News Audience Leader

The News Audience Leader at the Tampa Bay Times plays a primary role in connecting our award-winning journalism with the audiences who need it most. This person will lead efforts to grow our digital audiences across numerous platforms, connect further with users to keep them coming back to explore and engage with our content.

The person in this role will oversee our digital platforms — from tampabay.com to social media, newsletters, podcasts and video — and leverage data and audience insights to guide editorial decisions, shape digital content and enhance community ties. They will be a bridge between the newsroom and our audiences, ensuring that our journalism is accessible, resonant and relevant.

Please submit a resume, cover letter and include any pertinent work samples.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategy and planning: Develop and execute a future-proof digital engagement strategy across tampabay.com, newsletters, social media, dark social and emerging platforms, aligned with our mission to serve and inform Tampa Bay and Florida readers.
• Audience growth: Identify opportunities to grow our digital readership and convert casual readers into loyal subscribers and engaged users.
• Content optimization: Partner with editors, reporters and photographers to make our journalism stand out online through strong SEO, effective headlines, newsletters, video, audio, podcasts and other storytelling presentations.
• Data and insights: Use analytics tools like Marfeel, Google Analytics and Mather to track performance and guide strategic editorial and product decisions.
• Community engagement: Foster meaningful connections with our readers — moderating comments, facilitating conversations and organizing digital and in-person events that reflect the diverse voices of our region while cultivating sponsorships that can sustain our coverage.
• Leadership and training: Act as a digital evangelist in the newsroom, training staff on evolving best practices for reach, engagement and impact.
• Social media strategy: Expand our social media footprint with a sharp eye for news, audience trends and creative storytelling opportunities.
• Newsletter growth: Managing our suite of email newsletters, refining strategy, segmentation and performance to build habitual engagement with readers.
• Champion the user experience: Help lead efforts to refresh and enhance the way we present our news and content to readers, including building a more engaging user experience on tampabay.com and working with partners in the company to boost digital engagement.

Requirements

• Experience: 3-5 years of leading digital strategy or engagement efforts, ideally in a newsroom or media organization.
• Well-versed journalism ethics: Employ our newsroom ethics standards in promotion of content and digital applications, including AI.
• Digital fluency: Experience with CMS platforms like Arc, analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Marfeel, Mather), social media management tools and basic graphic/video editing tools (e.g., Canva).
• Leadership and collaboration: Proven ability to inspire, support and guide journalists in a fast-paced, deadline-driven newsroom while advancing a cohesive strategy for audience growth and monetization with marketing and business teams.
• Communication skills: Clear, persuasive communication style, with the ability to translate data and digital trends into actionable newsroom strategies.
• Adaptability: A curious and flexible mindset, always looking to test, learn and innovate in a rapidly changing media environment.

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Benefits for Full-Time Eligible Employees:

• Health coverage for you and your family through medical, dental and vision plans.
• 100% employer-paid short term and long-term disability.
• 100% employer-paid basic life insurance.
• Supplemental life insurance.
• Tax advantages through flexible spending accounts that allow you to pay for specific health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
• Tax-Deferred Savings Plan for retirement.
• A generous PTO program and much more...

Our organization is committed to building an inclusive newsroom that represents the vibrant and diverse communities we serve. We welcome qualified applicants of all races, ethnicities, physical abilities, genders and sexual orientations.

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