Job: Director Of Audience Engagement and Growth

Reporting to: Executive Director

Through skillful, thoughtful, and confident leadership, Science Friday’s Director of Audience Engagement and Growth will work in collaboration with the Executive Director and department leaders to develop an impactful and sustainable audience strategy structured to facilitate meaningful audience engagement and drive audience growth for Science Friday’s long-standing radio program, podcasts, and digital audiences.

The Director of Audience Engagement and Growth will actively lead the growth, engagement, and audience research strategies across all of Science Friday, measure the effectiveness of those efforts, and communicate the results with key stakeholders. The Director of Audience Engagement and Growth will engage in stewardship strategies grounded on building sustainability across the organization and meeting our mission to make science exciting and accessible to a wider and more diverse audience. This position values feedback and both initiates and stewards collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to further Science Friday’s journalistic mission. The Director of Audience Engagement and Growth will lead project management efforts for audience development activities, and will develop new earned and contributed income opportunities. The ideal candidate will have working knowledge of the public media, podcast, and nonprofit digital media marketplaces and audiences. 

The Director of Audience Engagement and Growth will work closely with the Executive Director to execute the strategic plan, values, and mission of Science Friday while also shepherding professional development and opportunity for staff, and reinforcing a healthy and happy organizational culture that delivers incredible value to all the audiences Science Friday serves. 

A doctor and a patient have a consultation. Behind them, is the symbol of caduceus, and a maze. The maze's paths morph into the stems of hawthorne flowers.
Illustration by Abi Stevens

RESPONSIBILITIES

Audience Growth + Engagement

  • Lead a collaborative effort across Science Friday to deliver cohesive, accessible, and engaging programming and growth for all audiences, present and future, building off of the success of Science Friday’s weekly radio program.
  • Lead cross-functional efforts to plan and execute impactful and sustainable audience development strategies, focusing on attracting, retaining, and diversifying the audiences of our radio, podcast, and digital content.
  • Identify information needs for understanding the value and impact of Science Friday’s content and programming, and marshal resources and staff expertise to address audience questions with quantitative and anecdotal evidence. 
  • Establish, implement, and evaluate pathways for deeper learning and engagement of Science Friday’s audiences, and amplify or curtail programming effort based on measured outcomes. 
  • Ensure a full calendar of deeper engagement opportunities for Science Friday’s audiences and stations every month. The Director of Audience will work to ensure those opportunities build community and provide opportunities to recruit new audiences while also encouraging our audience to support our work financially. 
  • Synthesize audience acquisition efforts, metrics, and editorial outputs to identify opportunities to improve the representation, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility of Science Friday’s content and programming. 

Audience Experience

  • Continually improve the accessibility of Science Friday’s radio, audio, web, and live content and programs, measuring improvement through analytics and an active feedback strategy.
  • Maintain a culture of program evaluation, feedback solicitation, and data-informed decision-making around audience growth, retention, experience, and accessibility priorities, and synthesize learnings into actionable recommendations for all teams. 

Sustainability And Innovation

  • Leverage our exceptional editorial content and engagement activities into successful campaigns for financial support from our fans and funder community in collaboration with our fundraising team. 
  • Work alongside the Executive Director and fundraising teams to cultivate new funding opportunities through programming innovation and impact documentation. 
  • Develop an annual Impact Report that leverages Science Friday’s editorial content and documents the value we provide
  • Prepare and update Science Friday’s Media Kit
  • Evaluate programming and content outputs against the costs of those efforts, in terms of budget and staff burden, to reprioritize programming that is mission critical and high-return. 

Audience Growth

  • Plan, lead, and measure timely, innovative, and sustainable audience growth and engagement efforts around Science Friday’s perennial programming.
  • Establish meaningful OKRs for audience growth across platforms, evaluating the quality and return of various efforts to recruit new audiences. 
  • Lead partnership development for audience growth, cultivating new strategic partnerships that create value for new audiences. 
  • Manage pilot projects and modifications to perennial activities designed to recruit new audiences.
  • Develop marketing and promotional strategies, including paid advertising, to recruit new audiences around content initiatives. 

Organizational Responsibilities

  • Lead, manage, and guide professional development of the audience team and hourly and contract assignment employees as needed.
  • Develop, manage and provide oversight of audience and grant budgets.
  • As needed, manage contractor relationships like marketing firms and external consultants as they relate to audience growth and development.
  • Attend annual Board meetings and supply intermittent Board communications as needed in collaboration with the Executive Director.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience: 

  • B.S. Degree 
  • MBA, or MS in Journalism or Organizational Management preferred. 
  • 7+ years experience in an audience engagement and development capacity
  • 5+ years experience in a supervisory role
  • PMP certification a plus
  • Marketing experience a plus
  • Product development experience a plus
  • Background in public media or journalism a plus
  • Must be eligible to work in the United States 

Skills

  • Strong writing and communication skills, grant writing experience a plus
  • Team leadership and management experience, with a proven track record of cultivating positive and productive team culture 
  • Strong communication skills in a remote hybrid work environment 
  • Experience establishing and routinizing functional feedback cycles for content and programming outputs 
  • Project management proficiency, navigating multiple internal and external stakeholders, budgets, and timelines with a proven track record of delivering meaningful audience experiences. 
  • Quantitative analysis skills, with experience drawing on quantitative and qualitative research, web and social analytics, market research, and one-on-one conversations to make decisions. 
  • Ability to move easily between education, fundraising, engagement, and journalism mindsets while maintaining a focus on mission and vision. 
  • Proven track record of establishing successful partnerships for audience growth and engagement
  • Demonstrated understanding of web and audience analytics, and an ability to channel that information and data towards driving audience relationships and growth. 
  • Budget development and management proficiency
  • Strategy development and goal setting proficiency
  • Exceptional management and people skills

SALARY RANGE: $110,000-$125,000

LOCATION: Applicants based in the greater NYC area are preferred. Remote applicants welcome,  but must work from within the United States and be online during 10am-4pm ET hours.

DEADLINE: This is an immediate vacancy. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Candidates should be prepared to participate in multiple interviews.

APPLY HERE
We use a single application form. Applications received via LinkedIn, Indeed, or other third-party platforms will not be considered.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

This is a full-time role that includes benefits. Science Friday offers competitive compensation with medical, dental, and vision insurance, and generous paid time off benefits including vacation, and sick time and parental leave.

Science Friday’s headquarters is based in New York City, but we offer considerable work from home (WFH) flexibility for both local and remote employees. Science Friday’s WFH policy requires that every full-time employee, regardless of location, work from the New York City office or studio for a minimum of 24 days per year. Conferences, work-related events, and off-site meetings will count towards that total. Unless otherwise indicated, travel to the office is at the expense of the employee.

Commitment To Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Science Friday is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.  SciFri operates with the knowledge that journalism, science, and learning benefit from a broad range of perspectives, from all backgrounds. Diversity is essential to honest, trustworthy, accurate storytelling and promotes a healthier, happier, and more creative atmosphere. Science Friday strives for creating an institution in which all voices are encouraged, valued, and heard.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

About Our Workplace

  • We have a flexible leave policy that easily accommodates religious holidays, travel, vacation, personal and parental leave, and sick days. We close our offices twice a year for a week for whole-staff recharge time (Mid-year in July and in December for a Winter break). We do not work on Thanksgiving or the Friday after.
  • Our building has a secure lobby with a fully handicap accessible entrance and key card elevator service. We have a flexible open office with adjustable standing desks, adjustable chairs, and large external monitors; our office also includes a small recording studio, lounge area, and a handful of flexible separate offices and conference rooms. 
  • We use headphones a lot during the work day, we invest in staff culture events, and we are really into office plants. 
  • We offer 401K matching, health, vision, and dental coverage, mental health support, an FSA, and often get great science and scifi books to read for free. 
  • We work with lots of other professionals and artists (like Abi Stevens who created the above feature image for one of our radio stories about how the medical field can better serve the disability community) to increase the public’s access to science and scientific information.