Executive Director

Documented; New York (NY); On-site; USD 225,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous benefits package

Job summary

Documented, a multilingual nonprofit newsroom in New York City, seeks an Executive Director to lead strategy, fundraising, and operations. You will be the chief executive, steward financial health, and serve as the primary external representative to funders, partners, and the public.

The role requires 7–10+ years of senior leadership in a mission-driven organization, a strong track record in fundraising, and the ability to navigate editorial and policy contexts while preserving staff well-being

Qualifications

• 7–10+ years of progressively senior leadership experience in a nonprofit or mission-driven organization.
• Proven ability to raise funds and manage donor relationships at scale.
• Strong communication skills and ability to serve as a public face of the organization.

Responsibilities

• Set and steward Documented's overall strategic direction across language verticals and readership growth.
• Lead fundraising strategy and external representation to institutional funders and partners.
• Oversee budgeting, audit, HR, and governance in collaboration with the board and senior team.

Skills

Fundraising leadership

Public speaking

Strategic leadership

Nonprofit management

Multilingual communication

Stakeholder management

Job description

Executive Director

About DocumentedDocumented is an innovative, mission-driven, multilingual nonprofit newsroom based in New York City. Our work expands access to critical news and information for immigrants, policy makers and advocates in New York City and across the country through trusted, community driven journalism. We currently publish in English, Spanish, Chinese and Haitian Creole and we meet our audiences where they are on platforms like WhatsApp, WeChat, TikTok, on our website, through newsletters and more. Documented was founded in 2018 and has grown to become a leader in coverage of issues facing immigrants. The staff is just over 20, with plans to expand, and our annual operating budget is $5M. We run training programs for newsrooms across the country and are the co‑founders of the Immigrant News Coalition (INC), a group of independent newsrooms serving immigrant audiences nationally. Documented is a dynamic, award‑winning, and growing newsroom with an exceptionally strong culture and diverse team looking for our next leader. Learn more here: https://documentedny.com/

The Opportunity

The Executive Director is Documented's chief executive and its most visible external representative, responsible for the organization's strategic direction and vision, financial health, fundraising, and operational integrity. The ED leads a senior team of four direct reports — the Chief Strategy Officer, Director of Operations, Editor-in-Chief, and Chief Product & Education Officer, plus an Executive Assistant, and reports to the Board of Directors.

This role combines the rigor of running a $5M nonprofit (budgeting, audit, compliance, HR/legal matters) with the outward-facing work of cultivating and expanding the mission aligned universe of funders, partners, and public platforms. The right candidate will have the judgment to make high-stakes editorial and strategic calls, from evaluating acquisition opportunities and collaborations to launching new earned-revenue lines, in a fast-moving news, communications and immigration policy and enforcement environment, all without losing sight of the unique culture of the organization and the well being of the individual people doing the work.

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Set and steward Documented's overall strategic direction, including a multi-year growth plan across the organization's language verticals and expansion of its readership among policymakers and advocates.
• Maintain a unique and prized organizational culture with an exceptional team through growth and issue area pressures.
• Partner with editorial, product, and strategy leaders to identify and advance digital tools, technologies, and infrastructure that strengthen distribution, improve audience engagement, and enable Documented to work more efficiently and extend its impact.
• Make difficult decisions and establish clear expectations while being an approachable, and empathetic leader who can navigate multiple points of view and disagreement.
• Understand, respect, and credibly advocate for Documented's unique model of community driven journalism.
• Lead organization-wide goal setting in partnership with the senior team and board and translate strategy into executable roadmaps while empowering direct reports to feel ownership and accountability.
• Represent Documented in strategic collaborations including partnerships with other newsrooms and community based organizations and potential deeper strategic alignments.

Fundraising and External Representation

• Partner with the Chief Strategy Officer and Development and Governance Committee of the Board on the fundraising strategy and revenue pipeline across institutional philanthropy, major donors, corporate/advertising revenue, and earned revenue.
• Cultivate and steward long‑term relationships with institutional funders.
• Diversify and grow financial support from individuals by developing and executing a tailored strategy to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major and smaller‑dollar donors, while expanding Documented's philanthropic presence in New York City.
• Build relationships with NYC foundations, family offices, New York‑based individual donors, funders focused on city issues, communications and technology, and immigrant rights philanthropy to develop new funding partnerships and broaden the organization's revenue base.
• Serve as Documented's primary public face and spokesperson, representing the organization on panels, at conferences, in guest lectures, and in media opportunities (e.g., journalism‑ethics classes, funder convenings, cross‑newsroom panels on independent and immigrant media), and directing such invitations to the right internal or Board spokesperson when unavailable.
• Build and maintain relationships with peer organizations, coalition partners, and philanthropy‑serving organizations to expand Documented's visibility and open new funding channels.
• Sponsor and guide new earned‑revenue product development (e.g., training/consulting offerings for peer newsrooms) from concept through pricing, pilot, and scale, working closely with the Chief Product & Education Officer and Chief Strategy Officer.
• Work with and continue to build a strong Board that has increasing governance, financial oversight and development capabilities and that is a partner in strategy and vision and supports the active growth of the organization and its integrity.

Finance

• Hold overall fiduciary responsibility for the organization's $5M budget, in partnership with the Chief Strategy Officer, Director of Operations and outsourced finance/accounting support as well as the Finance and Investment Committee of the Board.
• Oversee annual budgeting and multi‑year financial planning, and present regularly to the Board Finance Committee.
• Own the relationship with external auditors and finance partners, ensuring the annual audit and required financial disclosures are completed on schedule and that the organization's financial controls stay current with funder and regulatory expectations.
• Ensure Documented's compliance obligations are met, including those tied to its status as a City advertising vendor under Local Law 83 (LL83).

Operations

• Oversee organizational operations through the Director of Operations, including HR, staffing, and workplace policy.
• Navigate sensitive personnel, journalistic and legal matters — e.g., separation agreements, labor counsel consultations, leadership transitions — with discretion, care for staff well‑being, and appropriate legal guidance.
• Oversee any legal issues connected to media freedom and First Amendment issues.
• Understand the realities of producing community centered journalism and serve as a credible thought partner to the Editor‑in‑Chief without creating unnecessary oversight or compromising editorial independence.
• Lead succession and leadership‑transition planning with the Board.
• Ensure smooth internal operating rhythms: staff check‑ins, retreats (e.g., the organization's annual retreat), performance reviews, and cross‑team coordination.
• Maintain a decision‑rights structure that is legible to the senior team, so that authority is clearly delegated across strategy, fundraising, finance, and operations.

Candidate Profile

• 7–10+ years of progressively senior leadership experience, ideally including nonprofit executive leadership, journalism/media management, or a comparable mission‑driven organization.
• A strong personal commitment to Documented's mission and a passion for independent, community‑centered journalism that serves immigrant communities.
• Demonstrated success leading fundraising activities— cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding six- and seven‑figure funder relationships — and comfort serving as an organization's public face.
• A collaborative and empathetic leadership style, with the ability to build trust, navigate disagreement, establish clear expectations, and strengthen organizational systems and accountability while preserving staff flexibility, and a culture of innovation.
• Financial fluency: experience owning a multi‑million‑dollar budget, working with auditors and outsourced finance teams, and reporting to a board finance committee.
• Strong organizational leadership skills including experience managing a senior, cross‑functional executive team and navigating sensitive HR/legal matters with sound judgement.
• Comfort operating in a fast‑moving and innovative environment that includes ambiguity — evaluating new external realities, revenue lines, partnership and acquisition opportunities, and structural changes without a fixed playbook.
• Strong external communication skills: confident public speaker, credible in front of funders, press, and peer organizations.
• Demonstrated understanding of digital media, audience distribution, and technology, and data‑informed decision‑making.
• Familiarity with immigrant communities, multilingual media, and/or the U.S. immigration policy landscape; multilingual ability is a plus but not required.
• Familiarity with New York City's philanthropic funding landscape, including foundations, family offices, high net‑worth individuals, and funders focused on local issues and immigrant rights, is a plus.
• Experience with, or strong interest in, leading an organization through a leadership transition is a plus.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $225-250,000 with a generous benefits package.

Documented is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ+ applicants.