Applications for the director of events position are now closed. Thank you for your interest.
Cityside Journalism Initiative, the exciting nonprofit organization devoted to building community and strengthening democracy through local news, is looking for a thoughtful and innovative director of events.
Launched in 2020, Cityside is home to two widely read, award-winning local news sites in the San Francisco Bay Area, Berkeleyside and The Oaklandside, with plans to report in more communities in the near future.
One of the most exciting ways we build and connect with the communities we serve is through live events. Live events are powerful opportunities to create new conversations about the issues we report on. They help us reach and hear from people beyond our digital platforms. They help us build and strengthen bonds with new and regular readers of our work and are an important revenue stream for Cityside.
We’re looking for an experienced, creative events professional for this new position who can lead in developing, producing and marketing our current program of events — as well as help us dream up and launch new ones.
Our event lineup currently includes Oaklandside Culture Makers, a quarterly series with some of The Town’s most fascinating culture makers; Oaklandside Live, an annual celebration of Oaklandside’s reporting; and Berkeleyside Idea Makers, quarterly live conversations with people who are extending Berkeley’s tradition of pioneering thinking (a follow on from Berkeleyside’s successful Uncharted Ideas Festival which ran for six years, from 2013 to 2018).
We also partner with local events organized by others — from large-scale efforts like the Oakland Marathon to neighborhood happenings like street fairs and farmers markets — through media sponsorships, in-person appearances and more. These partnerships help us support important efforts in our community and get the word out about our work.
Lastly, we organize events with a strong fundraising focus, from “friendraisers” to get-togethers with our members and donors. That said, we aim to ensure that all our events play a role in our revenue and sustainability goals.
We’re eager for new ideas about how live events can increase local participation in, and the understanding of, the forces shaping people’s lives in Berkeley, Oakland, and beyond. We’d love to work with an imaginative self-starter with an entrepreneurial streak who is attracted to Cityside’s scrappy, nimble, punching-above-its-weight ethos.
If you’re interested in the role or know someone who might be, please look at the full job description.
