Location: Any major U.S. city 

Application Deadline: Closed


Compensation: Starting at $2000+/month for PT facilitators (Senior Facilitators may be paid additional).

As we continue to grow, The OpEd Project continuously builds our team of Facilitators and Fellowship Leaders. We are predominantly working journalists and thought leaders with a track record of high-impact writing and extensive commentary experience, a gift for coaching and facilitation, a deep desire to learn and practice The OpEd Project’s nationally-acclaimed curriculum and method, and a commitment to forging a more inclusive world. This part-time role is equal parts work and passion. For most of us, the role complements our more traditional work as a journalist, writer, or teacher (we may have a column or book in the works, or may be teaching at a journalism school, for example). We are a tight-knit team of twenty-five and growing, working with 100s of partners nationwide, to broaden the demographics of voice and change history.


ABOUT THE ROLE

Those who are selected to join our team will receive intensive training in The OpEd Project method of transformational facilitation. After completing our extensive training and certification process, our Senior Facilitators are assigned to lead OpEd Project programs around the nation and the world, including especially our prestigious Public Voices Fellowships embedded in leading institutions such as Yale, Columbia, Northwestern, Ford Foundation, etc. These programs and fellowships are based on The OpEd Project's widely-acclaimed curriculum and methods, designed to accelerate the ideas and public impact of underrepresented thinkers (including women), and to trigger meaningful change on a personal and collective level. We work in teams of three (two facilitators and one program manager) to mentor, train, and transform a cadre of exceptional thinkers into public intellectuals over the course of a year. We have a stunningly successful model. A short video of one of our Public Voices fellowships is here.

Our Facilitator and Fellowship Leader positions are highly rewarding with a lot of flexibility. Facilitators and Fellowship Leaders can be located in any major U.S. city. Travel to fellowship sites is required four times a year, for 1-2 days, and travel to our annual national 3-day team leadership retreat is required for facilitators who wish to lead at the senior facilitator level. Facilitators participate in weekly and monthly calls with OpEd Project teams across the nation, and forge relationships with approximately 10 high-level mentees with whom they communicate virtually and regularly throughout the year, on a weekly or sometimes daily basis. Facilitators must manage time and expectations accordingly, while always being responsive to deadlines. Basic contracts are part-time (recommended 10-15 hours/week, although actual hours may ebb and flow). Senior team members may take on more extensive contracts, and may be invited to lead short (one-day or multi-day) programs across the U.S., as well as internationally, for additional compensation. Accountability to results, ability to work as part of a tightly-focused and fast-moving team, and an ongoing commitment to and investment in our mission is key.


RESPONSIBILITIES

Facilitators and Fellowship Leaders have the opportunity to:

  • Train in and (once certified) deliver The OpEd Project's transformational, game-based "Mattering" curriculum, including: how to understand knowledge in the most purposeful context, think in new and bigger ways, address opposition and change minds, shift conversation, think and write with clarity and resonance, accelerate cross-pollination, forge a legacy of impact that ripples out over generations, etc.
  • Create relationships with some of the world's most brilliant minds – including awarded professors at some of the country's most prestigious universities, key figures at think tanks, foundations, and nonprofits, as well as grassroots organizers and entrepreneurs
  • Coach these thought leaders in re-conceptualizing the value of their own knowledge to others, coming up with and framing ideas of public value and relevance
  • Edit op-eds on a range of topics, from climate change to technology and culture
  • Pitch op-eds, when appropriate, to media outlets with whom The OpEd Project has relationships, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, TED, The Stanford Social Innovation Review, Huffington Post, etc (when leading an active fellowship). 


QUALITIES

  • Superb questioning, listening and analytic skills (able to rapidly compare, contrast, and translate to action) - and a willingness to constantly improve these skills
  • Clear, unambiguous alignment with The OpEd Project mission, vision, culture and values.
  • Excitement to join an organization that demands and supports the process of understanding how inequities exist and are evolving in the world and how this shows up in our rooms. 
  • Ability to work in a time-sensitive environment, on deadline, with compassion and reliability
  • Passion for the world of ideas and journalism as it is evolving, including new technologies
  • Superlative interpersonal/professional communication skills (verbal/written)
  • Ability to create meaningful relationships across fields, with scholars, activists, editors
  • Aptitude and desire to learn The OpEd Project's method of transformational facilitation and curriculum
  • Knowledge of The OpEd Project's work, ideally having attended an OpEd Project core workshop already 
  • Love of people and a sincere desire to be of help; warm, authentic communication style
  • Extensive and superb commentary experience (editor, columnist, etc.)
  • Track record of high-impact writing/editing in vetted outlets with large audiences.


COMPENSATION

Following an intensive training and certification process in our methodology, Facilitators and Fellowship Leaders will be compensated a competitive honorarium starting at $2K/month for a basic contract (about 1/4 time), and increasing with time and experience. Top facilitators may scale up (working 1/2 time or more), and may also be offered the opportunity to lead short (day-long or multi-day) programs in the U.S. and internationally, on an as-needed basis, for additional compensation.


TO APPLY

If you are excited by the above description and love seeing people wake up to the power of their own knowledge, please send us a short cover letter telling us why our work resonates with you, what you think you can bring to our team, and why you believe you would be outstanding in this role. Please also send us your CV and relevant links to published commentary.

Only candidates who have been selected for an interview will be contacted. Candidates who are already familiar with The OpEd Project method and curriculum are given preference (therefore, if you have not already experienced our core "Write to Change the World" workshop, we recommend signing up for one in a city near you as your next step - and let us know!). Finalists must be able to attend an OpEd Project workshop and an in-person audition with our team as a prerequisite for further consideration.

This position has been filled. Would you like to see our other open positions?