Director of Audience and Membership

Prison Journalism Project; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

36-hour four-day work week

Health, dental and vision insurance

401K

Paid vacation + US holidays

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

Prison Journalism Project seeks a Director of Audience and Membership to help our stories reach new readers, deepen relationships with supporters, and grow a sustainable revenue stream.

You will lead audience development, email strategy, social distribution, and events, collaborating with leadership to turn readers into members and donors while maintaining our commitment to diverse, mission-driven reporting.

Qualifications

• Experience leading audience growth and distribution strategy in journalism or mission-driven media.
• History of growing membership or reader revenue and ability to ask for support.
• Project management experience leading cross-functional work from planning through execution.
• Experience with donor CRM and fundraising platforms such as Bloomerang or Givebutter.
• Editorial judgment balancing audience growth with mission, integrity and revenue goals.

Responsibilities

• Set audience and engagement strategy with clear metrics and milestones.
• Own newsletters and email strategy, driving subscriber growth and conversions.
• Own social media and content distribution across platforms.
• Produce quarterly virtual audience events and manage calendar.
• Use data and audience research to inform journalism and products.
• Lead the audience-to-donor pipeline and membership revenue targets.

Skills

Audience growth

Distribution strategy

Membership growth

Project management

Data-driven decisions

Editorial judgment

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Bloomerang

Givebutter

Job description

PJP is looking for a Director of Audience and Membership to help our stories reach new readers, deepen relationships with existing ones, and turn that growing audience into a community of loyal members and supporters.This role will help us build the audience and revenue we need to grow PJP sustainably and bring the work of incarcerated writers to more people.

The Director of Audience and Membership will lead PJP’s audience, engagement and membership strategy, using data and experimentation to better understand and serve our readers. They will also strengthen PJP’s role as a trusted convener, using events and other strategies to build stronger connections among our work, our audiences and our fundraising.

This isn’t a solo or siloed position. During our four-day work week, you will manage an audience engagement fellow and contractors, and collaborate with the director of philanthropy, the product editor and others throughout the organization.

We are especially interested in candidates with audience, membership and product strategy experience from nonprofit and mission-driven media or organizations doing narrative work.

Key Responsibilities

Set audience and engagement strategy.Develop PJP’s audience and engagement strategy with clear metrics and milestones.Build a strong understanding of PJP’s audiences, including people impacted by incarceration and people who care about incarceration, and use that understanding to shape how PJP reaches and serves them.

Own newsletters and email strategy.Drive subscriber growth, engagement and conversion to members and donors. Build segmentation and testing strategies that make email one of our strongest channels.

Own social media and content distribution strategy.Ensure our social channels (Instagram, Bluesky, LinkedIn, YouTube and Reddit) are expanding our reach and strengthening our relationships with audiences. Experiment with a wide array of formats, including static posts, graphics, short- and long-form video, audio and creator partnerships. Build distribution plans for major stories, editorial projects, partnerships and organizational initiatives.

Produce quarterly virtual audience events.PJP currently runs a couple of audience events a year, and we are looking to increase their frequency based on the popularity of past events. The Director of Audience and Membership will build an annual event calendar, identify topics and formats, and oversee promotion and execution in collaboration with the CEO and the editorial team.

Use data and audience research to strengthen PJP’s journalism and products.Identify patterns in what audiences read, share and respond to, and turn those patterns into clear recommendations.

Own PJP’s membership program and lead the audience-to-donor pipeline.Build and run the path from casual reader to repeat reader to member to renewing supporter. Set the annual membership revenue target with the CEO and Director of Philanthropy and meet that number. Identify and qualify prospects who show major gift capacity and connect them to the Director of Philanthropy for cultivation.

Key Authorities

• Audience and membership strategy, KPIs and related tracking
• Membership revenue target and small-dollar donor retention
• Solicitation, renewal and stewardship of membership-level gifts, up to $1,000 per gift
• Audience event and convening strategy
• Qualification and handoff of major-donor prospects to Development

Year One Success Measures

In your first year, success will mean growing and engaging our newsletter audience, increasing the number of PJP members and membership revenue while maintaining strong retention, and improving the rate at which readers become members. You will also launch a quarterly events program that brings our community together and drives continued engagement after each event.

Role-Based Skills and Experience

• Experience leading audience growth and distribution strategy, ideally in journalism or mission-driven media
• Experience growing membership or reader revenue and comfortable making an ask by phone or in person, not just online
• Project management experience leading cross-functional work from planning through execution
• Experience with donor CRM and fundraising platforms such as Bloomerang or Givebutter
• Editorial judgment to balance audience growth with mission, integrity and revenue goals

Equal Opportunity

PJP is an equal opportunity employer committed to an environment where people of all identities are welcomed, valued and supported. We seek to create an organization with diverse voices and experiences that are representative of our society and the communities we serve. Harassment and discrimination in the workplace is not tolerated. We are committed to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion within our workplace and encourage all qualified applicants to apply. We promote a climate of mutual respect.

Salary & Benefits

• 36-hour four-day work week
• Three weeks paid vacation to start, plus all US holidays, four org-wide days off at year-end (typically a week off total), and three org-wide days off around Fourth of July.
• Health, dental and vision insurance
• 401K