Sustainability Audit Manager (contract)

Status: Independent contractor

Reporting to: Associate Director of Sustainability Audits

Project Type: Short-term contract from January 20 – June 27, 2025

Compensation: $20,000 USD for the project

(Roughly 20 hours per week for 22 weeks, at an effective rate of $45 USD/hour)

About LION Publishers

Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional journalism association for independent news publishers. While most of our 500+ members across the U.S. and Canada run local news businesses, we also have members who serve larger regions and specific identity-based communities across geographies. LION strengthens the local news industry by helping independent news publishers build more sustainable businesses. One of our core values is being people-centered, and here are some ways we build that culture for our staff.

Project Summary

LION Publishers is looking for a detail oriented project manager with strong data analysis, writing and communication skills to facilitate the final stages of development of the next version of the LION Sustainability Audit. We are looking for someone who can lead a project with minimal oversight, pull in relevant stakeholders and keep them up to date, and delve into a data set to tell the stories that emerge.

Project Scope of Work

Areas of Focus

1. Project Management
   1. Facilitate meetings, set agendas, hold the team accountable to deadlines, coordinate conversations with internal stakeholders
2. Audit Report Review and Copywriting
   1. Historic report review recommendation logging (data entry) + mapping (analysis)
   2. New report recommendation copy writing + formatting
3. Tech Setup and Testing
   1. Import questions into survey tool and finalize survey formatting
   2. Create and edit final report template in MS Word
   3. Coordinate testing among staff and beta testers
4. Data Analysis and Insights
   1. Review historic Audit data and pull out notable insights
   2. Write brief insights posts to promote the Audit product

Project Timeline

• January: Onboard
• February: Build MVP
• March: Test
• April: Refine
• May: Launch
• June: Market

LION is an Equal Opportunity Partner

LION believes that a team with diversity of backgrounds and experiences will generate the most innovative ideas and ultimately do the best work in support of our mission. This is why we welcome contractors, vendors, staff and board members who contribute to a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment. We understand diversity as multi-dimensional and intersectional, encompassing race and ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, ability, class, geography, and more.

We know there are great candidates who might not check all the boxes listed below or who possess important skills we haven’t thought of. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself.

Skills and Qualifications for The Project

• Required:
  • Project Management: You have experience proactively managing projects that involve multiple stakeholders. You can manage to project goals, milestones, and procedures
  • Data Analysis: You have experience coming up with meaningful questions to “ask” of a data set, then finding the answers and synthesizing them into a report or article
  • Tech Savvy: Comfortable navigating Google docs, Google sheets and survey software
  • Ownership: You work independently with little direction, demonstrating self-motivation and initiative in managing workload and achieving desired outcomes
  • Effective communication: You strategically design and deliver highly impactful multi-mode communications tailored to specific audiences, driving engagement and achieving desired outcomes
• Nice to have:
  • Familiar with entry level Salesforce capabilities – how to create reports and build lists
  • Familiar with small businesses and/or independent local news businesses