Director of Lifecycle & Retention

About Chicago Public Media Chicago Public Media is one of the nation’s largest local nonprofit news organizations. Home to WBEZ 91.5FM, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Vocalo. Chicago Public Media reaches more than 3.3 million people weekly across broadcast, print, and digital platforms. As a mission-driven organization, we aspire to be the most trusted news source Chicagoans turn to for understanding the people, events, and ideas shaping our community. Chicago Public Media is a 100% community-funded newsroom powered by nearly 97,000 members whose support makes our journalism possible. This sustained community investment helped drive nationally recognized work in 2025, including 29 awards from esteemed organizations, including the Public Media Journalists Association, the Edward R. Murrow Awards, and the National Association of Black Journalists. We believe independent journalism is essential to a healthy democracy and that access to objective, fact-based news is a right for every citizen. We serve the public interest by creating diverse content that informs and enriches our community, supported by a dedicated staff of approximately 250 professionals. For more information, please see the Chicago Public Media Annual Report. The Opportunity The Director of Lifecycle & Retention leads Chicago Public Media’s enterprise lifecycle strategy across brands, platforms, and audience touchpoints. This role is responsible for designing the systems, frameworks, and strategies that strengthen retention, loyalty, participation, and long-term supporter value following acquisition. The Director establishes the lifecycle architecture, audience segmentation, performance goals, and optimization priorities that guide onboarding, engagement, renewal, sustainer conversion, upgrades, reactivation, advocacy, and long-term relationship development. The role partners closely with Product, Marketing, Insights, Development, Editorial, and the Membership team to translate audience behavior and supporter data into coordinated lifecycle strategies across WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times, Vocalo, and future platforms General Responsibilities Audience Journey Ownership The Membership department operates through two interconnected engines: Growth & Acquisition and Lifecycle & Retention. The Director of Lifecycle & Retention owns the strategic framework governing the post-acquisition relationship. This includes defining how supporter cohorts move through lifecycle stages, where retention risks and opportunities exist, and how programs and channels work together to strengthen long-term audience value. The Lifecycle Framework Includes Onboarding & Early Member ExperienceSustainer ConversionRenewal & RetentionUpgrade & Philanthropic DevelopmentReactivationAdvocacy & Community Participation The Director establishes the strategy, segmentation, performance goals, and optimization roadmap across these stages. Specialized team members retain ownership of individual membership programs, channels, and experiences operating within that framework. Growth & Acquisition owns performance through the first financial transaction. Lifecycle & Retention assumes primary strategic accountability following that transaction, with both functions jointly defining and evaluating acquisition quality. Core Area of Focus - Lifecycle & Retention Design And Continually Improve a Scalable Lifecycle System That Strengthens long-term supporter loyalty and retentionIdentifies and reduces preventable churnIncreases sustainer conversion and long-term giving stability Expands lifetime value across supporter segmentsUses behavioral, transactional, and engagement signals to improve lifecycle decision-makingCreates pathways for deeper participation and philanthropic progressionConnects membership programs, communications, and experiences within a unified relationship strategy Success Metrics Retention and renewal performanceSustainer conversion growthChurn reduction across audience cohortsUpgrade, reactivation, and long-term revenue growthLifetime value improvementAudience participation and engagement performanceLifecycle experimentation and optimization performanceLong-term supporter loyalty and relationship health Sustainable Relationship Philosophy This role is responsible for strengthening long-term audience relationships through participation, trust, belonging, relevance, and ongoing engagement - not solely renewal transactions. Success in this role will be measured not only by retention performance but by the organization’s ability to deepen supporter connection and build durable, long-term audience relationships over time. Strategic Responsibilities Lifecycle Strategy & Modeling Design and optimize lifecycle frameworks across brands, platforms, and audience segmentsEstablish lifecycle stages, audience strategies, and performance expectationsDevelop retention, churn, and lifetime value models aligned with long-term growth goalsIdentify retention risks, lifecycle drop-off points, and opportunities for deeper engagement. Establish lifecycle KPIs, dashboards, and performance reporting frameworksLead lifecycle performance analysis and strategic recalibration Audience Intelligence & Optimization Develop lifecycle segmentation frameworks using transactional, behavioral, and engagement dataIdentify behavioral signals associated with retention, churn, conversion, upgrade potential, and long-term loyaltyDefine priority lifecycle cohorts and differentiated relationship strategiesEstablish testing standards and a lifecycle experimentation roadmapTranslate performance insights into strategic recommendations for programs, communications, and audience experiences Engagement & Loyalty Strategy Define engagement strategies that strengthen retention, participation, and long-term supporter valueIdentify the experiences and behaviors most strongly associated with loyalty and retentionEstablish audience priorities that inform member programs, benefits, communications, and experiencesPartner with Product and audience teams to connect personalization, digital behavior, participation, and membership strategyDevelop frameworks for measuring relationship health beyond financial transactions. Retention & Revenue Strategy Establish retention strategy and performance goals across supporter segmentsDefine strategic frameworks for sustainer conversion, renewal, upgrade, philanthropic progression, and reactivationIdentify cohorts requiring differentiated retention strategiesEvaluate retention economics and lifetime value across supporter segmentsPartner with membership program owners to translate lifecycle strategy into effective renewal, stewardship, upgrade, benefit, and engagement programsLead recurring lifecycle and cohort performance reviews Lifecycle Messaging Strategy Establish messaging frameworks for onboarding, stewardship, retention, upgrade, and reactivationDefine audience objectives, segmentation priorities, behavioral triggers, and measurement expectations for lifecycle communicationsEnsure continuity between acquisition messaging and the long-term supporter experiencePartner with channel and program owners to translate lifecycle strategy into effective email, direct mail, digital, event, and other audience experiences Cross-Functional Leadership Lead lifecycle strategy across Product, Marketing, Insights, Editorial, Development, Revenue Operations, and technology teamsTranslate Membership priorities into cross-functional requirements for audience data, personalization, product experiences, measurement, and engagementEstablish shared lifecycle goals and decision frameworks across teams whose work influences retention and supporter valueRepresent lifecycle and retention priorities in organizational planning and product development Team & Operational Leadership Manage and develop team members responsible for specialized functions within Lifecycle & RetentionEstablish clear strategic priorities, decision rights, performance expectations, and accountability across lifecycle functionsEnsure membership programs, communications, and engagement efforts operate within a unified lifecycle strategy while maintaining clear functional ownershipBuild team capabilities in lifecycle strategy, audience intelligence, experimentation, measurement, and optimizationIdentify capability, resource, technology, and process gaps that limit lifecycle performance Qualifications Experience leading lifecycle, retention, subscription, membership, CRM, loyalty, or audience relationship strategyDemonstrated ability to design lifecycle frameworks across multiple audience segments, products, channels, or brandsStrong understanding of retention strategy, cohort analysis, churn reduction, segmentation, and lifetime value optimizationExperience translating behavioral, transactional, and engagement data into audience strategies and organizational decisionsExperience establishing KPIs, performance frameworks, experimentation programs, and optimization roadmapsExperience leading complex cross-functional initiatives across Product, Marketing, Insights, Development, Editorial, technology, or comparable functionsAbility to move between enterprise strategy, analytical insight, and implementation through specialized teamsExperience building personalization, loyalty, engagement, or member experience strategiesStrong people leadership, strategic communication, and organizational planning skillsDemonstrated ability to build new capabilities, systems, or operating models rather than solely manage established programs Compensation The expected pay range for this position is $118,000 - $147,000 per ANNUM. Chicago Public Media provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the organization reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographical location, and external market pay for comparable jobs. Working at Chicago Public Media At Chicago Public Media, we care deeply about our employees as we know attracting, developing, and growing talent is key to our success and enhancing our impact. Our culture is one where collaboration, diversity of ideas, and innovation are encouraged. We value colleagues who will enhance our culture by bringing new ideas, divergent experiences, and talents to our dynamic workplace. At Chicago Public Media we believe dedication to a great workplace includes supporting our employees and their families. As a result, we provide a broad and generous benefits package for employees at hire and in the years to come. Our benefits include a competitive salary and benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, vacation, holidays, life insurance, disability coverage, retirement savings, and a commuter benefits plan. Chicago Public Media is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we actively seek and welcome people from all backgrounds, orientations, and life experiences to join our team. The essential functions described above are not all-inclusive and are not intended to create any contractual or other legal commitment. Chicago Public Media may change the content or format of this job at any time in its sole and exclusive discretion without notice.