Director of Technology

The Poynter Institute seeks an executive to lead Poynter’s technology team and help ensure that those who Poynter serves get a superb user experience delivered by a staff of journalists, researchers, producers and educators with access to the most effective and appropriate tools available to meet our mission.

Poynter is a global nonprofit dedicated to strengthening journalism and democracy through journalism education, fact-checking, media literacy, publishing, convening and innovation. Working with Poynter’s leadership team, the Director of Technology will help the Institute expand its relevance and revenue with tools, strategies and a knowledge of best practices to enhance how we teach, reach audiences, build better products, generate revenue and make our organization work smarter. 

The Director of Technology will lead approximately a 3-person tech team and report to the COO. In collaboration with other Poynter executives, the director will review and understand strategic priorities for programs and revenue, and develop Poynter’s technology roadmap to help achieve those goals. This is a leadership role that includes hands-on technical work: building prototypes and design diagrams, discussing system architecture as needed and diving into the code where it moves the work forward. We seek a technology leader who combines technical judgment with curiosity, imagination and a collaborative nature who is an effective communicator. In this role you will: 

• Set Poynter’s technology vision and roadmap. Translate institutional goals into a clear technology strategy, establish priorities and ensure they are implemented through the Tech Lead and technology team.

• Build trust and buy-in. Work regularly with colleagues of every technical comfort level, explain options in plain language and bring people along so new tools and decisions actually take hold.

• Partner on new ventures and help teams level up. Work with Institute leaders to turn technology into a source of better customer experience and industry relevance, and help less technical teams grow their skills and confidence with the tools they use every day.

• Bring coherence across Poynter. Work across teams, build understanding around technical decisions and effectively articulate Poynter’s needs and opportunities.

• Provide strong technical judgment. Review technical work, evaluate architecture and platform proposals, and set Institute-level standards for work produced internally and by vendors. Day-to-day architecture definition and stewardship sit with the Tech Lead under your direction. You should know enough about modern software development to ask hard questions and recognize good answers; you will not be the day-to-day architect or primary coder.

• Own Poynter’s core technical environment. Oversee security, uptime and our existing technology stack, including WordPress, WooCommerce and our learning management system.

• Lead people and manage resources. Supervise Poynter’s technology staff, contractors and vendors, manage the technical budget and decide when it makes sense to build, buy or outsource.

Qualifications 

• Significant experience (5+ years) leading technology, digital products or technical strategy and setting priorities across a complex organization.

• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills.

• An engineering background strong enough to understand how modern software is built and to read, review and test technical work. Experience with WordPress, JavaScript and related web technologies is useful, but being Poynter’s primary coder is not the job.

• Strong product and user-experience instincts. 

• A proven record of elevating an organization in its technological service and profile.

• Experience managing technical staff, contractors, vendors and budgets.

• Curiosity about journalism and compatibility with its mission and requirements. Experience in journalism, nonprofit organizations, education or mission-driven media is valuable but not required.

Reporting and location

The Director of Technology reports to Poynter’s COO (& CFO) and works closely with the executive team and leaders across the Institute. The role supervises the Technical Lead, Full-Stack Web Developer, Salesforce Administrator, contractors and third-party technology vendors. Poynter’s main office is based in St. Petersburg, Florida, where Poynter has a hybrid schedule of two-three days per week in the office. Remote candidates with relevant media or adjacent technical leadership experience are welcomed. Candidates not located in St. Petersburg may be required to travel up to four times per year.

Compensation and benefits

• Salary range: $95,000 - $120,000, commensurate with experience. 

• Health and wellness: Competitive medical, dental, and vision insurance with an employer-funded Health Reimbursement Account (HRA), plus company-paid Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, and Basic Life & AD&D insurance.

• Parental leave: Up to 24 weeks of compensated leave for birth mothers and up to 16 weeks for spouses, partners, and adoptive parents.

• Financial and retirement: A 403(b) retirement plan that includes a 1% employer contribution of eligible compensation.

• Paid time off: Generous paid time off, seven designated paid holidays, and a paid Winter Break for the last two weeks of the calendar year.

Position details

• Position type: Full-Time, Manager

• FLSA status: Exempt

Physical requirements

• Ability to remain in a stationary position for extended periods while working on a computer.

• Ability to travel as required for Institute needs (candidates not based in St. Petersburg may travel up to four times per year).

• Ability to operate standard office equipment, including a computer, phone, and video conferencing tools.

Legal and compliance

• At-will employment: Employment with the Poynter Institute is at-will, meaning either the employee or the employer can terminate the relationship at any time, with or without cause or notice.

• Background check: Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a comprehensive background check.

• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO): The Poynter Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetic information, disability, age, marital status, veteran or military status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law.