Spokane Public Radio- General Manager

Spokane Public Radio (SPR), a beacon of informed public discourse and cultural enrichment in Spokane, WA, serves its community with a diverse blend of news, music, arts, and educational content. Founded in 1978 with a mission to provide high-quality, artistic, educational, and informational programming which enhances and enlivens the cultural life and civic discourse of its listening communities, SPR reaches audiences in eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon and northern Idaho through its 3 FM stations, digital platforms, and community events.

As a vital community resource committed to journalistic excellence and cultural representation, SPR is seeking a visionary leader to steer the organization into its next chapter. Our next General Manager will play a critical role in guiding SPR's strategic direction, fostering innovation, organizational growth, and financial stability while ensuring the station continues to meet the evolving needs of the diverse communities we serve.

This position calls for a dynamic and seasoned professional who understands public media's crucial role in society, and who can effectively collaborate with a diverse range of stakeholders and lead a dedicated team towards achieving the station's ambitious goals.

Spokane is a welcoming, dynamic community offering big city amenities without the big city inconveniences. Our residents enjoy a vibrant downtown, thriving, walkable neighborhoods, a wide range of cultural experiences, excellent public schools, four universities, and over 80,000 square miles of four-season recreational paradise including 4 rivers, 76 lakes, hundreds of miles of trails, 5 major ski/snowboard areas, 32 golf courses, and 128 public parks, all within a 90-minute drive.

Salary: $95,000 - 105,000 DOE

Together the Board of Directors and Staff of SPR have developed the profile of the ideal next leader for the station. We will select from candidates that have the most highly developed skills and attributes in these areas:

Leadership With Integrity:

We seek a mission-driven individual who will foster and support a positive, collaborative, and transparent culture at Spokane Public Radio while driving continuous improvement in our effectiveness in serving the people of our region. Our most important asset is the trust our listeners and the community have in our programming and in SPR as an institution. The General Manager will:

• Be a selfless, effective change agent who puts the mission and success of SPR first;

• Be a respectful, honest, sincere, courageous, and ethical person of substance;

• Demonstrate a commitment to and practice of candor and transparency;

• Have great people skills and be effective with a wide range of stakeholders - from board to staff to individual donors and regional legislative, congressional, business and community leaders;

• Demonstrate a record of being able to identify, confront, analyze and resolve ethical challenges or conflicts of interest.

Financial Acumen:

Our next General Manager will be an experienced, competent financial manager with the ability to provide direction to staff and keep the board informed. Critical financial skills include:

• Understands basic concepts of financial management and nonprofit financial reporting;

• Ability to recognize and report key performance indicators to the Board and staff.

• Ability to develop, administer, and comply with a budget;

• Ability to manage cash flow in a complex environment;

• Ability to anticipate and plan for needed investments in facilities and technology;

• Provides context for decisions based on SPR's current financial position and outcomes of past actions.

Communication:

To lead and represent SPR in various arenas, we seek a person with highly developed public and private interpersonal skills, who:

• Can work within a wide range of communication styles and build relationships with a diverse set of people;

• Is capable of articulating ideas clearly and persuasively when speaking to diverse audiences;

• Is an effective listener who actively seeks to understand the needs and concerns of colleagues, community members, and stakeholders;

• Is an organized thinker and effective writer;

• Facilitates effective team communication, ensuring all staff members are informed, engaged, and motivated;

• Is an effective spokesperson for the organization.

Vision:

In the context of ongoing transformational changes in the availability and use of digital media and societal changes in the external and internal environment, our candidate:

• Has a working knowledge of the regulatory environment in which public radio stations operate;

• Can see and understand future trends in public media, in related fields and the world, and the impact on our work and workplace;

• Has a learning orientation, including demonstrated methods for gathering, assimilating and making sense of information about the changing media, technology and demographic landscape;

• Can balance vision with doing;

• Is able to lead key stakeholders in working together to develop and execute a shared vision.

Team Building:

Our next General Manager will be an empowering leader who takes time to learn and utilize the existing strengths of individuals and groups, and mentors and supports professional growth of individuals and the entire staff. The successful candidate must:

• Understand and support the role of the Board of Directors and the Community Advisory Board (CAB) in contributing to the strategic direction of SPR;

• Cultivate a collaborative and inclusive work environment that encourages open communication and mutual respect among all staff, the CAB, and the Board;

• Identify and nurture leadership potential within the team;

• Mediate conflicts within the team promptly and effectively;

• Provide appropriate feedback and development opportunities, including professional training and mentoring, to help staff grow their skills.

Problem Solving and Decision Making:

We seek a General Manager who:

• Has the ability to prioritize and determine the significance of a particular issue, understands who to include in the problem-solving process, and knows what and how much information is needed to arrive at workable, lasting solutions;

• Is able to effectively analyze and use data in the decision-making process while making decisions in a timely manner;

• Is good at follow-through, clearly communicates decisions, designs and administers effective execution with appropriate benchmarks and time-posts to measure success;

• Has a high level of personal strength to stick by decisions and/or know when a change of direction or reconsideration is needed.

Change Management:

As we continue to move through the revolution in media consumption and seek to maintain our position as an essential local institution, we are looking for a leader who demonstrates a high level of skill in managing the change process, including:

• Understands the impact of culture on change efforts and is able to successfully navigate cultural as well as process change;

• Highly developed skill at prioritizing, and accomplished at sequencing change;

• Is personally creative and able to act on that creativity.

• Is open-minded and a good learner;

• Has a focus on innovative models and conquering challenges;

• Sees possibilities even in the face of severe difficulties;

• Is an out-of-the-box thinker.

Fundraising:

SPR seeks an effective manager who is experienced in and comfortable with direct involvement in fundraising and resource development, and who:

• Understands the process of donor development;

• Has a demonstrated record of success with major donor fundraising;

• Is effective as a mission spokesperson and at relationship management aspects of fundraising, both individual and institutional;

• Has a comprehensive understanding of public media fundraising strategies and methods;

• Is creative and capable of conceiving and developing alternative revenue streams.

Industry Knowledge (radio, TV, internet, media, etc):

Our expectation is to attract a person with an expert level of knowledge and media savvy, including trends in technology and consumption of media (digital, broadcast, podcasting) who:

• Has a high level of understanding of the importance, issues and trends of localism, and ability to lead SPR in this area;

• Is skilled at providing strategic management, including investment decisions related to maintaining effectiveness of our studio, geographically dispersed television transmitting and digital capacity;

• Is technologically competent in the content area, fluent with strategic and tactical aspects of digital and social media, and able to provide effective leadership towards identifying and adopting new platforms.

To Apply:

Spokane Public Radio is being assisted in this search by Livingston Associates. For consideration, please submit a resume and a letter of introduction that describes how you will be the ideal person to lead the organization.

Date for full consideration: August 4th, 2024

Inquiries are welcome with Livingston Associates at (509) 355-1974.

Assistance for Applicants with Disabilities

Spokane Public Radio is committed to ensuring that its application process provides an equal employment opportunity to all job seekers, including individuals with disabilities. If you believe you need reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening or to submit a resume, please get in touch with the station by calling 800-328-5729.

Equal Employment and Nondiscrimination

At Spokane Public Radio, we are committed to equal employment opportunities for all and cultivate a caring and professional environment. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.