Food and Farming Storytelling Fund Program Manager (Remote – Full-Time, 2-Year T

This is a remote position.
About Sentient

Sentient is the only nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization solely focused on factory farms and their effects on climate, animals, workers, clean water, public health and rural communities.

Founded in 2018, Sentient's content is fact-checked and science-driven, with reporting that serves readers—especially those in frontline rural communities—interested in the impacts of what they eat on animals, climate, water and their local economy.

Over the last twelve months, Sentient has been building the Food and Farming Journalism Network (FFJN), now home to more than 350 freelance and staff journalists across 48 countries covering factory farming, agriculture, climate, labor and food systems. FFJN provides expert trainings, reporting resources, fact-check and sourcing support, networking events, beat dinners and regular newsletters designed to help journalists deepen their coverage of industrial animal agriculture.

With new grant funding, Sentient is launching a two-year pilot, the Food and Farming Storytelling Fund, to grow the media ecosystem around factory farming by supporting trusted journalists, creators and independent communicators, and by piloting collaborations with credible influencers to translate Sentient's reporting for new audiences.
Position Overview

The Program Manager will lead the Food and Farming Storytelling Fund through the two-year pilot program designed to support independent journalists telling stories on factory farming. This role oversees direct reporting grants to journalists and works with the FFJN Manager to grow FFJN into a stronger, more sustainable media ecosystem around factory farming issues.

The Program Manager will supervise the FFJN Manager and report to senior leadership.

This is a full-time, two-year W-2 employee position tied to the length of the funded pilot, with the possibility of extension if funding is renewed. This is a remote, work-from-home role open to U.S. based candidates compatible with the Eastern timezone.
Key Responsibilities
Network Leadership & Journalist Support

-
Identify and recruit 5–10 trusted journalists and/or independent communicators to receive direct reporting grants, supporting them in dedicating at least 50% of their output to factory farming and food systems coverage.

-
Provide editorial mentorship and communications strategy advising to grantees.

-
Oversee trainings, workshops, fact-check/sourcing support and networking events, including beat dinners, for FFJN members.

Program Growth & Distribution

-
Support the launch or expansion of independent media platforms among FFJN members, including Substacks, newsletters, podcasts and creator-led channels.

-
Oversee publishing, syndication and cross-platform distribution efforts to expand the reach of supported reporting.

-
Lead network growth and audience-development initiatives, including trainings on sustainable audience-building and creator-led journalism models.

Measurement & Reporting

-
Track and report on program outputs and impact, including audience reach and engagement, sentiment analysis and narrative penetration (republication, follow-on coverage) across supported journalism and creator content.

-
Contribute to grant reporting and impact tracking for funders.

-
Manage the program budget, tools/subscriptions, and workflow/CRM systems used to track creators and grantees.

Team Management
-
Supervise the FFJN Manager, delegating community-management, logistics and administrative tasks.

Requirements
-
Proven experience managing journalist networks, fellowship programs or similar media/communications initiatives.

-
Strong understanding of the freelance journalism, newsletter/Substack, podcast and creator-economy landscape.

-
Experience with grant-making, grantee management or program administration.

-
Excellent relationship-building skills with journalists, editors, creators and influencers.

-
Strong project manageme