Arena Careers

Deputy Director, Social Audience & Marketing

📍 Remote (U.S.-based) | 💼 Full-Time | 💰 $85,000 - $95,000

Reports to: VP, Social Media | Direct Reports: 3-4

Join COURIER Newsroom - an organization that drives journalism and empowers communities.

At COURIER Newsroom, we’re reinventing local media to inform and empower communities through impactful reporting. Our mission is rooted in civic engagement and equity—and we’re growing fast.

COURIER Newsroom is committed to building an inclusive workplace that values diverse perspectives and lived experiences. We strongly encourage women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ candidates, and those from all backgrounds to apply. As an equal opportunity employer, we strive to break down barriers and ensure every team member feels seen, heard, and supported.

Role Overview

The Deputy Director of Audience Conversion & Editorial Marketing drives social audience attention into measurable action while equipping reporters and editors with the strategy and tools to grow their own audiences. This role owns conversion strategy across COURIER's state social channels — turning attention into newsletter sign-ups, website visits, and first-party audience growth — and leads the development of CTAs that support civic impact and monetization.

A key function is serving as an internal marketing resource for editorial teams: translating coverage into subscriber growth opportunities and coaching journalists on audience retention. Working alongside the Deputy Director, Social Growth they will oversee day-to-day management of the state social team while ensuring every newsroom is operating with a clear, data-informed path to engagement and converting social audiences to owned audiences.

The ideal candidate is analytical and creative — someone who understands social audience behavior and can make marketing strategy accessible and actionable for journalists.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the strategy and performance of all social-to-owned conversion initiatives — including newsletter signups, website traffic, and other off-platform audience actions — identifying opportunities to move audiences from social platforms to deeper engagement with COURIER's journalism.
• Develop and refine conversion frameworks and CTA strategies that help state social media managers incorporate clear, platform-native, mission-aligned calls-to-action into daily publishing across all state social channels.
• Design, run, and analyze A/B tests across CTAs, subject lines, landing pages, and social content to continuously improve conversion performance.

Editorial Marketing

• Serve as an internal marketing resource for reporters, editors, and editorial leaders — helping them develop subscription and conversion strategies tailored to their beats, align coverage calendars with audience-growth moments, and translate editorial coverage into measurable audience impact.
• Coach newsroom staff on how to promote newsletters, grow subscriber bases, and measure the effect of their content on retention and conversion.

Impact Measurement

• Establish, track, and report on KPIs for conversion and growth initiatives across states, including newsletter growth, subscriber retention, audience participation, and civic engagement beyond social platforms.
• Provide regular insights to leadership on what content and strategies most effectively drive audience action.

Content Monetization & Scaling

• Support the development of Unified Content Monetization strategies, identifying opportunities where social content can drive revenue through audience growth, partnerships, or new monetization formats.
• Build clear frameworks and best practices that allow the social team to scale successful conversion strategies across multiple states.

Team Leadership

• Manage and develop a team of 3–4 direct reports, providing strategic direction, coaching, and performance oversight.
• Partner with the Deputy Director, XYZ to support and guide state social media producers across the network.

Experience & Skills

• 4–6 years in social media strategy, audience development, newsletter marketing, or digital media growth — with demonstrated success driving conversion from social platforms to owned properties (newsletters, websites); required
• Experience managing and developing a small team of direct reports

• Hands-on experience with email/newsletter platforms (Sailthru, Beehiiv, Mailchimp, or similar) and social scheduling/analytics tools (Sprout Social, Later, Buffer, or equivalent)
• Familiarity with conversational marketing or messenger automation tools (e.g., ManyChat)
• Demonstrated experience running A/B tests across CTAs, subject lines, landing pages, and social content

• Strong understanding of platform-native storytelling and audience behavior, with the ability to analyze performance data and translate insights into actionable strategies

• Skilled at making marketing strategy accessible to non-marketing audiences — including journalists and editors — and communicating clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders in a distributed environment

Mindset

• Highly collaborative, proactive, and adaptable in a fast-paced, startup-like environment.
• Excited about helping launch new state markets and building trust with local audiences.
• Creative, experimental, and data-driven, with a strong sense of platform culture and trends.
• Passionate about values-aligned storytelling and reaching audiences underserved by traditional media.

Courier Newsroom offers the following benefits:

• Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO), 11 paid holidays a year
• An Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Full suite of health benefits
• Flexible working arrangements

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