Program Officer, Institutional Grants

datadotorg; San Francisco (CA); Remote; USD 135,000 - 171,000; Full time

Job summary

Tarbell is hiring a Program Officer for Institutional Grants, the program funding outlets to build lasting AI reporting capacity. Launched in 2026, it is on track to become Tarbell’s largest program, aiming to enable major newsrooms globally to have expert AI teams.

You will evaluate funding opportunities, actively grantmake, manage live grants, shape the program, grow the team, and help build Tarbell as the organization scales.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate funding opportunities, assess track record and budget, and decide funding level with a strong case against your own recommendation.
• Identify important AI journalism projects, map coverage gaps against priorities, scope grants, and source them through calls or outreach.
• Own relationships with grantees after a grant is made: check-ins, problem-solving when a project slips, and renewal assessment.
• Design how we evaluate grants of different sizes and contribute to regular reviews of priorities, collaborating with related programs.
• As the team grows, you’ll begin coordinating a Program Associate and contribute to leadership of the Institutional Grants program.
• Occasionally take on work outside the description to help Tarbell grow and fulfill its mission.

Job description

In A Nutshell

Location

Remote London, San Francisco, New York or Washington DC, United States or United Kingdom

Salary

$135,000 - $171,000 / year

Job Type

Full-time

Experience Level

Mid-level

Deadline to apply

November 15, 2026

We’re hiring a Program Officer for Institutional Grants, the program that funds outlets directly to build lasting AI reporting capacity. We launched it in 2026, and it is on track to become Tarbell’s largest program. Our vision is that it enables every major newsroom globally to have an expert AI team.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate funding opportunities. For each prospective grant you’ll assess the team’s track record and capacity to deliver, interrogate the budget and staffing plan, and form a view on the counterfactual: would this journalism happen anyway, and at this quality? You’ll recommend a funding level and grant type, not just a yes or no, and make the strongest case against your own recommendation.
• Active grantmaking. You’ll identify the most important AI journalism projects that need to exist, and make them happen. That means mapping where coverage falls short against our priority areas, scoping projects, and sourcing them through a mix of open calls, targeted calls on a single priority area, invited proposals from select outlets, and direct outreach to editors and founders.
• Manage live grants. You’ll own relationships with grantees after a grant is made: check-ins, problem-solving when a project slips, and an honest assessment at renewal.
• Shape the program. You’ll help design how we evaluate grants of very different sizes, including a faster process for small and time-sensitive grants, and contribute to regular reviews of our priority areas, proposing what we should add, change or drop. You’ll work closely with the Program Specialist, Reporting Grants who will lead on awarding funding for specific stories so the two programs complement each other.
• Grow the team. As the team grows, you’ll begin managing a Program Associate. “Hire the best, then invest” is a core operating value at Tarbell, and there is a route from this role to lead the entire Institutional Grants program for strong performers.
• Help build Tarbell. As a small team, we all step in where we’re needed. You’ll occasionally take on work outside this description, and we’ll make sure it helps you grow.

Skillset

• Have substantial experience in journalism, or in AI safety and governance, and are keen to build depth in the other.
• Have a track record of making consequential calls on incomplete evidence, and can tell a case that is well argued from one that is merely well presented.
• Know what separates impactful journalism from journalism that merely looks good, and can explain why.
• Can hold your own with executive editors, media founders and newsroom leaders discussing six- and seven-figure commitments.
• Write funding recommendations that are concise, honest about uncertainty, and persuasive without overselling.
• Care about to support journalism that helps society navigate the development and deployment of advanced AI.

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