforts targeted at individuals (through programs for major donors, online appeals, and membership) and at institutional sources, primarily foundations. The Director of Development will supervise a staff of two -- a foundation-relations manager and a membership and annual support manager -- and will have direct responsibility for the design and implementation of all aspects of Grist’s major donor program, targeted at donors of $1,000 or more.
As part of Grist’s strategic plan, fundraising is expected to increase over the next three years from $2.7 million to more than $4 million. We are looking for someone who can build on the organization's successes; play a hands-on role in expanding the development program; successfully solicit five-, six-, and seven-figure gifts from both individual and institutional funders; and be a strong contributor to the organization’s senior management team.
Grist straddles two rapidly changing fields, the environmental sector and digital media. The successful candidate will be a self-starter with an energetic personality who is excited to innovate and who is comfortable working both independently and as part of a team. Experience and contacts in the progressive funding community, as well as in the political world, are preferred. The Director of Development will work out of Grist’s Seattle office. Travel is required. Souvenirs for the staff are optional.
You will:
- Design and manage the fundraising strategy, plan, calendar, and budget
- Build a high-performing team with sound business processes and effective use of the organization’s donor database and other technologies
- Expand and manage the major individual-giving program, including the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of prospects and the organization of fundraising events nationwide; maintain a portfolio of individual major gifts prospects and donors; work with Grist’s CEO to manage and track the progress of his portfolio of top individual major gift prospects and donors; oversee the production of all appropriate collateral material
- Serve as fundraising liaison to Grist's board, including preparing materials for meetings; staffing the board fundraising committee; and assisting with special board projects
- Provide direction and supervision for the foundation relations manager to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward foundation donors; oversee the creation and production of all fundraising materials, including letters of inquiry, grant proposals, and reports
- Provide direction and supervision for the membership and annual support manager to design and implement innovative strategies to raise money through online appeals and membership drives from Grist’s readership base
- Oversee use of department’s Salesforce database system, including improvements to it over time
- Supervise the timely and accurate processing of gifts and acknowledgements
- Work with appropriate staff to design and run regular reports that track Grist’s fundraising results against goals and past giving history
- Perform other tasks, as appropriate, to achieve Grist’s fundraising goals
Our Ideal Candidate
While we don't expect you to wear hemp sandals or eschew toilet paper, some slight interest in green issues -- or in learning about them -- will help you enjoy your job. Beyond that, we're looking for:
- Solid fundraising experience, with proven success in the areas of individual giving
- Demonstrated ability to build, expand, and manage a development program responsible for at least $2 million annually
- A strong track record of management skills and experience (both up and down within an organization)
- Experience managing and motivating boards and volunteers for fundraising initiatives
- Truly outstanding written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills
- Attention to detail and strong time-management and organizational skills
- Experience with fundraising databases (Salesforce experience preferred) and strong comfort with MS Office, including PowerPoint
- Strong financial skills, including the ability to develop management reports that present a clear financial picture of fundraising activities
- Ability to work cooperatively and effectively with colleagues
- And a sense of humor and ability to roll with the punches never hurt
To apply: Please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@jimmorrisconsulting.com with “Director of Development” in the subject line. We are looking for a thoughtful, personalized cover letter that demonstrates your qualifications and writing style.
Salary is competitive. Grist offers good benefits, the opportunity to play a crucial role in a media organization with a mission, and a friendly, fun workplace. Occasionally we even provide vegan doughnuts for one and all.
Grist is an equal-opportunity employer.
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Senior Online Marketing Manager
Do you start tweeting before you eat your Wheaties? Do SEO strategies get you feeling giddy? Grist needs a quick, savvy, web-obsessed marketing pro -- and you might be just the one we're looking for!
Job description:
Traffic growth is one of Grist’s key goals in 2010 and beyond. To lead the charge, we are searching for an analytical and communicative professional with online experience who is seeking to enhance his or her marketing skills in a dynamic and fun environment.
Grist’s Senior Online Marketing Manager will report to the Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. The person in this role will be primarily responsible for audience growth. Your experience with the analytical side of online marketing and your ability to use social networks to attract and engage audiences will allow you to be successful from day one. Grist is seeking someone who will take ownership of projects and relentlessly drive them forward. The position requires leadership skills, strategic thinking and strong communication and interpersonal skills. And a sense of humor doesn't hurt.
This is a full-time position located at Grist’s Seattle HQ.
Responsibilities:
The overriding purpose of this position is to drive traffic to grist.org. Below are the supporting responsibilities:
1. Lead best-practice SEO across the organization and work cross functionally to implement
2. Maximize current content partnerships and create new content partnerships with large, target-appropriate content providers
3. Analyze data on a real-time basis, create a narrative to bring the information to life, make recommendations based on data, and present insights in a compelling and actionable way.
4. Develop and implement social media strategies and tactics; oversee the community marketing manager
5. Create and execute techniques to drive traffic to grist.org; leverage current best practices while staying abreast of new methods
6. Participate in product development efforts and make recommendations for product enhancements that will drive traffic
7. Help define the voice of the customer by coordinating research on our target market
8. Update senior management on marketing successes and challenges
Required Qualifications:
1. Proven track record of increasing site traffic.
2. 4-6 years online marketing and management experience … must be someone who lives and breathes the internet and online marketing.
3. Ability to build and maximize partnerships.
4. Significant experience with SEO and data-driven decision making, with the ability to make frequent recommendations for improvement in SEO
5. Exceptional communication and creative problem-solving skills.
6. A self starter who has the ability to work independently but can also lead and work in cross-functional teams.
7. Expertise in MS Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Google Analytics and/or other analytical tools.
8. Bachelor’s Degree, Marketing/Communications preferred.
9. Interest in the environment and with media are pluses.
Grist offers good benefits, the opportunity to play a crucial role in an environmental media organization, and a friendly, fun workplace.
To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@grist.org with "Senior Online Marketing Manager" in the subject line. We are looking for a thoughtful, personalized cover letter that demonstrates your qualifications and writing style. No phone calls, please. Grist is an equal-opportunity employer.
About Grist
Grist shapes the country’s environmental conversations, making green second nature for our monthly audience of 800,000. We reach the next generation by cutting through the noise to connect big issues like climate change to daily life, and by spotlighting the people and ideas that are leading us to a more sustainable future. Founded in 1999, Grist partners with major media such as Yahoo! and The Washington Post. Our work has been featured in the likes of The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and on NBC’s Today; big guns such as Time have ranked us as a top green website. Why? Because planetary problems we take seriously -- ourselves, not so much.
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Background on Grist:
With a fresh spin on environmental news and views, Grist informs, inspires, and links America's next generation of green citizens. Founded in April 1999, Grist has developed the most recognizable voice in environmental journalism: funny, opinionated, and intelligent. Grist offers in-depth reporting, news analysis, opinions, and practical advice -- all tailored to inform, entertain, provoke, and encourage its users to think creatively about environmental problems and solutions.
Each month, Grist reaches more than 800,000 unique individuals through its website, emails, and RSS feeds, and it has enjoyed particular success among readers in their 20s and 30s. Through partnerships with major media outlets such as MSN, The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, and Yahoo!, Grist is reaching an even broader audience that extends into the millions. Grist has been featured in The New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Vanity Fair, and dozens of other major media outlets worldwide, and was recently ranked as a top green website by both Time and The Guardian of London.