Data Journalist / Audience Analyst (F/T Contract, remote)

The Chronicle of Philanthropy; Washington (District of Columbia); Remote; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

The Chronicle of Philanthropy seeks a Data Journalist & Audience Analyst to uncover stories in data, build dashboards, and support editorial and business teams with analytics.

The role blends data journalism with audience analytics, requiring newsroom instincts, technical skills, and the ability to explain findings to non-technical colleagues. This is a 1-year term, full-time, remote within the United States.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years in data journalism, newsroom analytics, or similar.
• Proficiency in SQL and Python or R.
• Experience querying large datasets in BigQuery or similar.
• Experience with Google Analytics and Looker Studio.
• Ability to create data visualizations for a news audience.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain Data Studio dashboards for real-time metrics.
• Query BigQuery to support editorial, audience, and business needs.
• Produce data-driven stories with visuals for publication.
• Collaborate with reporters and editors on data needs.
• Develop processes for sourcing and vetting datasets.
• Support subscriber analysis and audience initiatives with marketing.

Skills

SQL

Python or R

BigQuery

Looker Studio

Data visualization

Storytelling

Cross-functional

Communication

Tools

BigQuery

Google Analytics

Looker Studio/Data Studio

Tableau

Flourish

Datawrapper

Job description

About The Chronicle of Philanthropy

The Chronicle of Philanthropy is the leading source of journalism, opinion, actionable insights, and training for nonprofit and foundation leaders, fundraising executives, and other professionals who drive social impact.

About the Role

We are looking for a Data Journalist & Audience Analyst who can do it all: dig into data to uncover compelling stories, produce data visualizations and graphics for publication, and serve as a core analytical resource for our editorial and business teams.

This is a newly created combined role designed to bring dedicated data expertise in-house. You will sit at the intersection of our editorial and audience departments and support the work of both teams. Helping editors find the story in the numbers while also owning dashboards and audience database strategy that power our broader organizational decision-making.

The right candidate has newsroom instincts, strong technical skills, and the communication ability to make data accessible to colleagues and readers alike.

This is a full-time position but is limited to a 1-year term. Continuation beyond the 1-year term is dependent upon organizational needs and available funding.

Key Responsibilities

Dashboards & Performance Visibility

• Build, maintain, and improve Data Studio dashboards that give teams real-time visibility into key metrics
• Ensure reporting consistency and data accuracy across internal tools and platforms
• Own the ongoing health and evolution of our performance reporting infrastructure
• Perform ad-hoc queries and analysis directly from our BigQuery database to support editorial, audience, and business requests
• Perform ad-hoc queries and analysis directly from our BigQuery database to support editorial, audience, and business requests
• Support business initiatives and subscriber analysis in close collaboration with the marketing team

Data Journalism & Reporting

• Report and produce data-driven stories, with a focus on data visualizations and graphics for publication
• Pull, clean, and analyze datasets to surface newsworthy findings for the editorial team
• Collaborate with reporters and editors to support data needs on investigative and enterprise projects
• Develop repeatable processes for sourcing, vetting, and working with public and proprietary datasets

Qualifications

Required

• 3–5 years of experience in data journalism, news analytics, or a closely related role at a news or media organization
• Proficiency in SQL and at least one scripting language (Python or R)
• Hands-on experience querying large datasets in BigQuery or a similar cloud data warehouse
• Experience with Google Analytics and Google Looker Studio (Data Studio)
• Demonstrated ability to produce data visualizations or graphics for a news audience
• Strong storytelling instincts — you know how to find the angle and communicate it clearly
• Ability to explain data and analytical findings to non-technical colleagues and readers
• Self-starter who takes ownership of projects and drives work forward without heavy direction
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with editorial, audience, and business teams
• Strong ability to manage and balance multiple competing priorities under deadline pressure

Nice to Have

• Experience with dedicated data visualization tools such as Tableau, Flourish, Datawrapper, or similar
• Familiarity with audience/subscriber database platforms and CRM systems
• Background in audience development, subscriber analytics, or database marketing. Prior experience in a newsroom, media organization or nonprofit is preferred.
• Experience with mapping, FOIA requests, or investigative data techniques.

What We Offer

• Fully remote — open to candidates anywhere in the United States
• A rare opportunity to shape a data journalism function from the ground up
• A collaborative, mission-driven newsroom environment where your work reaches real audiences