Director of Strategy

The Texas Tribune•Austin, TX

14h•$150,000 - $175,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Texas Tribune is seeking a Director of Strategy to help shape and execute the organization’s long-term strategic direction. This role partners closely with the CEO and leadership team to translate vision into measurable priorities, lead cross-functional strategic initiatives, and ensure smart and scrappy disciplined execution in a resource-constrained nonprofit environment. We have big ambitions, a swiftly changing market and a highly important mission. The Director of Strategy pairs bold thinking with practical execution: designing initiatives that can demonstrate traction quickly, iterate within limited resources, and scale when proven. This position sits at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and executive leadership. This is a full-time, in-office position based in the Texas Tribune in Austin, TX. The role serves three primary functions: Organizational Strategy Oversight Leads development and plans practical execution of the Tribune’s long-term strategy, translates it into annual OKRs, and ensures measurable progress across the organization and throughout the year. Cross-Functional Strategic & Innovation Leader Owns major initiatives that cut across editorial, revenue, product, and operations — including local news expansion and enterprise innovation (e.g., AI transformation). CEO Strategic Partner / Chief of Staff Serves as senior thought partner to the CEO, translating vision into structured strategy, board-ready materials, and disciplined execution. Scope Strategic Planning Maintain a bias toward action, ensuring strategy work results in clear decisions, experiments, or execution steps. Lead long-term strategic planning process Own organization-wide OKR design and alignment, run quarterly measurement and OKR reviews, and rack against multi-year strategic plan goals Work with CFO to align budget and resource allocation to strategic priorities and OKRs, fully considering tradeoffs and opportunities Lead / Supervise Cross-Functional Strategic & Innovation Initiatives Design new initiatives to demonstrate traction quickly through experiments, pilots, and measurable early outcomes - and define when and how to take them to scale Lead high-priority, cross-department initiatives from ideation to execution Define goals, metrics, timelines, and decision points, and align executive team around trade-offs, resourcing and sequencing Define and oversee execution and go-to-market planning in a world of limited resources Integrate innovation efforts (including AI) into core strategy — balance the “factory and the lab” and how the Tribune can do both Local News Experimentation Measure performance against our clearly defined hypotheses and goals for audience, revenue and impact Define long-term model(s) for local news growth and investment Iterate on structural approach based on measurable traction Measurement & Board Reporting Own enterprise-level strategic dashboard, and standardize reporting tied to strategic priorities Develop (CEO owns) board-level strategy updates and materials Translate performance into clear strategic narrative for internal, board and external reporting CEO Strategic Partnership Key confidant and partner for the CEO as she charts the next 5 years of the Texas Tribune Draft or update strategy memos and strategy execution plans, while maintaining a bias toward action, ensuring strategy work results in clear decisions, experiments, or execution steps. Pressure-test and refine strategic direction Support prioritization and sequencing decisions with smart use of resources Ensure follow-through on CEO-level priorities What This Role Is Not Not a COO, not responsible for day-to-day operations, not a lot of direct reports (indirect supervision ok) Not the functional leader of editorial, revenue, product, finance, or HR Not a project manager for all company initiatives Not an internal consultant producing strategy decks without ownership or implementation Not a substitute for executive accountability within departments Not solely an AI or innovation lead

Requirements

Demonstrated ability to develop and execute strategy, translating big ideas into measurable plans and real-world outcomes
Experience leading cross-functional initiatives that require alignment across multiple teams or stakeholders
Strong analytical skills and comfort working with data, metrics, and performance measurement
Ability to operate in ambiguous environments and bring clarity to complex organizational challenges
Proven bias toward action — able to move from idea to pilot to execution quickly
Experience making resource tradeoffs and prioritizing effectively in constrained environments
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce clear strategy memos and board-ready materials
Strong collaboration and influence skills; able to drive progress without formal authority
7–12+ years of relevant experience

Nice To Haves

Experience working closely with senior executives or founders is a plus
Experience launching or scaling new initiatives, products, or programs preferred
This role does not require an MBA, consulting background or media experience, but this role will likely appeal to those who have thought about those paths

Responsibilities

Leads development and plans practical execution of the Tribune’s long-term strategy
Translates strategy into annual OKRs
Ensures measurable progress across the organization and throughout the year
Owns major initiatives that cut across editorial, revenue, product, and operations — including local news expansion and enterprise innovation (e.g., AI transformation)
Serves as senior thought partner to the CEO, translating vision into structured strategy, board-ready materials, and disciplined execution
Maintain a bias toward action, ensuring strategy work results in clear decisions, experiments, or execution steps
Lead long-term strategic planning process
Own organization-wide OKR design and alignment, run quarterly measurement and OKR reviews, and rack against multi-year strategic plan goals
Work with CFO to align budget and resource allocation to strategic priorities and OKRs, fully considering tradeoffs and opportunities
Design new initiatives to demonstrate traction quickly through experiments, pilots, and measurable early outcomes - and define when and how to take them to scale
Lead high-priority, cross-department initiatives from ideation to execution
Define goals, metrics, timelines, and decision points, and align executive team around trade-offs, resourcing and sequencing
Define and oversee execution and go-to-market planning in a world of limited resources
Integrate innovation efforts (including AI) into core strategy — balance the “factory and the lab” and how the Tribune can do both
Measure performance against our clearly defined hypotheses and goals for audience, revenue and impact
Define long-term model(s) for local news growth and investment
Iterate on structural approach based on measurable traction
Own enterprise-level strategic dashboard, and standardize reporting tied to strategic priorities
Develop (CEO owns) board-level strategy updates and materials
Translate performance into clear strategic narrative for internal, board and external reporting
Key confidant and partner for the CEO as she charts the next 5 years of the Texas Tribune
Draft or update strategy memos and strategy execution plans, while maintaining a bias toward action, ensuring strategy work results in clear decisions, experiments, or execution steps.
Pressure-test and refine strategic direction
Support prioritization and sequencing decisions with smart use of resources
Ensure follow-through on CEO-level priorities