Audience Growth Manager

Job ID: Requisition #39534

About the role

The Audience Growth Manager leads the organization's digital audience growth strategy and oversees a small team of audience and brand specialists responsible for expanding reach, deepening engagement, and strengthening audience relationships across digital platforms. They develop and execute audience acquisition, retention, and engagement strategies for WUSF’s mission while growing awareness, consumption, and loyalty across websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, streaming platforms, and emerging channels. The Audience Growth Manager collaborates closely with newsroom, programming, fundraising, and corporate sponsorship to ensure audience insights drive content, marketing, and engagement decisions.

Responsibilities

• Audience Growth & Engagement Strategy
  • Develop and execute audience growth strategies, building digital reach, engagement, loyalty, and retention
  • Identify audience segments and create targeted acquisition and engagement plans
  • Expand audience reach through content distribution, community partnerships, and emerging digital channels
  • Foster audience participation, feedback, and meaningful community connections while maintaining a consistent brand experience
• Digital Marketing & Campaign Leadership
  • Lead integrated marketing campaigns across owned, earned, and shared channels
  • Promote news, podcasts, events, fundraisers, cultural programming, and special projects
  • Oversee audience acquisition efforts through email, social media, search, partnerships, and other digital channels
  • Manage both paid and organic marketing strategies to maximize audience growth and impact
• Data Analytics & Performance Optimization
  • Analyze audience data, behaviors, and performance metrics to inform strategic decisions
  • Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned with WUSF goals
  • Manage dashboards and reporting systems that track growth, engagement, conversion, and retention
  • Conduct testing and experimentation to continuously improve audience performance and user experience
• Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Lead, mentor, and develop a team of audience and brand specialists
  • Build a collaborative, creative, and data-driven culture with clear goals and priorities
  • Partner with editorial, programming, fundraising, sponsorship, and communications teams to align audience strategies with organizational objectives
  • Support revenue and membership goals while coordinating audience development initiatives across departments and external partners
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree with 5 years of experience in related positions; or
• Master's degree in a related field and 2 years of experience; or
• Equivalent combination of education and experience (Four years of direct experience for a bachelor’s degree as per Florida Senate Bill 1310)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience in managing audience development, digital marketing, growth marketing, media marketing, digital campaigns, and audience growth initiatives
• Experience supervising or leading staff, interns, contractors, or project teams
• Strong project management abilities, capable of coordinating multiple projects simultaneously
• Experience with content management systems (CMS) and visual communication principles
• Demonstrated experience with email platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Mailchimp), marketing automation systems, and customer relationship management (CRM) software
• Comfort working with Microsoft 365 tools and analytics platforms (Google Analytics, email dashboards) to inform decisions
• Knowledgeable in web design practices
• Experience with fundraising or donor messaging, especially in non-profit, media, or public media space
• Creative problem solver, self-motivated, dependable, and a team player
• Experienced in visual communication concepts and design principles
• Knowledge of audience analytics platforms, CRM systems, email marketing tools, and social media management platforms
• Experience with SEO, audience segmentation, marketing automation, and data analysis
• Familiarity with podcast, streaming, and newsletter growth strategies

About Us

Working at USF: With approximately 16,000 employees, the University of South Florida is one of the largest employers in the Tampa Bay area. We are dedicated to cultivating a talented, engaged, and driven workforce that strives to be bold. Employees excel in USF’s rich academic environment, which fosters their development and advancement. In 2025, Forbes recognized USF as one of Florida’s best large employers, ranked No. 1 among the state’s 12 public universities. Our first-class benefits package includes medical, dental, and life insurance plans, retirement plan options, employee and dependent tuition programs, generous leave, and hundreds of employee perks and discounts.

The University of South Florida is a top-ranked research university serving approximately 50,000 students from across the globe at campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee, and USF Health. USF is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a top 50 public university and the best value in Florida. U.S. News also ranks the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine as the No. 1 medical school in Florida and in the highest tier nationwide. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group that includes only the top 3% of universities in the U.S. With an all-time high of $738 million in research funding in 2024 and as a top 20 public university for producing U.S. patents, USF uses innovation to transform lives and shape a better future. The university generates an annual economic impact of more than $6 billion. USF’s Division I athletics teams compete in the American Athletic Conference.