LION Publishers, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting local journalism entrepreneurs, has an immediate opening for its first full-time Director of Membership. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who's passionate about LION's mission, serving and adding members to the more-than 260 local publishers around the country; planning and executing training opportunities for members; and developing and executing, alongside the Executive Director and the Director of Programming, a plan to grow membership by encouraging the formation of new local news startups around the country.

We are well positioned for these efforts; in March, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced a $1 million grant to LION to help the organization further develop its capacity and train its members on core issues for sustainable local publishing. LION has also broadened its membership criteria and expanding the group’s outreach to include ethnic media, public media, niche publications and university-based local news initiatives.

The duties for this newly-created role include:

-- Outreach to independent online publishers across the United States to recruit new members.

-- Developing a robust suite of member-only services, from programming (webinars, regional meetings, and our annual conference) to online-only courses.

-- Managing all technical aspects of membership, including recommending and implementing tools and technology.

-- Working with LION's Executive Director on the LION Starter Pack, a resource for entrepreneurs thinking of launching a local news site. The Starter Pack, drawn from the real-life, hard-won experience of LION's pioneer sites, will guide new site launches from conception to business planning to launch and evaluation.

--  Assisting in regular communication with LION's members through email newsletters, social media posts and during in-person gatherings

-- All other duties as assigned.