Chief Executive Officer at PushBlack – Washington, District of Columbia

PushBlack
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Reports to: Board of Directors
Location: Remote (U.S.-based candidates only)
Start Date: October 1, 2025 (30-day transition with outgoing Interim CEO)

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

PushBlack is the nation’s largest nonprofit media organization for Black Americans, reaching more than 9 million people monthly through innovative storytelling rooted in Black history, resilience, and liberation. We mobilize our audience toward collective action through compelling content, civic education, and strategic partnerships, using media as a tool for community empowerment and systems change. As we enter a pivotal moment in our journey, PushBlack seeks an experienced, visionary Chief Executive Officer to guide the organization through its next phase of growth, sustainability, and impact.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will lead PushBlack during a time of strategic transformation and renewal. They will be charged with driving long-term sustainability through a balanced philanthropic and earned revenue strategy, cultivating deeper trust with our audience, and ensuring our media products advance our mission of Black liberation. The CEO will also oversee a critical long-term strategic planning and branding process that will shape the organization's next five years. This is a rare opportunity to lead one of the most influential Black-led digital media organizations in the country—and to innovate within a rapidly evolving media and philanthropic landscape.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic and Visionary Leadership

• Lead the development and execution of a new long-term strategic plan, ensuring alignment with PushBlack’s mission, vision, and theory of change.

• Champion a values-driven brand and identity refresh that strengthens organizational clarity and trust with audiences, funders, and partners.

• Define and model a leadership culture that reflects PushBlack’s commitment to Black liberation, equity, and community well-being.

• Partner with staff, union representatives, and the Board to uphold a healthy and collaborative labor-management relationship.

Media, Audience, and Program Strategy

• Guide editorial and audience strategy to deepen engagement, grow reach, and convert attention into action.

• Support a robust culture of innovation, insight, and learning across all media products, campaigns, and experiments.

• Maintain a deep understanding of content trends, Black media landscape, and evolving community needs.

• Navigate the challenges of the digital media industry—including platform volatility, algorithmic bias, and shifting monetization models—with creativity and innovation.

• Champion ethical, culturally resonant storytelling that centers community voice and builds lasting trust with Black audiences.

• Ensure PushBlack remains agile and forward-looking by investing in experimentation, data insights, and multi-platform storytelling.

• Ensure PushBlack’s digital organizing strategies and programs are innovative, scalable, responsive to community needs, and rigorously evaluated for impact.

Revenue Strategy and Organizational Sustainability

• Develop and execute a diversified revenue strategy that combines philanthropic growth with earned revenue and content innovation.

• Support Development and Product teams in identifying, testing, and scaling revenue-generating opportunities aligned with mission and values.

• Provide financial leadership including oversight of budgeting, scenario planning, and long-term sustainability modeling.

Team and Organizational Leadership

• Supervise and mentor PushBlack’s senior leadership team, supporting their growth as strategic thinkers, managers, and organizational stewards.

• Foster a collaborative, transparent, and equitable internal culture with strong communication, trust, and accountability.

• Ensure staffing and organizational design align with strategic priorities and available resources.

• Invest in leadership pipelines and internal development opportunities to build organizational resilience and capacity.

• Partner effectively with the staff union, ensuring productive collaborative bargaining, contract implementation, and a respectful, transparent workplace culture.

External Relations

• Serve as the public face of PushBlack, representing the organization to media, funders, partners, and the public with credibility, passion, and clarity.

• Lead fundraising and philanthropic engagement efforts, cultivating strong relationships with institutional donors, individual supporters, and movement-aligned partners.

• Help frame and elevate PushBlack’s national identity and presence within the media, philanthropic, and civic ecosystems.

Governance and Board Relations

• Partner with the Board of Directors to ensure sound governance, effective decision-making, and mission alignment.

• Provide clear, timely, and strategic updates on organizational health, progress toward goals, and external dynamics.

• Support board recruitment, engagement, and development to reflect the diversity, vision, and strategic needs of the organization.

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

The successful candidate will be a mission-aligned executive with experience leading values-driven organizations through transformation or growth. They will bring strategic clarity, operational excellence, and deep knowledge of digital media and organizing—alongside a heart for storytelling, equity, and collective power.

Required Experience

• Minimum 10 years of senior leadership experience, including at least 5 years in executive roles overseeing multi-disciplinary teams.

• Proven success leading both philanthropic and earned revenue strategies, with experience in nonprofit fundraising and media content innovation.

• Demonstrated leadership in digital media, journalism, or audience-centered content—preferably in a mission-driven or social impact context.

• Familiarity with or direct experience in digital organizing, campaign mobilization, or narrative change efforts rooted in community empowerment.

• Understanding of or leadership in program development, including content-driven educational initiatives or civic engagement strategies.

• Clear grasp of industry trends and challenges, including algorithmic instability, audience fragmentation, and content monetization in a shifting landscape.

• Experience designing and executing strategic plans, organizational restructuring, or branding efforts.

• Experience managing within a unionized workplace, including collaborative bargaining and labor relations grounded in transparency and respect.

• Track record of developing, supervising, and retaining leadership talent within mission-driven teams.

Skills and Attributes

• Strategic thinker and inclusive leader who navigates complexity with clarity, adaptability, and empathy.

• Deep connection to Black communities, histories, and movements for liberation and justice.

• Visionary yet pragmatic—comfortable setting ambitious goals and doing the day-to-day work to get there.

• Effective communicator and relationship-builder across sectors, from grassroots to boardrooms.

• Committed to equity, transparency, shared leadership, and the dignity and humanity of all staff and community members.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

$165,000 - $200,000 annual salary, with the potential to earn a 25% bonus based on achieving key performance outcome measures within the first twelve months of employment.

100% paid health, dental, and vision insurance for candidate and their family. 3% 401K match.

Eight paid holidays, three floating holidays, week long winter break between Christmas and New Year, fifteen days of vacation in year one (twenty days in year two), and ten sick days.

$4,800 work from home stipend and paid professional development.

PushBlack is committed to transparency and equity in compensation.

TO APPLY

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with priority given to candidates who apply by August 15, 2025. The ideal candidate will begin on or around October 1, 2025, to allow for a month-long onboarding and transition with the Interim CEO.