Head of Data Communications

Whatnot; United States; Hybrid; USD 225,000 - 265,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Remote work options

Home office setup allowance

Cell phone & internet allowance

Parental leave

401k with company match

Job summary

Whatnot is hiring a Head of Data Communications to turn platform insights into compelling stories that shape culture and earn media coverage. You’ll own the research program, surface trends, and serve as the brand’s first economist and trends expert.

Reporting to Communications, you’ll work with data, product, and category teams, craft data-driven pitches, and become the go-to spokesperson for buyer/seller insights across consumer and live commerce media.

Qualifications

• 7-10+ years of PR, communications, economist or journalism experience.
• Strong track record in data storytelling and earned media programs.
• Excitement for AI tools across research, data analysis and day-to-day work.
• Experience working with media and editorial across outlets.

Responsibilities

• Own data storytelling and trend reports from concept to media-ready packaging.
• Surface insights using AI tooling, platform data, and buyer trends.
• Partner with data, product, and category teams to turn numbers into narratives.
• Build recurring content franchises (blog/newsletter) with original analysis.
• Serve as official spokesperson and build media credibility.

Skills

PR experience

Data storytelling

Communications

Writing skills

Tools

AI tools

Media relations tools

Job description

Join the Future of Commerce with Whatnot!

Whatnot is the largest live shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. Whether it’s trading cards, fashion, electronics, or live plants, our sellers are building real businesses across hundreds of categories. We're building live commerce at a scale that's never been done in the West, and there's no playbook to copy. The people here are shaping how an entirely new industry develops.

As a remote co-located team, we're inspired by our values and anchored in hubs across the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, Germany, and Australia. We move fast, stay close to our users, and focus on the work that drives the most impact.

We're one of the fastest growing marketplaces and were recently named the #1 Best Startup Employer in America by Forbes. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our news and engineering blogs and join us as we enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.

Role

As we pursue our mission to enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce, we're looking for a sharp, creative, and analytically-minded storyteller to join our Communications team.

As our first Head of Data Communications, you'll establish the foundation for how Whatnot uses its platform insights to shape culture, earn media coverage, and define the live shopping category. The scope is broad: from designing our research and trend report program to pitching stories that land in the outlets that matter most to our buyers, sellers, and the broader commerce conversation. This role will also be the main spokesperson for the insights, becoming Whatnot's first Economist and Trends Expert.

And here's what makes the data especially powerful: Whatnot's buyers aren't passive consumers -- they're culture carriers. Our sellers are at the forefront of a completely new way to sell. The people shopping and selling live on Whatnot are early adopters, collectors, and tastemakers who move before the mainstream catches on. Our platform data doesn't just reflect trends; it predicts them. This role is the person who sees that signal first and gets it in front of the world.

This is a high-visibility, high-impact role on our Communications team. The work you do here will directly shape how millions of people understand and talk about live shopping and Whatnot.

• Data Storytelling & Trend Reports
• Own the development of Whatnot's consumer research and trend report program, from concept and methodology through to media-ready packaging and launch
• Use AI tooling, platform data, seller behavior, and buyer trends to surface insights that are newsworthy, culturally relevant, and category-defining
• Partner closely with data, product, and category teams to identify stories hiding in the numbers and turn them into compelling narrative assets
• Build a cadence of trend moments -- seasonal, cultural, and category-specific -- that keep Whatnot in the media conversation year-round
• Build and own a recurring content franchise (blog, newsletter, or similar) that delivers original analysis on categories, seller economics, and the live commerce industry
• Earned Media Execution
• Shape story angles that are grounded in data and resonate with media and consumers
• Identify opportunities to insert Whatnot into broader cultural and industry conversations with data-backed POVs
• Develop press materials including pitch angles, backgrounders, and talking points anchored in research and insights
• Official Spokesperson
• Serve as an on-the-record spokesperson for Whatnot on consumer trends, category stories, and live shopping culture, representing the brand with press, on camera, and at events
• Translate platform data and buyer/seller insights into sharp, quotable narratives that position Whatnot as the definitive voice on what's trending and what's next
• Build and maintain credibility with journalists as a go-to expert source on consumer behavior, live commerce, and the communities that shop on Whatnot

We offer flexibility to work from home or from one of our global office hubs, and we value in-person time for planning, problem-solving, and connection. Team members in this role must live within commuting distance of our San Francisco, New York, Seattle, or Los Angeles hubs.

You

People who do well at Whatnot tend to be comfortable figuring things out as they go, biased toward action, and genuinely curious about what they're building. They care more about outcomes than credit and stay close to the product and the people using it.

As our Head of Data Communications, you should have 7-10+ years of experience, plus:

• 7-10+ years of PR, communications, economist or journalism experience, with a strong track record in communications and data storytelling
• Demonstrated experience developing and launching data-driven reports, trend studies, or research-backed earned media programsStrong analytical instincts: you're comfortable working with data sets and translating findings into narratives that resonate with press and consumers alike. You know what makes a compelling story and can identify newsworthy insights within data.
• Excitement for AI tools across research, data analysis and day-to-day work. You don't need to be an expert, but you're curious and want to get better.
• Experience working with media and editorial. Solid media relationships across consumer, lifestyle, and tech outlets, both traditional and new media are a huge plus.
• Exceptional writing skills: you can turn a data point into a headline and a trend into a story. Ability to translate data into clear, culturally relevant narratives that resonate with broad audiences
• Experience working in fast-paced, high-growth tech, marketplace, entertainment, or creator-driven companies
• Low ego, high output: you're as comfortable doing the work as you are shaping the strategy

Benefits

• Generous Holiday and Time off Policy
• Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision
• Work From Home Support
• Home office setup allowance
• Monthly allowance for cell phone and internet
• Care benefits
• Monthly allowance for wellness
• Annual allowance towards Childcare
• Lifetime benefit for family planning, such as adoption or fertility expenses
• Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally
• Monthly allowance to dogfood the app
• All Whatnauts are expected to develop a deep understanding of our product. We're passionate about building the best user experience, and all employees are expected to use Whatnot as both a buyer and a seller as part of their job (our dogfooding budget makes this fun and easy!).
• Parental Leave
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work *company leave allowances run concurrently with country leave requirements which take precedence.

EOE

Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.

Compensation Range: $225K - $265K