Chief Operating Officer

Location: Denver, Colorado

Reports to: President and Publisher

Position Type: Full-Time

Salary: $145,000 to $160,000

Work Environment: Hybrid (monthly in-person team meetings)

THE ORGANIZATION

The Colorado Sun is an award-winning nonprofit news outlet that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state — our community — can better understand itself.

Founded in 2018 by a group of veteran journalists, The Sun believes that everyone deserves access to high-quality news, whether they can afford it or not. In just seven years, we’ve more than doubled our staff, converted to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and established ourselves as a trusted source for independent, community-centered reporting.

Today, we reach about 1 million unique visitors each month, publish to more than 100,000 newsletter subscribers, and are supported by more than 13,000 paying members and nearly 2,000 individual donors. We operate with a combination of philanthropic support, membership subscription revenue, advertising and sponsorship revenue, and event income. Our newsroom includes eight Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and has earned dozens of awards for excellence, including the Public Service Award from the Top of the Rockies Journalism competition. We are a self-directed, employee-led organization, governed by a majority-employee board of directors. In a time of declining local news and growing mistrust in media, The Colorado Sun stands apart as a trailblazer in nonprofit, reader-powered journalism.

Looking ahead, The Sun is focused on expanding our presence to additional communities across the state, strengthening our internal infrastructure to support growth, and ensuring that every Coloradan has access to the reliable, rigorous journalism they deserve.

Learn more at www.coloradosun.com.

THE POSITION

The Colorado Sun is seeking a strategic, collaborative, and operations-minded leader to serve as our first Chief Operating Officer. Reporting to and working in close partnership with the President and Publisher, the COO will serve as a key member of the Executive Committee and will oversee all non-editorial functions of the organization, including operations, finance, HR, IT, business strategy, and revenue generation. The COO will lead a team of at least four direct reports, including the Sales Director, Development Director, and Technology Director, as well as a new Events Director and an operations support role to be hired under the COO’s leadership.

This is a crucial role for The Sun’s next chapter, designed to bring strategic clarity and operational discipline to a highly entrepreneurial environment, building and formalizing practices that will enable the organization to scale sustainably and deepen our impact. Key responsibilities will include:

Business Strategy

• Lead and refine The Sun’s overall business sustainability and growth strategy in close collaboration with business-side directors, the Executive Operating Committee, and the Board of Directors
• Facilitate the development, evaluation and implementation of new revenue opportunities, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities
• Lead efforts by The Sun to expand to new regions in Colorado by evaluating locations and order of expansion plans, developing key relationships and partnerships to drive revenue growth in new markets.
• Create systems for determining resource allocation and management of new regional hubs, with a focus on optimizing revenue generation and sustainability.
• Ensure The Sun’s systems across finance, HR and IT enable and support expansion and revenue generation efforts across the state
• Oversee business-side revenue strategies — including pricing models, new revenue streams and sales channels — developed in partnership with the business team

Operational Leadership

• Translate strategic priorities into actionable plans and guide cross-functional execution
• Coordinate efforts across Sales, Events, Development and Membership to ensure cohesion and maximize organizational impact
• Partner with the Executive Operating Committee to oversee financial management and administrative systems — including HR, payroll and benefits — with a focus on continuous improvement
• Develop an IT plan for the future, and implement it to meet hardware and software needs as the organization grows
• Build foundational talent systems — including onboarding, performance evaluation and staff development — in partnership with team leads and the Executive Operating Committee
• Manage infrastructure and daily operations, including vendor relationships, office space, equipment and internal systems
• Strengthen financial management strategies and systems that enable sustainable growth and operational effectiveness
• Oversee financial reporting and key performance metrics for the Board of Directors
• Lead budgeting, forecasting and cash flow planning in collaboration with internal and external partners
• Manage outsourced accounting services and determine future staffing needs, hiring and supporting operational personnel as appropriate
• Oversee and coordinate annual audit activities

Team Leadership

• Guide and support all business-side departments to ensure strategic alignment, clarity and collaboration
• Serve as a coach and thought partner to direct reports, supporting their leadership and the evolution of their functions
• Foster a culture of shared ownership, transparency, inclusion and excellence across the organization
• Facilitate alignment across business-side teams to ensure coordinated execution toward a unified strategic vision

QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate will bring a rare combination of entrepreneurial spirit, operational rigor and deep respect for the journalistic mission of the organization.

Candidates should bring:

• Senior leadership experience, including overseeing multiple core business functions — such as operations, finance, business development, HR, and IT — in a growing or entrepreneurial organization
• Experience in financial management and accounting, including audit, compliance, budget and resource management
• Experience successfully overseeing functions focused on business growth, such as business development, partnerships, sales, and/or marketing
• Extensive team leadership experience, with a demonstrated ability to inspire, align and support teams to achieve their fullest potential
• Demonstrated success building systems and infrastructure from scratch, with a highly organized and structured approach to decision-making and implementation
• Excellent communication and coordination skills, with the ability to bring clarity and cohesion to complex workstreams
• Alignment with The Colorado Sun’s mission and nonprofit structure, including enthusiasm for employee-led governance and our community-centered approach to journalism
• A nonpartisan orientation and genuine curiosity about diverse perspectives, community voices, and what’s at stake in local journalism

Preferred qualifications include:

• Familiarity with the nonprofit sector, particularly as it relates to revenue diversification and development
• A working knowledge of the news and media landscape, and interest in shaping its future
• Comfort identifying and implementing tools and systems that improve efficiency, coordination and organizational effectiveness
• Experience leading organizational change or scaling infrastructure in a fast-moving or high-growth context
• A connection to Colorado or a strong appreciation for its communities, culture and civic life

SALARY & BENEFITS

The salary range for the Chief Operating Officer is $145,000 to $160,000 and will be based on prior experience and skillset.

• The Colorado Sun contributes to our employees’ medical, vision and dental benefits through our group plan; family members can be covered through employee contributions
• The Sun also offers our employees a 401(k) retirement program, with a company contribution after one year of employment
• The Chief Operating Officer will be based in Colorado
• The Sun provides paid vacation, holidays and sick/family leave

TO APPLY

To apply, please complete our online application (hyperlink: https://forms.gle/G6hn3m4F9vn3pYBF9). We will accept applications through June 15th, 2025, and we encourage early submissions. The application asks for a resume and, in place of a cover letter, responses to the following questions in 250 words or less:

1. What compels you about the work of The Colorado Sun, and about this position specifically?
2. What past experiences have best prepared you for this role?
3. What professional values are most important to you? How have those values shaped your behavior and decisions in your career so far?

As an employer, The Colorado Sun strives to hire and retain a workforce that reflects the entire state, to encourage collaboration and to compensate people at levels that reward their expertise and talent.

The Sun does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or veteran status in any area of its operations.