Senior Operations Manager

About WHYY

WHYY serves the Philadelphia region with trusted journalism, eye-opening storytelling and intimate local arts programming. Our curiosity and commitment to this community is what drives our programming. It’s also what drives our hiring.

Below you’ll find an employment opportunity in the fast-paced setting of the Philadelphia region’s leading public media provider. The award-winning professional staff of WHYY sets the bar high in television, radio and online. Whether it’s preparing a program to air or a behind-the-scenes role in support, all positions are vital to continuing—and growing—our impact in our community.

WHYY offers a voice to those not heard, a platform to share everyone’s stories, a foundation to empower early and lifelong learners and a trusted space for unbiased news. Learn more about our Social Responsibility Program. It’s how we live.

About the Role

The Senior News Production Manager is the primary support position to the VP of News & Civic Dialogue to ensure that the newsroom is achieving its operational & strategic priorities and remaining aligned to its financial commitments, budgets and external grant requirements. Amongst other activities and reports, the Senior News Production Manager will serve as the newsroom’s operational budget point person for FP&A & Accounting, support WHYY’s advancement teams to publish reports for outside funders and monitor pace of required deliverables.  

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work with Foundations/Corporate Relations team and VP of News on funding proposals including development of project budgets and deliverables.
• Conduct regular meetings with VP of News to provide project status reports and identify any areas of spending overage/underage.
• Regularly assess the spending of the projects against the project timelines to properly estimate final expenses and identify areas of overage/underage that may need modification. Work with Foundation/Corporate Relations team to prepare budget modification requests for grantors as needed.
• Create regular re-forecasts based on current level of spending, running reports through Financial Edge and Excel.
• Create Interim and Final Financial Reports for funders with all project expenses.
• The News Department budget annually, working with FP&A and Accounting on the fiscal year budgeting process, based on priorities set by the VP of News.
• Review and respond to regular News Department budget update requests from FP&A and Accounting, including monthly NARF adjustments and CEs.
• Develop project timelines with grant content managers and supervisors.
• Assist the Foundations/Corporate Relations team in gathering information for Interim and Final narrative grant reports (deliverables, media mentions, metrics gathering and reporting to show impact and other outcomes).
• Work with content managers and WHYY General Counsel to execute contracts with partners and sub-contractors as needed
• Facilitate equipment purchases for News Department if needed.
• Process all News Department invoices, purchase orders, and expense reports, verify coding; review payroll coding; identify re-classes and submit as needed.
• Reconcile the main department purchasing card monthly, and review the reconciliations of other News managers and/or applicable staff on a monthly basis.
• Liaise with partner stations of collaborative projects on budgets and reimbursements as-needed.
• Work with Membership and Marketing departments and Managing Editor of Community Engagement to strategize and budget for project-related events, community engagement activities, and promotion.
• Manage the newsroom’s source diversity tracking process, monitoring data entry, flagging issues to the VP of News, and pulling results as requested.
• Manage the newsroom’s staff diversity tracker, reaching out to new staff as needed and compiling updates as requested.
• Strategize regularly with Vice President for News and Civic Dialogue about existing positions and how to fund new opportunities.
• Train newsroom staff on budget/deliverables management, including setting deliverables and spending timelines.
• Toggle between general operating and grants management, working with VP for news to creatively use the budget to meet newsroom needs.
•  With the VP for News, meet regularly with stations and publications to share process of tracking source diversity and learnings from its us.
• High level of discretion and confidentiality required. 

Education: The position holder should have a working knowledge of media and the production process, techniques and key components. A Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline or the equivalent knowledge is required.

Experience: Two to five years of experience in a project management role that required advanced multi-tasking, and communication skills. Proven experience in grant management and/or the administration of grants.   Experience keeping meticulous financial records is needed. Previous work experience in which the ability to track and successfully meet multiple deadlines, with complicated dependencies was required.  Previous experience with government funding reporting requirements preferred, along with prior experience planning and coordinating events.

Technical Skills: Solid Excel skills are required for tracking and reporting project expenses, using Financial Edge and Pivot tables to create interim and final grant financial reports. Extreme organizational skills for maintaining all project-related documentation. Ability to multitask and oversee multiple aspects of projects to ensure that all timelines are being met on deliverables per specifications of grants.

*All WHYY employees are required to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Proof will be required upon hiring.