Editor-in-Chief Job at Investigative Reporters & Editors, Inc. in Phoenix

ABOUT FLOODLIGHT Floodlight is hiring an editor-in-chief to lead the organization's journalistic mission, guide its team of investigative reporters through the next phase of organizational growth and deepen Floodlight’s partnerships with local and national newsrooms. ABOUT FLOODLIGHT Floodlight is a nonprofit, independent newsroom that investigates the powers stalling climate action. Since launching in 2021, Floodlight has collaborated with local and national news outlets including The Guardian, NPR, ProPublica, the Los Angeles Times, the Texas Tribune, the Louisiana Illuminator and Capital B. Floodlight stories reach millions. Each story is distributed directly to hundreds of news editors and republished through aggregation services. In 2025, hundreds of news outlets republished Floodlight stories. This position will work closely with colleagues and with journalists at external partner organizations. Floodlight produces both medium- and long-form online and video stories. Floodlight’s model has shown how collaborative investigative journalism can have an impact. Our reporting with NPR and Florida news outlets about how power company consultants swayed elections, spied on journalists and bought media coverage was followed by the departure of two Fortune 500 CEOs. The stories were seen nationwide and reposted by more than 2,000 outlets. The coverage was a finalist for Harvard’s Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting. More recently, Floodlight, along with local and national media partners, won top honors from the National Press Club in 2025 for exposing how corporations and special interests were manipulating public opinion by creating “news” outlets to push their hidden anti-renewable, pro-fossil fuel agendas — in two cases even taking over legacy local newspapers to do it. Floodlight’s reporting is nonpartisan, adhering to the standards of the Institute for Nonprofit News for financial transparency and editorial independence. While the organization is supported by philanthropic grants from foundations and gifts from individuals, Floodlight retains full authority over editorial content, and our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Read more about our standards & supporters. Our team of seven consists of two reporters, an investigative producer, an audience director, a chief operating officer, an executive director and an editor-in-chief, who will retire at the end of 2025. We all work remotely, with occasional travel for reporting, in-person meetings, industry conferences or events. ABOUT THE ROLE The ideal candidate for this position is a strong leader with extensive editing, reporting and management experience in investigative journalism and a deep understanding of both Floodlight’s collaborative approach and its role in the climate journalism space. The Floodlight editor-in-chief will manage a team of investigative journalists and work closely with a network of reporters and editors from external media partners on collaborative projects. The ideal candidate is tough, fair and collegial. This person will lead and shape the newsroom culture, striving to manage to our team members’ strengths while helping them deepen their skillsets. Floodlight produces deep-dive investigations that reveal the obstacles to climate action, ranging from disinformation and political influence to corruption and fraud. We aim for our stories to be locally relevant and nationally resonant. Because we spend more time on each individual project, it is key that the editor-in-chief have a keen eye for compelling stories that engage local and national audiences and have the potential for impact. The editor-in-chief must be adept at editing and fact-checking stories in many formats, including medium- and long-form text reporting, as well as video scripts. Most of Floodlight’s work happens through partnerships with national and local news outlets. We’re looking for a person with a strong understanding of the media landscape, and who will excel at managing those relationships. This includes the judgment to determine, along with the audience director, which partners might be best suited for a particular story and set expectations for how stories will be developed and schedules maintained. ABOUT THE EXECUTIVE TEAM The editor-in-chief will work closely with other members of Floodlight’s executive team. Emily Holden, Floodlight’s founder and executive director, leads the organization’s fundraising and business operations, while the editor-in-chief leads the organization’s editorial efforts and works closely with Emily to set the organization’s vision and priorities. Lee Pedinoff, Floodlight’s chief operating officer, supports the Floodlight team behind the scenes, assisting in fundraising efforts and building systems to help the newsroom perform at its best. Rosie Gillies leads Floodlight's audience development, engagement and partnership efforts, in collaboration with the editor-in-chief. The current editor-in-chief, Dee J. Hall, plans to retire at the end of the year, and the ideal candidate will overlap with her for some period of time for a smooth transition. RESPONSIBILITIES Work with the executive team to set and implement the strategic editorial vision in accordance with Floodlight’s overall goals and mission Manage the editorial staff and audience director, including conducting quarterly and annual performance reviews and leading staff recruitment for those positions Ensure reporting meets the highest standards of editorial excellence, including by leading Floodlight’s extensive fact-checking process and ushering reporting through any legal reviews Lead twice-a-week editorial meetings and maintain up-to-date story budget Oversee the editorial calendar and production of output across multiple distribution channels Secure rights for visuals for publication and distribution of stories Be the face of Floodlight, promoting its work by speaking at news industry conferences and preparing contest entries and other activities Write quarterly and annual editorial reports for internal and external consumption Consult with the business staff on grant proposals and reports Oversee expansion of partnerships with external news organizations IDEAL CANDIDATE QUALITIES 5+ years experience managing a team of journalists and at least 10 years in journalism Strong editorial judgment and skills Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to manage, motivate and mentor a diverse and talented team of journalists Strong collaborative skills as liaison with partner media organizations Exceptional organizational and project management skills with a fine attention to detail Exceptional communication skills Ability to weigh in on or make decisions with authority across all parts of the organization Self starter who is highly motivated and resourceful The role will work remotely, with occasional travel for events and team collaboration. SALARY AND BENEFITS The salary for this position is commensurate with experience, starting at a minimum of $130,000 per year. Floodlight provides 25 days of vacation/PTO, plus 12 paid holidays, 10 days of medical/emergency/bereavement leave and 12 weeks of paid parental leave. To give staff maximum flexibility for choosing appropriate health insurance plans, Floodlight reimburses health insurance premiums and other qualified health expenses up to the federal maximum (currently $529 per month for an individual and $1,067 per month for an individual and their family). Floodlight provides a retirement 401(k) plan match of up to 4% on employee contributions to a pre- or post-tax plan. We know there are great candidates who might not check all these boxes or possess important skills we haven’t thought of. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself. We also encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities. #J-18808-Ljbffr In Summary: Floodlight is a nonprofit, independent newsroom that investigates the powers stalling climate action . The editor-in-chief must be adept at editing and fact-checking stories in many formats, including medium- and long-form text reporting, as well as video scripts . The ideal candidate is tough, fair and collegial . En Español: ABOUT FLOODLIGHT Floodlight está contratando a un editor en jefe para dirigir la misión periodística de la organización, guiar a su equipo de reporteros investigadores a través de la próxima fase del crecimiento organizacional y profundizar las asociaciones de floodlight con redacciones locales y nacionales. Más recientemente, Floodlight, junto con socios de medios locales y nacionales, ganó los principales honores del Club Nacional de Prensa en 2025 por exponer cómo las corporaciones e intereses especiales estaban manipulando la opinión pública creando agendas ocultas anti-renovables y pro combustibles fósiles en dos casos incluso tomando el control de periódicos locales heredados para hacerlo. El editor en jefe de Floodlight administrará un equipo de periodistas investigadores y trabajará estrechamente con una red de reporteros y editores de socios de medios externos en proyectos colaborativos. El candidato ideal es duro, justo y colegial. Esta persona liderará y dará forma a la cultura del salón de noticias, esforzándose por gestionar las fortalezas de nuestros miembros del equipo mientras los ayuda a profundizar sus habilidades. Floodlights produce investigaciones profundas que revelan los obstáculos para la acción climática, desde desinformación e influencia política hasta corrupción y fraude. Nos proponemos que nuestras historias sean relevantes localmente y resuenan a nivel nacional. Debido a que pasamos más tiempo en cada proyecto individual, es clave que el editor-en-chefe tenga un ojo hacia historias convincentes que involucren audiencias potenciales y nacionales y tengan a los socios. Sobre el Equipo Ejecutivo El editor en jefe trabajará estrechamente con otros miembros del equipo ejecutivo de Floodlight. Emily Holden, fundadora y directora ejecutiva de floodlight, lidera la recaudación de fondos y las operaciones comerciales de la organización, mientras que el editor-en-chefe dirige los esfuerzos editoriales de la compañía y trabaja en estrecha colaboración con Emily para establecer su visión y prioridades. RESPONSABILIDADES Trabajar con el equipo ejecutivo para establecer e implementar la visión editorial estratégica de acuerdo a los objetivos y misiones generales de Floodlight. Gestionar al personal editorial y al director del público, incluyendo realizar revisiones trimestrales y anuales de desempeño y reclutamiento de personal dirigente para esos puestos. Asegurar que el reporte cumple con los más altos estándares de excelencia editorial, incluido liderando un amplio proceso de verificación de hechos de floodlight y introduciendo informes mediante cualquier revisión legal. Dirigir reuniones editoriales dos veces por semana y mantener un presupuesto de noticias actualizado Supervivir el calendario editorial y producir productos en múltiples canales de distribución. Para dar al personal la máxima flexibilidad para elegir los planes de seguro médico apropiados, Floodlight reembolsa las primas del seguro de salud y otros gastos médicos calificados hasta el máximo federal (actualmente $529 por mes para un individuo y $1,067 por año para una persona y su familia).