Editorial Operations Associate

Chicago Public Media; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

Chicago Public Media is a leading nonprofit newsroom serving Chicago with WBEZ 91.5FM, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Vocalo. The Editorial Operations Associate provides critical admin support across budgets, contracts, tools, subscriptions, and vendor coordination, working with the Editorial Operations Manager.

This is a full-time, hybrid role requiring at least two days in our Navy Pier office. The role emphasizes collaboration with finance, legal, and non-content teams, plus supporting staff

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in an administrative or financial services role.
• Experience with budgeting and accounts payable.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Support editorial operations manager in budget administration for newsroom budgets and forecasts.
• Process newsroom payment requests.
• Assist with generating and processing contracts for freelancers and newsroom staff.
• Assist with onboarding or offboarding newsroom staff.
• Collaborate with newsroom leadership on staff development initiatives.
• Coordinate staff conference attendance and training opportunities.
• Support the newsroom internship program.
• Coordinate department meetings and communications.
• Manage shared newsroom resources, accounts and subscriptions.
• Contribute and support other newsroom administration duties.

Skills

Budgeting

Accounts payable

Written communication

Verbal communication

Job description

Chicago Public Media is one of the nation’s largest local nonprofit news organizations. Home to WBEZ 91.5FM, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Vocalo. Chicago Public Media reaches more than 3.3 million people weekly across broadcast, print, and digital platforms. As a mission-driven organization, we aspire to be the most trusted news source Chicagoans turn to for understanding the people, events, and ideas shaping our community.

Chicago Public Media is a 100% community‑funded newsroom powered by nearly 97,000 members whose support makes our journalism possible. This sustained community investment helped drive nationally recognized work in 2025, including 29 awards from esteemed organizations, including the Public Media Journalists Association, the Edward R. Murrow Awards, and the National Association of Black Journalists.

We believe independent journalism is essential to a healthy democracy and that access to objective, fact‑based news is a right for every citizen. We serve the public interest by creating diverse content that informs and enriches our community, supported by a dedicated staff of approximately 250 professionals.

For more information, please see the Chicago Public Media Annual Report.

Job Overview

The Editorial Operations Associate supports the Chicago Public Media newsroom staff in the administrative aspects of their work, including budgets and expenses, contracts, tools, subscriptions and more. Working closely with the Editorial Operations Manager, the associate acts as a liaison between the newsroom and non‑content teams such as finance and legal, as well as external vendors or contributors. They also support internal initiatives related to staff development and workplace culture.

This is a full‑time, exempt position. The person in this role is expected to work 40 hours a week, including at least two days from our Navy Pier office.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Support editorial operations manager in their role as budget administrator for newsroom budgets, contributing to regular budget reviews and forecasting, team expense tracking and more
• Process newsroom payment requests
• Assist with generating and processing contracts for newsroom freelancers and contracts
• Assist with onboarding or offboarding of other newsroom staff
• Collaborate with newsroom leadership on staff development initiatives
• Coordinate staff conference attendance and training opportunities
• Support the newsroom internship program
• Assist in coordination of department meetings and communications
• Manage shared newsroom resources, accounts and subscriptions
• Contribute and support other newsroom administration duties, as needed

Minimum Requirements

• A minimum of 3‑5 years professional experience in an administrative or financial services role.
• Experience with budgeting and accounts payable.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Presentation and negotiation skills a plus.

Compensation

The expected pay range for this position is $65,000 - $72,000 per annum.

Chicago Public Media provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the organization reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographical location, and external market pay for comparable jobs.

Benefits

Our benefits include medical, dental, vision, vacation, holidays, life insurance, disability coverage, retirement savings, and a commuter benefits plan.

Equal Opportunity

Chicago Public Media is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we actively seek and welcome people from all backgrounds, orientations, and life experiences to join our team.

The essential functions described above are not all-inclusive and are not intended to create any contractual or other legal commitment. Chicago Public Media may change the content or format of this job at any time in its sole and exclusive discretion without notice.