Assistant Vice President & Managing Director - Center for Media Innovation

Job Description

Job Description

POSITION: Assistant Vice President & Managing Director

DEPARTMENT: Center for Media Innovation

REPORTS TO: Provost & Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs

WORK SCHEDULE: Fully on-campus position (frequent regional and national travel expected)

PRIMARY FUNCTION :

The Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University is seeking an extraordinary, nationally recognized leader to serve as Assistant Vice President & Managing Director and to define the next chapter of America's local journalism ecosystem. This is a transformative leadership opportunity for a strategic thinker and public voice who will expand CMI's decade of impactful work into a nationally influential movement for sustainable, fact-based journalism.

You will architect and lead high-impact, revenue-generating initiatives that strengthen local news organizations, innovate new business and editorial models, and create scalable solutions with national relevance. As a thought leader and Convener-at-Large for media innovation, you will shape policy conversations, forge strategic alliances with foundations, media companies, and civic institutions, and position CMI as the preeminent national hub for media research, entrepreneurial journalism, capacity-building, and collaborative impact.

This role is for a leader who sees beyond the horizon-who will inspire students, journalists, and partners across the country to reimagine what local news can be, and who will drive measurable change in communities from Pittsburgh to the nation's most underserved news deserts. If you are ready to lead at the intersection of media, innovation, and democracy, this is your moment to make history.

QUALIFICATIONS :

• B.A. degree in broadcasting, communication, journalism, or related field (master's and/or terminal degree preferred);
• Five years' experience in a senior leadership role in media, higher education, and/or non-profit management;
• Demonstrated experience speaking in front of audiences in person and across virtual platforms;
• Familiarity with local news ecosystem trends in southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond.

DUTIES:

1. Pioneer. Foster an environment for innovation across media fields with a focus on fact-based journalism, community engagement, and academically rigorous research.
2. Dream . Envision, articulate, and execute public-facing programs that support the local news ecosystem by sustaining journalism outlets, creating career pathways into communication fields, and stimulating fact-based public discourse.
3. Manage . Oversee complex organizational structures that include campus-based and offsite locations, as well as a team of up to 20 people that includes support staff, project managers, academic researchers, content creators, studio technicians, graduate assistants, student assistants, interns, contractors, and community partners. This specifically includes oversight of the Pittsburgh Media Partnership, a collaboration among more than 40 newsrooms across southwestern Pennsylvania.
4. Network . Convene diverse groups of stakeholders such as young people, college students, journalists, other communications professionals, and the public to support vibrant democracy through the collection and dissemination of objective, fact-based information.
5. Collaborate . Foster an inclusive culture based on respect, empathy, and caring that starts within the CMI team and that reaches across programs to encourage robust exchange of ideas among people with varied perspectives.
6. Develop . Generate resources to support programming through varied revenue streams such as grants, underwriting, sponsorships, programming, productions, rentals, consulting, enrollment marketing, and student retention.
7. Educate . Work with University leadership, staff, and faculty in areas such as accreditation, assessment, enrollment marketing, student retention, and curriculum development, and by participating in academic events such as convocation and commencement. This includes burnishing the University's brand recognition, awareness, and appreciation.
8. Forge . Create pathways from high school to college to careers through outreach, internships, networking, and workplace development.
9. Promote . Support conditions for health American democracy through fact-based journalism, media literacy, and communications education.