About City Bureau
City Bureau is an innovation lab reimagining local journalism, civic media, and participatory democracy. We equip people with civic skills, develop resources that directly meet people’s information needs, and create pathways for deliberative dialogue that strengthens communities. We envision a world where all communities have the information, tools, and resources they need to actively shape their futures and cultivate a more responsive and just democracy.
Location: Hybrid in Chicago
About Documenters
City Bureau’s Documenters program makes local democracy real and accessible to anyone. We do this by training and paying community members to attend and take notes at local public meetings, turning the knowledge, relationships, and capacity of local residents into a powerful community information resource.
Since launching Documenters in Chicago in 2016, local news and community organizations nationwide have adopted the program through the Documenters Network, which now includes more than 20 programs housed in local organizations across the country. City Bureau partners with local community and news organizations to start local Documenters programs (“sites”) in order to equip communities to understand and shape local policies and public systems. Collectively, we have trained nearly 4,000 community members and documented more than 5,000 public meetings across the country.
This role is focused on our founding Documenters program in Chicago, which helps innovate the program and develop learnings that can cross-pollinate with local Documenters programs across the country. City Bureau stewards the overall Documenters program model; provides custom central technology through Documenters.org to operate and publish Documenters assignments; and offers convenings, template materials, and more to sites that support innovation, learning, and connection.
About the Job
City Bureau seeks a Chicago Assignment Coordinator, Documenters who is highly organized and adaptable.
This full-time role supports the day-to-day management of public meeting coverage across Chicago and Cook County. This role assigns and supports Documenters and maintains workflows that make civic information accessible to the community. The ideal candidate is committed to equity, detail-oriented, and connected to Chicago’s South and West Side communities.
You should apply if:
You enjoy keeping things organized and running smoothly—whether it’s managing assignments, tracking progress, or ensuring deadlines are met.
You enjoy writing, copyediting, collaboration and coaching others on their writing.
You want to help inspire and equip Chicagoans with journalism skills and to see public meetings as a place for positive civic change in Chicago and Cook County.
Responsibilities
Manage Documenters’ weekly assignment workflows, including selecting the meeting, posting assignments, and assigning Documenters.
Review and copyedit Documenters' submitted content, applying City Bureau’s editorial and style guidelines.
Innovate on project workflows to improve Documenters’ experience with the program and publish notes in a timely manner.
Analyze data to identify trends and insights that inform team strategy and decision-making. Create reports, dashboards, and visual summaries to communicate findings effectively.
Collaborate with Chicago Documenters team to translate data insights into actionable improvements.
Communicate with Documenters to share announcements and build our community.
Track and report on assignment completion and trends using pre-established templates and systems (Airtable, Asana).
Mentor, coach and support Documenters, fostering inclusivity and skill development.
Support trainings, orientations, and projects or events that build Documenter skills
Participate and share in a learning community with other Documenters sites across the country
Qualifications
Project management skills, especially in multi-layered workflows, or community engagement roles.
Strong writing skills and copyediting
Experience with data collection, tracking, and analysis (Excel, Google Sheets, Airtable, or similar tools preferred).
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
Familiarity with civic systems, public meeting structures, or government processes, particularly in Chicago or Cook County.
Experience with project management software such as Asana.
Strong mentoring and collaboration skills.
Ability to present data clearly through reports, summaries, or visualizations.
Commitment to equity and cultural competence.
Excellent organizational and communication skills.
Growth-oriented with a low ego; demonstrated ability to learn from past actions, individually and collectively, and apply insights to help our teams be successful in the future
Compensation, Benefits and Support
$57,500 annual salary. City Bureau uses a universal compensation that includes fixed annual raises currently set at 3.5%
Full time with benefits package including health care, dental, vision, life insurance
Employer sponsored 401k plans, with 100% employer match up to 4% of salary
$1,000 annual technology and work tools allowance
$1,000 professional development allowance
15 days paid vacation, not including health days
11 company holidays each year, which may be exchanged for employees who celebrate other holidays
Flexible work schedule—this is a hybrid Chicago-based role, and some night/weekend hours may be required
A culture of intentional professional development and organizational learning; City Bureau staff hold regular share outs to learn from one another and hold regular community check-ins to connect and surface feedback on policies and practices.
Our Anticipated Timeline
We’re projecting the following timeline for this hiring process. We will notify candidates of any shifts as we move through the process.
Application closes May 12
Within two weeks of closing applications, you will know if you’ve moved onto the interview stage
Within two weeks of your interview, you’ll know if you moved onto the case exercise stage
Within two weeks of your case exercise completion, you’ll know if you moved onto the final interview
We expect to make a final offer by early July 2025
City Bureau is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
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