Chief of Staff

Core responsibilities:

• Cross-program coordination: Act as a central liaison across Fellowship, Grants, Transformer, and Residencies programs, track progress against organizational goals, surface bottlenecks early, and ensure effective information flow across teams.
• Fundraising support: Identify new foundations and high-net-worth individuals, prepare proposals and pitch materials, and coordinate outreach to build relationships beyond primary funders.
• External communications: Own Tarbell's institutional voice, run newsletter, social media (LinkedIn, X), website content, and external announcements to build visibility in the AI journalism space.
• Executive support: Serve as a sounding board for the Executive Director on priorities and decisions, prepare briefs and talking points for key meetings, and ensure follow-through on important projects.

This role helps Tarbell Center for AI Journalism scale from 10 to 20+ staff and from a $4M to $14M+ annual budget by 2027, supporting journalism that helps society understand and respond to AI advancements, including accountability reporting, AI policy coverage, and sensemaking about AI impacts.

Required skills and qualifications:

• Strong project management: Ability to juggle multiple workstreams, maintain organization under pressure, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
• Independent execution: Take ownership of complex programs and drive them forward without needing constant direction.
• Clear communication: Excellent written and verbal skills to represent Tarbell professionally and tailor messages to diverse audiences.
• Good judgment: Build trust easily, navigate organizational dynamics skillfully, and know when to escalate issues versus handle them independently.
• Mission alignment: Belief in Tarbell's mission to support journalism that helps society navigate the development and deployment of advanced AI.

Compensation: $90,000 - $125,000+ in the US; £60,000 - £75,000+ in the UK; higher for exceptional candidates. Strong performers have clear paths to expanded responsibility within 18-24 months, with opportunities for senior Chief of Staff, program leadership, or executive roles elsewhere.

Tarbell supports journalism that helps society navigate the emergence of increasingly advanced AI.