Audience Manager

NEWSWELL helps newsrooms become nonprofit and for-community, providing strategic guidance, innovative solutions and wraparound operations so journalists can focus on what matters most: serving their communities. Through partnerships with Arizona State University — named the nation’s most innovative university for 11 years in a row — NEWSWELL brings cutting-edge ideas, research and tools to reinvent local news and strengthen democracy.

About the role

A strategic, data-driven and community-centered digital leader who will grow and strengthen the reach, engagement and impact of NEWSWELL Chicago’s four community publications — Austin Weekly News, Forest Park Review, Riverside-Brookfield Landmark and Wednesday Journal of Oak Park & River Forest. You will manage and expand NEWSWELL Chicago’s digital audience across newsletters, social media, websites and emerging platforms.

Responsibilities

• Newsletters: Edit and manage flagship and vertical newsletters; own newsletter calendars, testing plans and quality control.
• Subscriber growth: Lead audience strategies for newsletter acquisition, retention and engagement, using various testing and lifecycle tactics to improve open rates, click-through and loyalty.
• Social media: Oversee social strategy, voice and publishing across platforms; drive acquisition, community engagement and brand consistency.
• Website experience: Guide site programming, homepage curation, user pathways, search engine optimization best practices and overall performance to improve user experience and impact.
• Digital editing: Shape content packaging, headlines, visuals, distribution timing and platform-specific execution to optimize digital performance.
• Analytics and insights: Build dashboards and reporting rhythms; analyze audience data, identify trends and translate insights into clear recommendations for editorial, product and revenue teams.
• Digital standards: Ensure all digital content meets accessibility (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG), mobile-first and usability standards; institute checklists and workflows that improve consistency and quality.
• Video strategy (oversight): Oversee short-form video strategy and standards; coordinate with reporters or contributors on video storytelling that supports audience goals.
• Workflow and collaboration: Establish and refine cross-functional workflows with editorial, product, engineering and AI teams to improve speed, quality and repeatability.
• Training and enablement: Collaborate with NEWSWELL leadership to create and facilitate training for staff and contributors on SEO, newsletters, analytics, social media best practices and digital packaging.
• Membership and fundraising: Partner with membership and development teams to help plan and execute digital campaigns, including email appeals, landing pages, calls to action and performance tracking.
• Community engagement: Design audience-centric engagement initiatives based on community listening, feedback loops and analytics; implement tactics that respond directly to local information needs.
• Events support: Shape digital promotion and coverage for events; analyze event performance and identify opportunities to convert event interest into ongoing audience relationships.
• Contributor management: Oversee newsletter hosts and contributors supporting audience and digital publishing functions.
• Culture: Foster an inclusive, collaborative team culture that values diversity, empowers others, celebrates wins and encourages continuous learning and experimentation.

Requirements

• Proven experience growing and engaging digital audiences across newsletters, social media and websites.
• Strong writing, editing and digital packaging skills, with an understanding of what resonates with online audiences.
• Proficiency with digital tools, including CMS platforms (Newspack or similar), Mailchimp, Google Analytics, social scheduling tools and SEO best practices.
• Deep understanding of audience funnels, retention strategies, reader journeys and newsletter-specific growth tactics.
• Ability to analyze data, identify insights and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
• Experience building digital campaigns that support membership, fundraising or community engagement.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively with editorial, product, engineering, AI and revenue teams.
• Strong project-management skills with the ability to juggle multiple deadlines and priorities.
• Commitment to fairness, diversity, equity, accessibility and community-centered journalism.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, digital media or related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in digital journalism, audience strategy, content marketing, or equivalent digital roles, with demonstrated success managing or growing digital audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in local news, community media or nonprofit journalism.
• Familiarity with audience segmentation, CRM systems, automation tools or subscription funnels.
• Experience with layout design, UX principles or reader-experience improvements.
• Spanish fluency is a plus.

Pay

$60,000 to $70,000 annually.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) plan with matching employer contribution
• 22 days of vacation time
• 11 holidays, including your birthday
• Parental leave
• Significant tuition reductions
• Professional development opportunities
• $30 bi-weekly cell phone reimbursement