Audio Engineering Supervisor

OVERVIEW

A thriving, mission-driven multimedia organization, NPR produces award-winning news, information, and music programming in partnership with hundreds of independent public radio stations across the nation. The NPR audience values information, creativity, curiosity, and social responsibility – and our employees do too. We are innovators and leaders in diverse fields, from journalism and digital media to IT and development. Every day, our employees and member stations touch the lives of millions worldwide. 

Across our organization, we’re building a workplace where collaboration is essential, diverse voices are heard, and inclusion is the key to our success. We are committed to doing the right thing in our journalism and in every role at NPR. This means that integrity, adherence to our ethical standards, and compliance with legal obligations are fundamental responsibilities for every employee at NPR.

NPR seeks an Audio Engineering Supervisor to oversee day-to-day operations at our broadcast facilities in Washington, DC. This includes managing a team of audio engineers and allocating resources to support NPR’s content creation. This position is responsible for a wide range of technical and logistical duties, which include responding to 24x7x365 production and scheduling requests and rotating on-call duties during nights, weekends, and holidays. While primary responsibility for this role is associated with supervision of NPR’s Washington, DC based Audio Engineering team, this role will be part of a geographically distributed management group that collaborates to oversee Audio Engineering across NPR Headquarters and our bureaus in New York and Los Angeles, sharing on-call and backfill duties with both DC-based and remote colleagues.

The successful candidate will be a proactive, collaborative individual with a background in audio engineering, broadcast and podcast, the ability and desire to learn new skills and technologies, and a belief in the mission of NPR. A history of empathetic leadership, interdisciplinary cooperation, and developing staff are key components of this position.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide 24x7 immediate response to technology outages and/or staffing emergencies
• Oversee technical aspects of content creation and broadcast operations at NPR Headquarters
• Collaborate on development, training and enforcement of production workflows within the Audio Engineering team, as well as between multiple departments and locations
• Maintain current service levels and high-quality standards for audio production
• Build and maintain collaborative relationships across the organization, including regular engagement with content creators, support groups, and management to identify and anticipate needs and allocate resources accordingly
• Manage, support, train, and develop a team of audio engineers whose work encompasses broadcast and digital content creation, including radio, podcast, and video
• Advises teams on the use of NPR technologies, especially those related to audio processing, mixing and recording
• Ensures compliance with the collective bargaining agreement between NPR and the NABET union
• Contributes to writing and maintenance of documentation for critical broadcast and production systems and workflows
• Sees to regular testing and maintenance of disaster recovery systems and recommends updates and modifications as required
• Provides backup operational supervision and support to NPR’s Los Angeles and New York Audio Engineering teams
• Leads hiring searches for Audio Engineering positions at NPR, participates in hiring process for positions in other NPR locations and departments as required
• Supervises at least 11 direct reports, including preparing their regular performance reviews, and making effective recommendations regarding any hiring, promotion, and discipline for these positions
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

• 5+ years of professional production, audio, and/or broadcast experience
• 3+ years of supervisory experience or team leadership

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience in broadcast engineering, content production, communications, or management.

WORK LOCATION: This is a hybrid permitted role. The employee will be required to be onsite at our Washington, DC office at least 2 days per week. The employee must also reside in an NPR supported location.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Effective on-site and remote team leadership, development, and delegation
• Ability to cultivate a welcoming, inclusive workplace environment, where people from diverse backgrounds feel valued and able to do their best work
• Fam