Engagement Producer, Early Childhood Education, SCPR

American Public Media - Pasadena, CA

Full-time - Mid Level

Pasadena, CA

Administrative and Support Services

About the position

SCPR has reported on early childhood since 2012, from homes, classrooms, and nonprofit organizations, to gain a better understanding of how our early childcare system is preparing children to succeed and thrive. Additionally, SCPR has spearheaded an innovative engagement model to expand the beat's audience and build deeper relationships with community members who could benefit from its service. SCPR's early childhood engaged journalism strategy is dedicated to informing, connecting, and empowering communities of low- and middle-income Southern California parents and caregivers of children ages 0-5. We prioritize working with specific neighborhoods and/or demographics identified by research while continuing to inform and educate our existing broadcast audio and digital audiences on early childhood topics. The beat's engagement work has included in-person events like the annual Super-Fun Saturday event for families with young children; distributing cameras to parents and childcare providers to document their lives; and distributing information on early childhood issues through non-traditional channels, including bookmarks and postcards. SCPR seeks a dedicated engagement producer-reporter to lead its early childhood engaged journalism work. This position is expected to work in close partnership with SCPR's early childhood education and development reporter. We're looking for someone who brings strong community engagement skills and journalism fundamentals. They will look for creative approaches to engage the community in coverage and identify the information needs and habits of stakeholders. Working in SCPR's multiplatform newsroom, they will also report, write, and produce reports, post online stories, write newsletters, use social media and engagement tools to report, engage sources and listeners/users, and develop engagement projects. They will identify opportunities to connect their work to that of other departments, including Content and Membership.

Responsibilities

• Propose and implement engagement projects to bring the voices of parents, caregivers, and early educators into the newsroom and inform SCPR's early education coverage.
• Test and evaluate engagement projects based on engagement team metrics, iterating accordingly and sharing lessons learned.
• Build and strengthen relationships and collaborations with community organizations, key early childhood stakeholders, and community members.
• Work with the vice president of audience and community engagement, editor(s), and the education team to produce content, including but not limited to digital content, printed materials, and live events (listening sessions, convenings, and/or other community engagement events).
• Regularly communicate with community members through producing and writing the early childhood newsletter and/or sharing updates through other platforms.
• Use the latest engagement tools and software to engage community members through callouts, web forms, and text messages.
• Effectively navigate and interpret social science research, Pew research, government data, and other sources of relevant data.
• Responsible for high standards of journalistic integrity, accuracy, and timeliness.
• Report on early childhood for parents, educators, and the broader community of interest.
• Pitch, report, and produce occasional news stories.
• Write and edit copy as required.
• Keep up to date on current events (local, national, and international).
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree OR equivalent work experience.
• Five or more years of journalism OR relevant work experience.
• Experience working with diverse populations and sensitivity in navigating complex social issues.
• Experience in social media and content production.
• Interest in social networking, content aggregation, and new trends in digital media.
• Familiarity with data analysis.
• Strong news judgment.
• Strong writing skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with colleagues in multiple departments/divisions.
• Strong interest in local and regional news and general depth of knowledge about issues and current events.
• Ability to work with changing deadlines and in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work simultaneously on short and long-term projects.
• Familiarity with digital and mobile content management systems.
• Proven ability to contribute to a positive, diverse, creative, high-performance culture.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Nice-to-haves

• Fluent in Spanish.
• Experience facilitating conversations.

Benefits

• Medical plans with HSA and FSA options
• Dental
• Vision
• Life and AD&D
• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave and Paid Caregiver Leave after 1 year
• Vacation (3 wks./per year, pro-rated, based on hours worked)
• Sick time (12 days, pro-rated, based on hours worked)
• Holiday Pay (10 holidays + 2 floating holidays each year)
• Volunteer Time (8 hours per year)
• Long-Term Care and Critical Illness insurance options
• Employee Assistance Program
• 403(b) Retirement Plan
• and more.