President of Media Company Focused on Strategy, Defense, and Foreign Affairs - War on the Rocks

Metamorphic Media, the parent company of War on the Rocks, is looking for someone to take on an ambitious role at an ambitious organization: president. Succeeding means eventually becoming the CEO, growing and maturing an enterprise that can survive and thrive without its founder, Ryan Evans.

If you are looking for a remote position, this is not the job for you. We will only consider candidates who live in the Washington, DC metro area or who are willing to relocate there.

About Metamorphic Media

Metamorphic Media works with world-class organizations to build, operate, and grow powerful media brands related to global and military affairs. We value camaraderie, creativity, and expertise.

Our flagship publication is War on the Rocks, which is focused on growing and serving a community passionate about strategy, defense, and foreign affairs. Founded in 2013, War on the Rocks aims to improve the professional and public discourse on issues of strategic importance by featuring experienced and authoritative voices in articles, essays, and podcasts. Its membership program, launched in 2017, has been growing aggressively.

Our second publication, the Texas National Security Review, is produced in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. It is an interdisciplinary journal that is committed to excellence, scholarly rigor, and big ideas.

Before you apply, please (a) listen to this podcast by our founder "10 Years of War on the Rocks," (b) read this article, also by our founder, which we published several years ago, "The Hard and Lovely Things About War on the Rocks," and learn about our membership offering: https://warontherocks.com/membership/

Responsibilities of the President

• Work closely with CEO/founder Ryan Evans and other teammates to align company practices with strategy, ensuring sustainable growth, market competitiveness, and adherence to our mission.
• Lead strategic planning and implementation
• Assume leadership of all business operations
• Become the keeper and prophet of the animating vision that launchedWar on the Rocks
• Cultivate a positive, innovative, and performance-driven organizational culture, fostering team development and individual growth
• Drive revenue growth by identifying new business opportunities and expanding existing business activities
• Plan, oversee, and direct improvements and changes to our technology stack
• Lead budgeting and forecasting
• Manage financial resources with the support of vendors and future hires
• Represent the company, building relationships with key partners, stakeholders, and clients at regular formal and informal social events as well as conferences
• Grow, lead, and mentor a high-performing executive team, setting clear goals and accountability standards to drive success
• Monitor industry trends, competitive landscape, and regulatory environment, adjusting strategies and operations as necessary to maintain a leading edge

Apply with a well-formatted CV and cover letter. In your cover letter, please include an amusing story about yourself.

Metamorphic Media is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any classification protected by federal, state, or local law.

Requirements

• U.S. citizen or current right to work in the United States
• Live in the Washington, DC metro area or willing to relocate there
• Proven experience in a senior, private-sector management role (not including non-profits) with a track record of driving team success and fostering a collaborative work environment
• Strong financial acumen, including experience in budget management and financial forecasting
• A background in defense and national security (this could include military service, policymaking, the Defense Department, etc.)
• Proven track record of strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities, with a data-driven approach to decision-making
• Crisis management skills, with the ability to navigate challenges and make adjustments in response to fast-moving events
• Experience in overseeing tech integration projects (We are not asking you to be a software engineer but you need some experience overseeing projects involving software engineers)
• Proven ability to build and maintain partnerships and a strong professional network within global and military affairs
• Exceptional, clear, and efficient written English
• High-level emotional intelligence and communication skills, to include excellent public speaking and presentation skills

And it's a bonus if you have experience in these:

• Media industry: While we are a different sort of animal in the media landscape, some media industry experience could be useful for this role.
• Scaling a business: Since the role aims at growth and maturity of the enterprise, experience in scaling businesses would make a candidate extremely competitive for this role.

Benefits

Competitive salary, benefits, insurance coverage (100% of premiums covered), and unit appreciation rights (phantom equity)