Director of Audience Growth

Democracy Docket•Jersey City, NJ

2d•$145,000 - $165,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Democracy Docket is looking for an innovative digital leader to own and drive our top-of-funnel audience growth strategy across social and video platforms. Our digital channels are essential to how audiences interact with and discover Democracy Docket — often serving as the first touchpoint with our newsroom and a critical driver for newsletter subscriber growth. This role is responsible for expanding our reach to new target audiences while deepening engagement and loyalty among existing followers. They will bring a deep understanding of the evolving media landscape and how to leverage digital platforms to distribute news, build brand awareness, and ultimately convert followers into subscribers. They will work closely with the Managing Editor and the subscription and product team to align digital growth efforts with newsroom priorities and business goals. They will oversee both the social and video teams (directly supervising two department leads) and unify the teams into one division operating under a cohesive, data-informed growth strategy. This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing independent media organization focused on exposing threats to free and fair elections and democracy. This role will play a critical part in expanding and deepening our digital audience, ensuring our journalism reaches target audiences, and supports long-term subscriber objectives. This role reports into the Managing Director.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in social media and/or audience development, preferably in a digital news environment
Proven track record of growing and engaging audiences across social and video platforms
Experience leading and building high-performing teams
Strong analytical skills and comfort using data to inform strategy and decision-making
Familiarity with audience conversion funnels
Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills, particularly with editorial, subscription, and product partners
Experience working at a media company with a subscription-driven business model
Interest in or experience covering politics, voting and/or democracy issues

Responsibilities

Own and execute top-of-funnel audience growth strategy across social and video platforms.
Lead and unify the social and video teams under a cohesive, data-informed growth strategy; implement workflow, staffing, and process improvements
Set platform priorities, performance goals, and success metrics for audience reach, engagement, and conversions.
Partner closely with the Managing Editor to align audience growth initiatives within the newsroom and deliver actionable content insights to newsroom/editors.
Collaborate with subscription and product teams to support subscriber acquisition and optimize the audience-to-subscription funnel.
Optimize website capture tactics to ensure social-driven traffic is effectively engaged and converted.
Use data, testing, and experimentation to inform content distribution, platform strategy, and format evolution.
Balance short-term performance goals (reach, engagement, watch time) with long-term brand building and audience loyalty.
Launch and scale video-first and other platform-native formats to drive audience growth and engagement.
Apply strong news judgment to ensure platform strategies align with newsroom standards and organizational focus.
Maintain a consistent brand voice and visual identity across social and video platforms.
Make resourcing recommendations for audience growth initiatives, including staffing, tools, and platform investments.
Build, mentor, and scale high-performing teams.
Stay ahead of changes in the digital and platform landscape, adapting strategy to maximize reach and impact.