CEO

The Opportunity

Fort Worth Report is entering a pivotal new chapter: the transition from a highly successful, entrepreneurial startup to an enduring civic institution. The Board seeks a Chief Executive Officer who can preserve the organization's journalistic credibility and mission while building the business, revenue, culture and systems required for long-term sustainability.

The CEO will serve as the organization's senior executive, chief fundraiser and leading external ambassador. The role is analogous to a modern publisher: the CEO will lead enterprise strategy and the business of the organization, while an Editor reporting to the CEO will lead day-to-day newsroom operations and retain authority over editorial decisions. Working with the Editor, General Manager and Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Development Officer, senior team and Board of Directors, the CEO will guide Fort Worth Report's next phase of growth, reach, and institutional maturity.

In this role, the CEO will:

• Own the revenue strategy. Serve as our chief fundraiser, personally cultivating and stewarding a portfolio of major donors and institutional funders while guiding a high-performing revenue team (CRO, CDO, and related staff). Drive a diversified revenue mix of major gifts, foundations, memberships, sponsorships, events, and emerging streams, and meet ambitious annual and multi-year targets aligned with Vision 2030 .
• Drive organizational strategy and financial sustainability. Advance the next phase of our strategic plan, overseeing budgeting, forecasting, and financial controls - including a healthy balance of restricted and unrestricted funding and contingency planning for shifts in the funding environment. Evaluate and pursue opportunities for expansion, partnerships, and new initiatives that strengthen the Fort Worth Report's position in Tarrant County and beyond. Make prioritization decisions that balance near-term performance with long-term institutional health and mission integrity.
• Lead the organization and its culture. Develop, coach, and hold accountable a talented senior team; build clear roles, strong communication, and consistent people practices across editorial and business functions; and foster a culture of trust, collaboration, inclusion, and high performance. Fort Worth Report's journalists and non-management staff recently formed the Fort Worth Reporters Guild. The CEO will establish a strong relationship and engage in good-faith collective bargaining with a focus on the organization's people, mission, and long-term health with the newly formed union in the newsroom.
• Partner closely with editorial. Work hand-in-hand with our top editorial leader to align audience strategy, resourcing, and growth, while safeguarding editorial independence, which is the foundation of our credibility. The Editor reports to the CEO. Day-to-day newsroom decisions rest with the Editor, and the CEO is ultimately accountable for the organization as a whole, setting expectations for editorial leadership and engaging directly when performance, standards, or organizational alignment require it.
• Partner closely with the General Manager. Work hand-in-hand with the General Manager, who leads earned revenue efforts, finance, and business operations and, in partnership with the Chief Development Officer and the CEO, is responsible for revenue generation.
• Steward our brand and audience growth. Guide multi-platform content distribution and audience engagement that meets Tarrant County residents where they are. Steward the Fort Worth Report's brand for consistency in values, voice, and credibility. Ensure that audience growth strengthens public trust and civic value.
• Collaborate with the Board. Serve as the primary liaison to the Board of Directors, partnering with the Board Co-chairs on strategy, governance, and board-led fundraising, and supporting board recruitment, engagement, and development.
• Represent Fort Worth Report publicly. Serve as the public face of the Fort Worth Report in the community, across the state, and within the national nonprofit news ecosystem at civic events, partner convenings, in the press, and on stage. Build relationships with area civic leaders, businesses, and community partners, and position the Fort Worth Report as a convener of the conversations Tarrant County needs to have.

Candidate Profile

You're an experienced nonprofit, media, or mission-drive leader ready to take on a role that brings together fundraising, strategy, and public-facing leadership in a trusted civic institution built to last.

You bring:

• A track record of fundraising at scale, including major gifts, institutional grants, and revenue diversification. You've personally closed transformational gifts. Strong sales skills are required.
• An entrepreneurial energy together with the discipline needed to guide a growing organization into its next stage of maturity.
• Senior leadership experience in an organization navigating growth and change.
• Comfort leading in a unionized environment, or a strong record of trust-based labor relations.
• Financial acumen, you can read a P&L, build a budget, and pressure-test a multi-year forecast.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills - equally comfortable on the ground with reporters, in a room with major donors, and on stage with civic leaders.
• Develop and align a talented leadership team while fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and accountable organizational culture.
• Demonstrate a deep commitment to independent local journalism and the First Amendment, while protecting editorial independence and maintaining clear boundaries between newsroom and revenue functions.
• A real belief in independent journalism as essential to civic life.
• Partner effectively with an engaged Board, leveraging members' expertise, networks, and influence in support of strategy, fundraising, and mission.
• Serve as a credible public ambassador who builds trusted relationships and convenes donors, civic leaders, businesses, and community partners across Fort Worth and beyond.
• Knowledge of (or genuine curiosity about) Fort Worth and Tarrant County and the communities we serve.

You don't need to be a journalist. You do need to deeply respect the craft and the people who practice it, understand the wall between editorial independence and business operations, and be ready to defend that wall when it matters most.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary and bonus subject to qualifications and experience. Benefits include PTO, paid holidays, insurance benefits including medical, dental, vision, life insurance plans and 401k plan. This is a full time role based in Fort Worth, Texas.