Audience Manager

About the role

The Audience Manager for NEWSWELL Chicago is a strategic, data-driven, and community-centered digital leader who will grow and strengthen the reach, engagement, and impact of our 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.

This role shapes content for online audiences, guides the newsroom on digital best practices, and ensures our journalism is accessible, mobile-first, and responsive to community needs. You will collaborate closely with editorial, product, engineering, AI, membership, fundraising, and events teams to deepen loyalty, expand reach, and strengthen community connection.

In February 2026, NEWSWELL acquired the assets of Growing Community Media, the longtime publisher of these four storied Chicago-area newspapers, to ensure these vital outlets have the stability, resources, and vision they need to thrive. NEWSWELL helps newsrooms become nonprofit and community-focused, providing strategic guidance, innovative solutions, and wraparound operations so journalists can focus on serving their communities. Through partnerships with Arizona State University—named the nation’s most innovative university for 11 years—NEWSWELL brings cutting-edge ideas, research, and tools to reinvent local news and strengthen democracy.

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

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 across ASU Enterprise Partners.
• $30 bi-weekly cell phone reimbursement.

Pay

$60,000 to $70,000 annually.