Audience Development - Events (Contract)

Who we are

Semafor is a global news platform for an increasingly complex world in which consumers are overwhelmed by too many news sources and unsure what to trust. We are building Semafor to enable world-class journalists to deliver reporting and insights with rigor in journalistic forms that ensure a new level of transparency. Our editors and reporters distill the most important stories from all over in formats that uncover the forces shaping the stories, explain the interests behind polarizing narratives, and replenish the stock of shared facts. As a global platform, Semafor recognizes that smart people can disagree and that informed readers need to understand alternative points of view from competing centers of power and culture in a multi-polar world. Want to join us? Read on. 

About this Role 

Semafor is seeking an experienced Contract Audience Developer to support audience development and event execution for Semafor World Economy, our flagship global convening in Washington, D.C.

This role will take end-to-end responsibility for audience development across assigned events and programming, from initial audience strategy and list building through invitations, registration, attendee communications, and on-site readiness.

The successful candidate will combine strong audience judgment with hands-on operational capabilities, ensuring that each event attracts the right mix of attendees, meets its participation targets, and delivers a seamless attendee experience.

Key Responsibilities

Audience Strategy & Curation

• Develop and execute audience acquisition plans for assigned Semafor World Economy events.
• Build and curate targeted invitation lists using Semafor's internal databases and other relevant sources.
• Translate event briefs into clear audience criteria, including seniority, industry, organizational relevance, and desired audience composition.
• Work with internal stakeholders to align audience recruitment with editorial priorities, event objectives, and partner commitments where applicable.

Audience Acquisition & Communications

• Draft compelling invitation copy, registration messaging, reminders, and other attendee communications.
• Coordinate with the design team on the development and deployment of event invitations and associated creative assets.
• Manage invitation distribution, personalized outreach, follow-ups, and attendee communications.
• Track audience acquisition performance and proactively adjust outreach strategies to meet targets.

Event Website & Registration Management

• Manage event website content, registration pages, and RSVP workflows for assigned events.
• Ensure all event information, registration details, speaker content, and attendee-facing materials are accurate and current.
• Maintain accurate registration data and manage attendee status changes, cancellations, and waitlists.
• Coordinate with relevant teams to troubleshoot registration issues and ensure a seamless attendee experience.

Capacity & Audience Management

• Own RSVP tracking and audience reporting for assigned events.
• Manage registration pipelines against venue capacity, attendance projections, and audience composition targets.
• Monitor not only the volume of registrations but also the quality and relevance of confirmed attendees against the event brief.
• Identify audience gaps and proactively recruit additional participants to maintain the desired balance.
• Manage oversubscription, waitlists, and last-minute attendance changes.

Cross-Functional Event Delivery

• Work closely with Editorial, Events, Design, Partnerships, and Audience Development teams throughout the event lifecycle.
• Maintain clear internal reporting on audience recruitment, registration progress, and operational readiness.
• Prepare final attendee lists, event briefings, and handoff materials for on-site teams.
• Support event execution, attendee management, and post-event reporting as required.

Ideal Experience & Skills

• Strong experience in audience development, event marketing, or attendee acquisition for high-profile business events.
• Demonstrated ability to manage event audience development from initial planning through execution.
• Excellent judgment in curating senior executive and business audiences.
• Strong copywriting skills, with experience developing professional event invitations and communications.
• Proficiency with CRM systems, event registration platforms, spreadsheets, and website content management tools.
• Ability to manage registration pipelines, capacity targets, and multiple simultaneous deadlines.
• Highly organized, resourceful, and comfortable taking ownership in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience working across editorial, commercial, marketing, and event operations teams.

Additional Job Details

This position is ideally based out of either our New York, NY or Washington, D.C. offices, but we are open to remote candidates outside either region.

Compensation; Flat weekly rate of $1,800.

Additional job details

Semafor offers a Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) policy to our full-time, salaried employees who may take paid time off as-needed without a prescribed limit or defined balance.

Semafor, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and enthusiastically encourages people from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. Semafor, Inc. will consider all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.