Head of Audience and Programming

The Minnesota Star Tribune is an innovative modern media organization building on an extraordinary 157-year legacy. With seven Pulitzer Prizes and numerous other accolades, we stand as a beacon of journalistic excellence in Minnesota. Together, we are the heart and voice of the North.

Our mission is to build a better Minnesota by connecting us with the people, ideas, and stories that strengthen our communities. We're seeking dynamic leaders who are passionate about journalism and democracy to help shape this future. If you are excited about reinventing one of our state's most trusted institutions and leading us into a new era of growth and excellence, we want to hear from you.

Job Summary:

The Minnesota Star Tribune is seeking a collaborative, digital visionary to expand and lead a new Audience & Programming department to help drive our newsroom and company to build the leading model for local news in America. This executive leader will oversee a talented and creative group of journalists and audience experts dedicated to growing our subscriber base and deepening engagement with our audience. The team sits at the center of our organization's most exciting ambitions. Every day, it drives the cadence of our newsroom, programming the day and ensuring our essential journalism, distinctive stories and projects are showcased, elevated and distributed across our platforms in formats that resonate with and delight our audience. This role will oversee the newsroom's capability to drive users to our platforms, build habit and emotional connection and cement loyalty with our audience.

This leadership role will be deeply cross-functional, working with consumer growth, brand marketing, and product to innovate new ways to grow our impact for Minnesota. Data-driven with a heart for journalism, this leader will work across our company to achieve our growth goals through extraordinary content. This leader will also serve on the newsroom's senior leadership team.

Beyond mobile and desktop programming and promotion, the team also oversees community engagement strategy, including newsletters and social media, SEO, analytics and more. It champions digital- and audience-focused storytelling, helping lead our newsroom's work in such areas as audio and video, service journalism and nontraditional story forms. The team also trains the company in digital and audience development best practices and will partner with content teams to support and optimize journalism for our audience. It communicates directly with our audience every day.

The right leader for our team might come from any number of backgrounds, but will possess a mix of these skills and attributes:

• Experience building, leading and mentoring talented and motivated teams.
• Demonstrated understanding of modern audience development best practices, both on- and off-platform. This includes SEO, social promotion, newsletters and alerts, etc.
• An instinct for using audience data from tools like Google Analytics and Chartbeat to inform strategic decisions.
• Strong news judgment with the skill and confidence to make smart decisions in line with our standards in a host of settings, including breaking news.
• A demonstrated ability to build consensus and bring others along in service of a shared vision in a cross-functional environment with varying levels of understanding and expertise.
• A track record of innovation around digital storytelling and audience growth.
• Enthusiasm for ensuring the sustainability of local news, and an ability to collaborate with departments including product, technology and advertising - areas where our commercial and journalistic interests align.
• A positive attitude, and optimism that the best days for our organization are ahead.

As with most local news organizations, we know our future depends on our ability to grow and serve our digital subscribers. As a key member of our leadership team, this leader will be a critical voice in those efforts, both in the newsroom and across the company.

Key Responsibilities:

• Audience growth strategy: Responsible for developing and executing strategies that grow traffic and engagement across Star Tribune content key content areas and platforms.
• Cross-platform distribution: Ensure the effective distribution of content across multiple platforms, including social media, newsletters, homepage, and off-platform surfaces.
• Performance analysis and optimization: Establish and monitor key metrics for each channel to measure audience growth and engagement.
• Partnership and collaboration: Partner deeply across the newsroom and the broader organization-especially with Consumer Growth - to develop and manage strategic plans that are in harmony with The Minnesota Star Tribune's North Star goal of charting the future of local news through sustainable subscriber growth driven within a direct-to-consumer model.
• Team leadership and oversight: Foster collaboration across editorial, product, consumer marketing, and brand marketing teams to align content initiatives with audience growth objectives.

To Apply

Please submit your resume along with a letter or memo outlining a vision for how you would approach this role, including any ideas, priorities and questions you might have. We are committed to diversity and creating an inclusive newsroom, and we encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply.

More About the Minnesota Star Tribune:

At the Minnesota Star Tribune, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset, and we are committed to their happiness, growth, and well-being. Here's a snapshot of the exceptional benefits we offer:

• Modern downtown office: Enjoy a state-of-the-art workspace with a free fitness center, collaborative center, golf simulator, and a rooftop patio.
• Comprehensive benefits: Includes commuting subsidy, medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Wellness and work-life balance: Participate in our wellness program with financial incentives, generous paid time off, flexible holidays, one volunteer day, and two wellness days.
• Financial and family support: Benefit from a 401(k) with company match, paid parental and caregiving leave, hybrid work arrangements, and tuition reimbursement.
• Additional perks: Access to an employee assistance program, pet insurance, flexible spending accounts, and health savings accounts.

Honored in 2023 with Diversity MBA's inaugural Top 25 Outstanding Leadership and Diversity Impact Awards, we are proud of our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Even if you don't meet every single requirement for this role, we encourage you to apply. At the Minnesota Star Tribune, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.