YouTube Innovation Lead
About The Position
Strengthening and empowering all of the communities we serve. YouTube is no longer just another platform. It’s the most-watched streaming service on TVs, the backbone of the creator economy, and a massive growth and revenue opportunity we’ve barely scratched. NJ Advance Media/NJ.com is looking for a YouTube Innovation Lead to change that. This position will own YouTube end-to-end, from strategy and creative ideation to production, publishing, audience growth, and monetization. You’ll take an established digital media brand and help reinvent how it shows up on the world’s biggest video platform. This role is equal parts strategist, creative producer, growth hacker, and operator. You won’t just optimize what exists, you’ll build what should exist. This is a job on the Content team of the NJ Advance Media/NJ.com newsroom, and the candidate will report to the Senior Director of Content Innovation. This is a rare chance to define YouTube for a media company, not inherit a playbook. You’ll have executive visibility, creative freedom, and the mandate to experiment, fail fast, and scale what works.
Requirements
- A minimum of 4 years' experience in digital video, YouTube, or creator-driven media, especially in news, sports, entertainment, or culture-driven media environments
- Deep understanding of YouTube as a platform—not just posting clips - with a proven track record of YouTube growth or channel management
- Familiarity with YouTube Shorts strategy
- Understanding of how YouTube fits into a broader ecosystem (social, web, affiliate, newsletters, podcasts)
- Experience launching and growing channels or series (professional, creator, or media brand)
- Proven experience with YouTube monetization models and sponsorship integrations
- Comfort working with analytics (YouTube Studio, audience retention, CTR, RPM)
- Experience creating metrics reports and analyzing their implications with actionable insight
- Ability to work independently with a proven track record of successfully developing and overseeing projects through launch
- Strong instincts for storytelling, pacing, and audience retention
- Strong communication skills to align teams around a vision
Nice To Haves
- Experience building or scaling a YouTube channel is a strong advantage
- Experience overseeing freelancers, creators, or production workflows is a plus
Responsibilities
- Develop and own a YouTube strategy across all key content verticals, such as food, sports, entertainment, news, shopping, politics and general Jersey culture
- Define channel strategy, content mix, publishing cadence, and growth targets
- Develop, test, and scale original YouTube-native content formats (long-form, Shorts, live, series)
- Collaborate with editorial, social and video teams to translate stories into compelling video
- Lead publishing, packaging, and optimization (titles, thumbnails, metadata, timing)
- Drive audience growth using analytics, experimentation, and trend awareness
- Build monetization strategies to grow revenue across ads, sponsorships, affiliates, and partnerships
- Identify and test new formats, franchises, and creator-led concepts
- Track performance, set KPIs, and clearly communicate wins and learnings
- Act as the internal YouTube expert and evangelist across the company
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Education Level
No Education Listed
