Founding Director of Media - Toronto - NationGraph

Description

About NationGraph NationGraph is making public sector data accessible and actionable for businesses selling to cities, counties, state agencies, schools, and special districts. NationGraph's data and intelligence engine provides buying signals derived from millions of public sector sources. Founded in 2024, NationGraph is dedicated to making uncommon knowledge common, because public data should actually be public. Learn more at

The Opportunity

We are not hiring a video producer. We are building an in-house media organization - and we are looking for someone to found it.

NationGraph sits at the intersection of data science, institutional systems, and democratic infrastructure. We are building software that helps uncover how local governments actually function - how budgets move, how decisions get made, how policies get implemented, and how systems shape the lives of millions of people. That story deserves to be told at the highest level.

Over the next 12–18 months, we intend to invest heavily in building this media function, not as a marketing experiment, but as a long-term institutional asset. This role is an opportunity to architect and lead that effort from day one.

What You'll Build

• Product in Motion (Short-Form); Short-form content demonstrating how customers use NationGraph, what problems it solves, and how workflows change with better data. Cadence: consistent, disciplined, weekly.
• Customer Heroes; Elevate our customers into protagonists. These stories become trust builders, sales accelerators, and institutional proof.
• The NationGraph Journey; Document the intellectual debates, the modeling process, the culture, and the human side of high standards. Attract exceptional people through disciplined storytelling.
• Long-Form Documentary; Produce documentary-style content exploring how America's local governments actually work. the invisible infrastructure of democracy. Investigative immersion meets systems-level clarity.
• Intellectual Conversations; Build structured, in-depth dialogues with founders, public officials, researchers, and civic technologists. Deepen authority and create evergreen intellectual value.

Responsibilities

• Design and own the editorial roadmap across all five content pillars
• Define NationGraph's narrative voice, tone, and visual identity for media
• Lead end-to-end production, from concept and scripting to shooting and post-production
• Build internal production capability and manage freelance/post-production support
• Work directly with founders to translate complex technical work into compelling stories
• Travel for field shoots, customer interviews, and documentary production
• Define and execute distribution strategy across LinkedIn, YouTube, and emerging platforms
• Lay the foundation for a future media team as the organization scales

Who You Are

• You think like a producer, not just an editor; you see the full arc from story to output
• You understand narrative structure and can craft compelling stories about complex systems
• You're comfortable interviewing highly intelligent, technical people and drawing out insight
• You're deeply curious about systems, institutions, and how things actually work
• You can move between scrappy, fast execution and polished, quality production
• You have a strong portfolio demonstrating range: short-form, documentary, editorial, or branded content
• You have experience with professional camera, lighting, and audio equipment
• You're proficient in post-production tools (Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, or similar)
• You want to build something enduring, not just execute on a content calendar

Nice to Have

• Experience building a media function or content studio from scratch
• Background in documentary filmmaking, journalism, or investigative storytelling
• Familiarity with civic technology, government, or public sector
• Experience with distribution strategy and audience growth on YouTube and LinkedIn

What We Offer

• CA$90,000 – $170,000 based on experience
• Equity in a high-growth well funded company
• Large investment to build the media arm over 12–18 months
• Health insurance and daily lunch
• Direct collaboration with founders
• The rare opportunity to architect a media organization from day one

Our Interview Process

We run a focused, high-signal process designed to be fast, thoughtful, and respectful of your time. Our goal is mutual clarity - not unnecessary hoops.

• Round 1: Intro Conversation (30 min video call) – A short conversation to get to know each other. We'll talk about your background, motivations, and what you're looking for. You'll learn more about us, the role, and how we work. Goal: Mutual fit and alignment on culture and values.
• Round 2: Deep Dive (30-60min) – A working session where we explore your domain expertise and how you approach problems. This is not trivia or gotcha questions - we're interested in how you think. Goal: Understand your depth, judgment, and problem-solving style.
• Round 3: Case Exercise (Take-home or live) – A practical, real-world exercise that reflects the kind of work you'd do here. You may complete it asynchronously or live with us depending on the role. Goal: See what you can produce in your role.
• Round 4: Final Round – You'll spend time with our founders, and dive deeper into how we'd work together. Goal: Final mutual evaluation and, if there's strong alignment, an offer.

Our Principles

• Speed: We aim to move from round to offer quickly, we appreciate your time.
• Respect: Every round has a clear purpose. No redundant interviews.
• Signal over ceremony: We care more about what you've built and how you think than where you went to school.
• Mutual evaluation: This is a two-way process. You're interviewing us, too
• Bar-raising: Every hire should make the team stronger. When in doubt, we pass.

Compensation Range: CA$90K – CA$170K