Senior Vice President, Audience Development & Content Distribution

NPR • Washington, DC

9d • $290,000 - $350,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

NPR is seeking an experienced, strategic, and mission-aligned executive to serve as Senior Vice President, Audience Development & Content Distribution. Reporting directly to the Chief Content Officer, this executive will connect enterprise editorial vision with multi-platform publishing, network syndication, and station distribution strategy. The role leads how, when, where, and to whom public media journalism is delivered across NPR’s nationwide network.

The SVP will oversee enterprise content roadmaps and channel distribution strategies to grow audiences, retain readers and listeners, and strengthen civic impact across NPR-owned properties, third-party platforms, member stations, and affiliate newsrooms. The position requires collaboration across NPR, Member stations, and affiliate partners to scale quality, editorial integrity, and audience reach.

This is an NPR editorial role covered by the NPR Ethics Handbook. Editorial staff are bound by its guidance. The role is hybrid permitted, with at least three days per week in NPR’s Washington, D.C. office, and the employee must reside in Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia. It is a full-time, exempt position.

Requirements

• 15 or more years of progressive leadership experience in media strategy, content operations, audience development, or network distribution, ideally within a major newsroom, public broadcasting network, or federated media alliance.
• Demonstrated expertise managing complex editorial calendars, media partner relationships, and multi-channel digital distribution, including SEO, news aggregators, newsletters, social platforms, and streaming syndication.
• Proven experience designing, scaling, and managing affiliate syndication systems, content-sharing networks, or federated member-station alliances.
• Executive-level familiarity with enterprise publishing architecture, distributed CMS stacks, media asset management systems (MAM/DAM), and workflow automation.
• Exceptional executive presence and a record of building consensus, inspiring collaboration, and aligning independent station partners and cross-functional leaders around shared strategic goals.
• Strong operational budget management experience and familiarity with network economics, membership models, or syndication structures.
• Ability to bridge editorial vision with operational execution and align enterprise storytelling with multi-platform delivery.
• Exceptional interpersonal and negotiation skills to build trust, navigate federated governance structures, and align independent partners.
• Competency in translating quantitative audience analytics and qualitative metrics into strategic publishing decisions.
• Proven capacity to guide teams through digital transformation, process modernization, and evolving media landscapes.
• Commitment to public-interest journalism, editorial integrity, and the role of news in a healthy democracy.
• Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communications, Media Studies, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent practical work experience demonstrating equivalent executive capability.
• Must reside in Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia and work in the Washington, D.C. office at least three days per week.

Nice To Haves

• Deep operational understanding of public radio, member-station governance, and federated media fundraising or licensing models.
• Direct experience evaluating and implementing ethical AI, automated distribution tools, or next-generation media delivery frameworks in distributed media environments.

Responsibilities

• Build and manage the enterprise-wide content roadmap, coordinating daily news, investigative series, podcasts, newsletters, and special projects across publishing platforms.
• Oversee distribution across owned digital properties and third-party networks, adapting strategies to consumption trends and algorithm changes.
• Build, maintain, and expand executive relationships with publishers, digital-native media outlets, radio and television syndicators, and nonprofit journalism networks.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives with SEO, social media, and newsletter teams to improve discovery, retention, and measurable civic and journalistic impact.
• Design, govern, and scale the operational framework for network syndication, content sharing, joint reporting, and affiliate publishing across Member stations and affiliate newsrooms.
• Serve as the central executive partner to station managers, news directors, and affiliate leaders, establishing partner advisory cadences and service standards.
• Work with data and analytics teams to define network operational KPIs, content adoption metrics, and ROI frameworks, and translate audience data into strategic recommendations.
• Architect technology-enabled distribution workflows, enterprise CMS stacks, asset management repositories, and ethical AI tools for distributed network environments.
• Oversee the content operations and distribution budget, manage strategic resource allocation, and collaborate with Legal, Product, Tech, and Revenue leadership to preserve brand safety and organizational alignment.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits for employees and dependents, including access to health and wellness, paid time off, and financial well-being.
• Medical, dental, vision, life and accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability, and short-term disability plan options.
• Voluntary retirement savings options for eligible employees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior