Executive Director, Audience Development & Content Strategy

Condé Nast Germany•New York, NY

56d•$185,000 - $230,000•Onsite

About The Position

WIRED is seeking an experienced, creative, and driven newsroom leader to manage audience development and content strategy for its global editions. This senior leadership role reports directly to the Global Editorial Director and requires significant digital news and reporting experience. The position is responsible for driving subscriber growth, shaping editorial content packaging, and providing audience insights to inform storytelling strategies and daily newsroom decisions. The role will oversee the WIRED app, subscriber growth, audience development, social media, and analytics functions worldwide. Collaboration with social video production units is essential to ensure their work aligns with overall strategies and is informed by audience insights. The ideal candidate will be adept at setting high-level audience growth strategies, defining KPIs, and delving into the details of content packaging and breaking news. They must thrive in a fast-paced news environment, be solutions-oriented regarding audience challenges and the evolving digital publishing landscape, and be skilled at finding novel ways to reach and engage audiences while growing the subscriber community. While the primary focus is on newsroom and audience outcomes globally, the role also involves collaborating with Conde Nast stakeholders on revenue imperatives, connecting audience strategy with brand revenue opportunities, and partnering with commerce, consumer revenue, and commercial organizations to maximize revenue potential.

Requirements

Extensive experience in fast-paced digital news publishing; the ideal candidate has worked as a reporter or editor in addition to audience development functions
Professional experience in working with stakeholders to optimize for different kinds of revenue, including subscriptions, commerce, and sponsored editorial.
Experience creating and optimizing content for SEO, social platforms, and newsletters; this content should be both existing content that WIRED wants to promote, and content that’s bespoke for a given platform.
Professional experience with publishing and analytics tools including SocialFlow, CrowdTangle, Facebook Insights, Parse.ly, and Google Analytics.
Experience working with product/engineering teams to make changes that improve traffic, retention, and revenue opportunities.
Strong communication skills, both written and verbal; the ability to clearly deliver difficult feedback and insights to writers, editors, and producers, with diplomacy and finesse.
A love of news and a sense of urgency to get high-impact stories in front of an audience; the ability to instill those qualities in a global team.
Experience managing teams and training people; given the changing landscape of audience development and social media, specific experience helping employees navigate shifting priorities and imperatives is also a must.

Responsibilities

Lead audience development and social promotion efforts in a fast-paced, digital newsroom publishing dozens of stories daily, in addition to bespoke newsletters, podcasts, and vertical video products.
Partner with editorial leaders to drive subscriber growth and identify opportunities to convert engaged readers into paying subscribers and deepen engagement among existing subscribers.
Develop and optimize subscriber-focused editorial experiences, including subscriber-only newsletters, exclusive content and programming, and other premium benefits designed to strengthen WIRED’s value proposition.
Build strategies for growing direct relationships with WIRED’s most engaged audiences across newsletters, the WIRED app, podcasts, events, and other owned platforms, with an emphasis on increasing loyalty, frequency, and subscriber value.
Provide high-level audience development strategies and guidance for WIRED across the website and app, and off-platform destinations like TikTok and Instagram. Consistently iterate on these strategies to ensure that WIRED meets its KPIs across global editions.
Work with WIRED’s social media leads to develop enterprising social media strategies, emphasizing a mix of O&O referral and bespoke platform brand identity as appropriate. Get in the weeds with editors on packaging, visuals, and more, to ensure that WIRED is maximizing its audience reach and impact on every single story.
Work with WIRED’s analytics team members to identify new content opportunities for brand growth and deliver meaningful, unvarnished feedback to editorial teams, in both day-to-day ways and bigger picture ones.
In collaboration with WIRED’s editorial leadership, develop and oversee newsletter strategy and newsletter products, and work with WIRED’s editorial team on testing and optimization on a rolling basis.
Provide ongoing and iterative guidance to WIRED’s audience development, social, and editorial teams around SEO best practices, including trainings; constantly evaluate the search and online landscapes to future-proof WIRED vis-a-vis AI and other related impacts to O&O traffic and audience reach.
Hire, onboard, and develop top talent.
Manage a global and diverse team of around ~12-15 people, including analysts, audience development, and social media professionals. Understanding and appreciating the regional nuances, priorities, and best practices for the WIRED brand is a must.
Represent WIRED as a leader both internally and externally, as appropriate.
Deepen relationships with WIRED’s editorial and video leadership, and collaborate on a daily basis to ensure that WIRED is putting its best foot forward in everything we do.
Work closely with WIRED and Conde Nast stakeholders across commerce, consumer revenue, and commercial revenue. Prioritize based on WIRED’s revenue needs and opportunities, and engage with stakeholders to ensure they’re getting what they need from WIRED’s audience development org in a timely manner.
Collaborate with editorial and video leadership to ensure that sponsored editorial opportunities are executed effectively by WIRED’s social teams and that products like social extensions and bespoke newsletters drive ad revenue for WIRED.
Support global expansion efforts and hiring in new markets as-needed.