Minnesota Culture Team Leader

The Minnesota Star Tribune is an innovative modern media organization building on an extraordinary 157-year legacy. With seven Pulitzer Prizes and numerous other accolades, we stand as a beacon of journalistic excellence in Minnesota. We are the heart and voice of the North.

Our mission is to build a better Minnesota by connecting us with the people, ideas, and stories that strengthen our communities. We're seeking dynamic leaders who are passionate about journalism and democracy to help shape this future. If you are excited about reinventing one of our state's most trusted institutions and leading us into a new era of growth and excellence, we want to hear from you.

Job summary: Team Leader

We are seeking a creative and ambitious editor to drive timely, sophisticated news and enterprise coverage from a new team writing about the cultural values, human experiences, current conversations and people that make Minnesota a rich and textured community. You will succeed in this role by helping this team produce compelling stories that capture the full breadth of life in Minnesota - who we are, and how we are changing. You should excel at all aspects of story development and story forms; help reporting teams create and deliver ambitious, useful and distinctive journalism; and have a vision for how to make this work an indispensable part of our readers' lives.

You will:

• Be relentlessly audience centric. Ensure that reporters and others on your team are developing and implementing data- and audience-informed coverage plans for their topic areas.

• Be enterprising and entrepreneurial, with an eye for stories that inform, surprise and delight our audience. Our readers most value news, insightful, contextual enterprise reporting and human-centered narrative not available elsewhere.

• Have an eye and heart for the quirky, fun, uniquely Minnesota story that showcases the team's creativity.

• Collaborate with the Food & Culture Editor, Deputy Editor and other department news leaders to determine daily, weekly and ongoing coverage strategies across multiple platforms.

• Collaborate and communicate closely with The Minnesota Star Tribune's Audience, Product, Consumer Growth and Revenue teams to ensure our journalism reaches its widest audience, and adhere to best practices around analytics, search and discovery.

• Lead and deliver transformational edits on the work produced by your team.

• Demonstrate leadership skills that emphasize respectful inclusion while driving for excellence.

• Engage with community leaders, citizens and subscribers at forums and other events, articulating how The Minnesota Star Tribune lives its journalistic mission and values.

• Effectively recruit, hire and train for a broad range of skillsets.

• Enforce deadlines on stories from the quick turn to the long-range.

• Work regularly from The Minnesota Star Tribune's downtown headquarters.

Qualifications:

• Sharp editorial judgment and a track record that demonstrates an ability to inspire great work while serving as a coach, manager and guide in a constantly changing news environment.

• A willingness to be involved in all aspects of story development, from initial framing to preliminary and final edits.

• The ability to lead a team through change. We are transitioning to new ways of working as we focus on our digital platforms. The leader of this team needs to encourage change with urgency and conviction.

• A commitment to using 21st century digital tools, tracking and analyzing online audience trends and building strategies to engage readers.

• Management skills that foster a creative and supportive culture.

• Communication, collaboration and organizational skills to work across a matrixed organization.

• Ability to meet deadlines, prioritize assignments, track budgets and multitask in a high-pressure environment.

• A commitment to the The Minnesota Star Tribune's standards, mission and values, including journalism that reflects the diversity of Minnesota and The Minnesota Star Tribune's audience.

To apply:
Please upload a resume and a memo that includes five story ideas and describes how you would approach the opportunity to lead this team.

Pay for this position starts at $89,300 a year, based on the H-scale level in the contract of the Minnesota Newspaper and Communications Guild.

Questions?

More about The Minnesota Star Tribune

At The Minnesota Star Tribune, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset, and we are committed to their happiness, growth, and well-being. Here's a snapshot of the exceptional benefits we offer:

• Modern Downtown Office: Enjoy a state-of-the-art workspace with a free fitness center, collaborative center, golf simulator, and a rooftop patio.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Includes commuting subsidy, medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Wellness & Work-Life Balance: Participate in our wellness program with financial incentives, generous paid time off, flexible holidays, one volunteer day, and two wellness days.
• Financial & Family Support: Benefit from a 401(k) with company match, paid parental and caregiving leave, hybrid work arrangements, and tuition reimbursement.
• Additional Perks: Access to an employee assistance program, pet insurance, flexible spending accounts, and health savings accounts.

Honored in 2023 with Diversity MBA's inaugural Top 25 Outstanding Leadership and Diversity Impact Awards, we are proud of our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Even if you don't meet every single requirement for this role, we encourage you to apply. At The Minnesota Star Tribune, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.