CISLM Associate Director
- Employer
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
View more categoriesView less categories
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Institution Type
- Four-Year Institution
Job Details
HSJM Center for Local Media-350401
Career Area :Research Professionals
Posting Open Date:10/02/2026
Application Deadline:10/19/2026
Open Until Filled:No
Position Type:Permanent Staff (EHRA NF)
Working Title:CISLM Associate Director
Appointment Type:EHRA Non-Faculty
Position Number:20036802
Vacancy ID:NF0010087
Full Time/Part Time:Full-Time Permanent
FTE:1
Hours per week:40
Position Location:North Carolina, US
Hiring Range:Dependent of experience and qualifications
Proposed Start Date:11/16/2026
Be a Tar Heel!:A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks among the nation’s top public universities. Known for its beautiful campus, world-class medical care, commitment to the arts, and outstanding athletic programs, Carolina is an exceptional place to teach, work, and learn.
The University offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid leave, health, life, and retirement plans, as well as programs and resources that promote employee well-being and work-life balance. In addition, employees enjoy exclusive discounts on retail, dining, and performing arts experiences, savings on local child care, and special rates on select campus events.
The Hussman School of Journalism and Media is deeply committed to supporting the professional growth and career development of its employees. Our staff and faculty have access to a wide range of professional training, leadership development programs, and educational opportunities designed to foster continuous learning and career advancement. Eligible employees may also take advantage of the University’s educational assistance benefits, including tuition waiver programs, to pursue additional coursework or academic degrees.
The Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media conducts research, develops practical resources and works with students and industry partners to strengthen local journalism and help news organizations navigate changes in technology, audiences and business models.
The mission of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media is to prepare students to ignite the public conversation in our state, the nation and the world, and to understand the role of communication in fostering democracy. Our faculty, staff, students and administrators work collaboratively to build and foster an environment that is welcoming, inclusive and accessible to people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and beliefs.
The school offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, and administers a variety of professional development and distance-learning programs. Enrollment includes about 1,000 undergraduates and 130 graduate students in addition to professional development and distance education students. Our faculty members are international thought leaders whose scholarly and creative activities are visible and respected in the public realm.
This position may be eligible for hybrid work schedule. Employees are generally required to reside in North Carolina, within a reasonable commuting distance of their assigned duty station.
The Associate Director is the senior operational leader for the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media (CISLM) and serves as the Director’s principal partner in translating the Center’s strategy into coordinated programs, projects, partnerships, and measurable results. The position manages the Center’s day-to-day operations and maintains a comprehensive view of priorities, deadlines, budgets, staffing, grant obligations, events, communications, and external commitments. Working with substantial independence and delegated authority, the Associate Director anticipates needs, resolves operational problems, and brings decisions or risks to the Director at the appropriate time.
The Associate Director coordinates the work of staff, students, contractors, faculty collaborators, and external partners; establishes systems that promote accountability and continuity; and ensures that the Center’s initiatives are completed on time, within budget, and in alignment with its mission. By providing strong internal leadership and operational follow-through, the position enables the Director to devote significant attention to fundraising, donor cultivation, strategic partnerships, thought leadership, and the Center’s long-term growth.
The position also supports grant development and fundraising by organizing proposal development, coordinating information and materials, tracking prospective opportunities and donor follow-up, developing budgets and work plans with the appropriate School offices, and ensuring that funded commitments are carried out and reported accurately.
Key Responsibilities:
- Serve as the Director’s principal operational and programmatic partner, converting strategic priorities into clear work plans, timelines, assignments, budgets, and measures of success.
- Direct the day-to-day administration and execution of the Center’s portfolio of research, education, professional development, public programming, and industry partnership initiatives.
- Coordinate and supervise the work of staff, student employees, interns, contractors, consultants, and project teams; establish expectations and monitor performance and workload.
- Maintain an integrated view of Center commitments and proactively identify risks, capacity constraints, missed deadlines, resource needs, and decisions requiring the Director’s attention.
- Manage grant and financial operations in coordination with School and University offices, including budgets, expenditures, contracts, purchasing, reporting deadlines, and compliance documentation.
- Support fundraising and grant development through prospect tracking, proposal coordination, research, budget and work-plan development, stewardship materials, and donor or funder follow-up.
- Represent the Center in internal and external meetings as delegated by the Director and maintain effective working relationships across UNC and with news organizations, funders, speakers, vendors, and community partners.
- Oversee the systems, records, communications, and reporting needed to preserve institutional knowledge and demonstrate the Center’s activity, reach, and impact.
Occasional evening or weekend work and limited travel may be required to support Center programs, meetings, and events.
First time manager with Masters and 5+ years of relevant experience; or Bachelors with at least 1-2 yrs supervisory experience and 5+ years of relevant experience
Required Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience:- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex projects, priorities, and deadlines with a high degree of independence and sound judgment.
- Experience translating organizational goals into work plans, coordinating execution across multiple contributors, and holding teams accountable for deliverables.
- Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills, including the ability to anticipate needs and resolve routine and non-routine operational issues.
- Experience with budget monitoring, financial tracking, contracts, purchasing, or related administrative processes.
- Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with senior leaders, faculty, staff, students, funders, and external partners.
- Ability to create and improve workflows, documentation, project-management systems, databases, and reporting practices.
- Commitment to collaborative, inclusive, ethical, and professionally accountable work.
- Experience supervising, coordinating, coaching, or mentoring employees, students, interns, contractors, or project teams.
- Experience supporting grant development, proposal preparation, grant administration, fundraising, donor relations, or stewardship.
- Experience in local news, journalism, media, civic information, higher education, research centers, nonprofits, or professional education.
- Experience managing a portfolio of externally funded projects and coordinating narrative, financial, and impact reporting.
- Familiarity with project-management and collaboration platforms, content-management systems, email newsletters, spreadsheets, and constituent or contact databases.
- Experience planning conferences, workshops, speaker programs, training initiatives, or other public-facing events.
- Understanding of the challenges facing local news organizations and the relationship between informed communities and democracy.
Not Applicable.
Special Instructions:Please apply online athttps://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/326274 and upload the following documents:
1. CV / resume;
2. Cover letter;
3. Names and contact information of at least three professional references.
Organization
The nation’s first public university is at the heart of what’s next, preparing a diverse student body to become creators, explorers, innovators and leaders in North Carolina and throughout the world. Carolina’s nationally recognized, innovative teaching, campus-wide spirit of inquiry and dedication to public service continue the legacy that began in 1795 when the University first opened its doors to students.
Here, in one of America's most beautiful college settings, we offer exceptional careers in richly diverse fields. Come explore what UNC-Chapel Hill has to offer you.
Undergraduate Enrollment: 19,117
Graduate/Professional Enrollment: 10,894
Total Student Enrollment: 30,011
Founded: 1789, as the first state university in the United States
Type of Institution: Public, four-year
Undergraduate Admission: 15,961
Graduate/Professional Enrollment: 10,039
Total Student Enrollment: 26,000
Faculty: 3,000
Percentage of faculty who hold Ph.D.s or the highest degrees in their field: 94 percent
Faculty/student ratio: 1/14
Location: UNC is located in the heart of Chapel Hill, the best college town in America! It's a friendly town of about 40,000 in the geographical center of North Carolina. Chapel Hill is at the western point of the Research Triangle, an area of about one million people, comprised of Chapel Hill, the cities of Durham and Raleigh, and the Research Triangle Park, home of many corporate offices and scientific research centers. Carolina is about 30 miles from the state capital, Raleigh, and 20 minutes from Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
Chapel Hill's main street, Franklin Street, borders the campus and offers shops, coffee houses, cafés, movie theaters and houses of worship. The town has a historic district, museum, library, parks, malls, and many recreational facilities.
Origins of Carolina's students: 82 percent of UNC's freshmen are from North Carolina and 18 percent are from out-of-state. Our students come from 42 different states and our international students represent 37 countries.
Size of freshman class: Approximately 3,400
Class size: Barely five percent of undergraduate classes contain more than 100 students; two-thirds of undergraduate classes have fewer than 30 students. Forty-one percent have fewer than 20 students, including First Year Seminars, in which first-year students work closely with professors.
Sports and athletic programs: UNC is an NCAA Division I school with 28 varsity teams. Carolina is the proud home of the Dean Smith Center, Kenan Stadium, Carmichael Auditorium, Koury Natatorium, and many other fine athletic facilities. Students join more than 60 intramural and club sports, which include baseball, bowling, crew, golf, lacrosse, rock climbing, rugby, tae kwon do, and ultimate frisbee. The Student Recreation Center offers weight training, aerobics, stair machines, and all the equipment you would expect to find at a great health club! Carolina offers a newly renovated outdoor pool and indoor pools, a golf course, tennis courts, and the longest zipline in America!
Number of residence halls: Incoming undergraduates will live in one of Carolina's 29 residence halls, which are wired for Internet access and cable television. housing.unc.edu
Scholarships and financial aid: About 40 percent of UNC-Chapel Hill students receive scholarships and/or some form of financial aid. studentaid.unc.edu
Special research institutes: Institute for Research in Social Science, Institute of Outdoor Drama, Morehead Planetarium, Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, Institute of Government, Institute of African American Research.
Career services: On-campus counseling, job fairs, résumé writing service, internships, placement services. www.unc.edu/depts/career
Technological facilities: Students find multiple uses for Carolina's state-of-the-art technological resources. They can access Carolina's computer services through Academic Technology and Networks, which manages academic computing, e-mail, microcomputing labs, interactive media presentation, video and classroom support, and a help desk. The MetaLab oversees the development of SunSITE, one of the world's busiest digital library and electronic publishing projects.
Students may open e-mail accounts, and many use campus computer resources to construct personal Web pages. Students in residence halls have hardwired network connections to the Internet and cable television in their rooms. At the ATN Training center, students may take classes on software packages and utilities. Computer labs are available for student use all over campus.
Carolina Computing Initiative: Beginning with the freshman class of 2000, undergraduates must purchase laptop computers. The University has arranged for IBM to offer computers at excellent prices. Students, faculty, and staff will enjoy cost savings, higher quality compatible equipment, and better technical support through CCI. www.unc.edu/cci
The Study Abroad program allows students to live and learn in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Rim, Africa, and the Americas. www.unc.edu/depts/abroad
The Honors Program offers special seminars, research programs, and the chance to design your own independent studies. www.unc.edu/depts/honors
Carolina students spend time in public service through student organizations, the Campus Y, the Carolina Center for Public Service, and courses that incorporate community service.
UNC's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, a national collegiate honor society, is the oldest in North Carolina, dating from 1904. There are many other honorary societies at Carolina.
UNC offers ROTC programs in all branches of national military service.
Through the First Year Seminars program, first year students will understand what it means to study at a premier research university. They will learn from faculty members and share in their research in seminars of no more than 20 students.
Life outside the classroom: More than 370 clubs, teams, and student organizations offer something for everyone! You can choose from among musical and dramatic performing groups, publications, ethnic and religious clubs, the Campus Y and other service organizations, fraternities and sororities, and pre- professional organizations. Whatever your interests, you will find others at Carolina who share them! www.unc.edu/depts/union/student/listintr.htm
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