We are seeking a Head of Audience Engagement to lead audience growth, engagement and retention strategies across a portfolio of digital media brands. This individual will be responsible for evolving how we reach, engage and retain audiences, with an emphasis on growing direct traffic, building habitual readership and creating deeper relationships with our audiences across websites, apps, newsletters, notifications and other owned platforms.
The ideal candidate brings a strong journalistic or newsroom background, with a deep understanding of the editorial process, the pace and demands of a breaking news environment, and how audience behavior intersects with the news cycle. This is not simply a data-driven audience acquisition role. We are looking for someone who understands what makes a story resonate, how editorial decisions influence audience engagement, and how to work alongside journalists and newsroom leaders to turn content opportunities into meaningful audience growth and loyalty.
This person will lead and develop an audience engagement function, bringing together editorial instincts, audience insights, digital strategy and experimentation to move beyond traditional search-driven traffic metrics. While maintaining a strong foundation in SEO and search visibility, the focus will increasingly shift toward direct audience relationships, repeat visitation, content discovery, recirculation and long-term retention.
The successful candidate is a strategic thinker and hands-on leader who can translate audience data into actionable editorial and distribution strategies, build strong relationships across the newsroom and broader organization, and identify new opportunities to grow audiences in a fast-moving, resourceful media environment.
Work Location: This is an on-site role based in New York, NY.
Responsibilities:
- Develop and execute an overarching audience engagement strategy across a portfolio of brands, prioritizing direct traffic, repeat visitation, audience loyalty and long-term retention alongside traditional search performance.
- Partner closely with editors, reporters and newsroom leadership to understand editorial priorities, breaking news cycles and content opportunities, translating them into strategies that maximize reach, engagement and return readership.
- Develop strategies to increase habitual visits and direct traffic through homepage and section-front optimization, app entry points, content packaging and other owned-platform experiences.
- Identify opportunities to turn casual and first-time visitors into returning audiences through newsletters, push notifications, app engagement, registrations and other first-party audience initiatives.
- Improve how audiences discover and consume content across our platforms through related stories, content recommendations, internal linking, editorial packaging and other strategies that increase visit depth and engagement.
- Maintain and evolve technical SEO and search optimization strategies, ensuring continued search visibility, strong technical performance and effective coverage of major news events, while expanding the team's focus beyond search-driven acquisition.
- Use audience data, analytics and behavioral insights to understand what drives engagement, loyalty and retention. Translate findings into actionable recommendations that inform editorial decisions, content strategy and distribution priorities.
- Develop and monitor KPIs that reflect a broader definition of audience success, including direct sessions, returning-user frequency, engaged sessions, recirculation, newsletter conversions, app engagement and audience retention.
- Champion a culture of experimentation through A/B testing, content packaging optimization, audience journey analysis and improvements to the on-site experience. Evaluate results and continuously refine strategies based on performance.
- Manage, mentor and develop the audience engagement team, establishing clear priorities, performance expectations and development opportunities while identifying capabilities and resources needed to support the function's evolving responsibilities.
- Work closely with editorial, video, social, product, marketing, newsletters and other internal stakeholders to develop integrated strategies that extend content reach, strengthen audience relationships and drive engagement across platforms.
- Maintain a strong understanding of evolving audience behaviors, digital publishing trends, search algorithms, Google Discover, social distribution and emerging platforms, identifying opportunities to adapt and innovate.
- Identify opportunities to improve workflows, streamline processes and maximize team effectiveness, balancing strategic priorities with hands-on execution in a fast-paced, constantly evolving news environment.
Ideal Candidate Will Have:
- Significant experience in audience engagement, audience development, digital strategy or a related function within a newsroom, newspaper, digital publisher or media organization.
- A background in journalism, editorial leadership, digital news or a closely related newsroom-facing function, with a strong understanding of how a newsroom operates, particularly in a breaking news environment.
- Strong editorial instincts and the ability to recognize compelling content opportunities, understand news cycles and connect editorial priorities with audience growth and engagement strategies.
- Experience leading and developing teams, setting strategic direction, establishing priorities and driving measurable results.
- A comprehensive understanding of digital audience behavior, including direct traffic, SEO, Google Discover, search visibility, social distribution and referral channels.
- Demonstrated experience developing strategies that increase repeat visitation, audience loyalty and retention, rather than focusing exclusively on traffic acquisition.
- Knowledge of first-party audience development, including newsletters, apps, registrations, push notifications and other strategies that encourage direct audience relationships.
- Experience using analytics platforms and audience insights to evaluate performance, identify trends and influence editorial and business decisions.
- An understanding of content discovery, recirculation, audience journeys and on-site optimization, with experience identifying opportunities to improve engagement and visit depth.
- Familiarity with experimentation, A/B testing and performance optimization, with the ability to turn insights into practical improvements.
- A track record of building effective relationships with editorial leadership, journalists, product teams and other cross-functional stakeholders.
- The ability to balance editorial judgment with data-driven decision-making, recognizing that audience growth requires both an understanding of the content and an understanding of the numbers.
- A proactive, resourceful and adaptable leadership style, with the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven and evolving media environment.
Compensation Structure
- Base Salary Range: $205,000–$250,000 based on a variety of factors including skills, experience, etc.
- Annual Performance-Based Bonus: 15–20%
- Comprehensive benefits beginning on day one.
This job posting is on behalf of an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.