Head of Social & Audience Development

The Drum Network Awards; Miami (FL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The Drum seeks a Head of Social, Audience & Influence to lead global social strategy and audience growth. You will oversee LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, newsletters and emerging platforms, shaping how journalism, events and commercial initiatives reach and engage audiences.

You will combine strategic thinking with hands-on social expertise and an editorial instinct to build influence across a global audience. This is a senior, highly visible role across editorial, events and brand strategy.

Qualifications

• 7+ years leading social media or digital influence strategies.
• Proven experience growing multi-platform audiences.
• Strong knowledge of LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok and emerging platforms.
• Excellent stakeholder management and strategic communication.

Responsibilities

• Develop and own global social and audience strategy.
• Define influence across LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, X and newsletters.
• Establish objectives, KPIs and growth plans per platform.
• Lead governance and best practices across the organisation.
• Create scalable reporting for audience growth and influence.
• Develop social-first content formats and franchises.
• Collaborate with editorial to identify stories with social potential.
• Position editors and senior leaders as industry voices.
• Support distribution for major campaigns and events.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Audience growth

Social leadership

Content franchises

Editorial instinct

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing

Tools

LinkedIn

YouTube

TikTok

X

Newsletters

Job description

Overview of The Drum

The Drum is evolving from a traditional publishing business into a global media, events and intelligence company connecting the world’s marketing leaders through journalism, experiencesand community.

As the marketing industry undergoes profound disruption driven by AI, changing media consumption and new forms of influence, The Drum is building a more audience-first and socially driven business, where journalism, events, video, rankings, intelligence and commercial partnerships work together to build influence and engagement.

Social platforms are no longer simply distribution channels. They are increasingly where audiences discover brands, consume content and build professional communities.

Our ambition is simple: to become the most influential social brand serving the global marketing industry.This role will be central to that transformation.

The Role

As Head of Social, Audience & Influence, you willbe responsible formaking The Drum one of the world’s most influential media brands for marketers.

You will own The Drum’s social strategy, audiencegrowthand platform presence globally, ensuring our journalism, events, awards, intelligenceproductsand commercial initiatives consistently reach and engage the right audiences.

This is a highly visible leadership role sitting at the intersection of editorial, content, events, commercial and brand strategy.

You will lead how The Drum shows up across LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok,newslettersand emerging platforms, helping transform the business into a truly social-first organisation where audience growth and influence are built into everything we do.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to redefine how a global media brand builds influence in the modern marketing landscape.

You will shape how audiences discover The Drum, engage with ourjournalismandparticipatein our communities.

You will create the frameworks, formats and culture that enable The Drum to become a must-follow brand for marketers globally.

The successful candidate will combine strategic thinking with hands-on socialexpertise, strong editorialinstinctsand a deep understanding of how influence is built in modern media.

Key Responsibilities

Social & Influence Strategy

• Develop and own The Drum’s global social and audience strategy.

• Define how The Drum builds influence across LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, X,newslettersand emerging platforms.

• Establish clearobjectives, KPIs and growth plans for each platform.

• Identifynew opportunities for audience growth,engagementand brand visibility.

• Ensure social and audience thinking informs business strategy across editorial, events and commercial activities.

Social Media Leadership

• Own The Drum’s organic social media strategy globally.

• Build The Drum into one of the most influential social brands within marketing and media.

• Establish governance, publishingstandardsand platform best practice across the organisation.

• Lead experimentation with new formats,technologiesand emerging platforms.

• Create scalable reporting frameworks that measure both audience growth and influence.

Social-First Content & Franchise Development

• Develop repeatable social-first content franchises and editorial formats.

• Identifyopportunities to create recurring shows, videoseriesand platform-native content properties.

• Ensure major editorial initiatives are designed for social impact from the outset.

• Build systems that maximise the value and lifecycle of all content investments.

• Partner with editorial teams toidentifystories and formats with strong social potential.

Thought Leadership & Creator Strategy

• Develop strategies that increase the visibility and influence of The Drum’s editors,journalistsand senior leaders.

• Build frameworks that encourage internal participation and thought leadership.

• Support senior stakeholders in building professional influence across key platforms.

• Identifyopportunities to collaborate with creators, industryvoicesand external communities.

• Help position The Drum and its people as essential voices within the global marketing industry.

Video & Multimedia Growth

• Develop a social-first video strategy across all platforms.

• Partner with editorial and production teams to create scalable video formats.

• Ensure all multimedia content is designed with audience behaviour and platform consumption habits in mind.

• Integrate podcasts, documentaries, short-formvideoand live content into wider audience strategies.

• Drive the growth of video audiences and engagement.

Audience Development & Distribution

• Build repeatable distribution frameworks for major editorial campaigns,eventsand industry moments.

• Ensure audience planning becomes an integral part of editorial commissioning and business planning.

• Create systems that maximise reach across owned and third-party platforms.

• Monitor audience insights and performance data to continually improve strategy.

• Champion intelligent content repurposing and cross-platform distribution.

Business-Wide Audience Leadership

• Partner closely with Editorial, Events, Awards, Commercial and Marketing teams.

• Ensure audience and influenceobjectivesare embedded across the business.

• Support the promotion of major events,awardsand proprietary initiatives.

• Develop practical frameworks that allow all teams to contribute to audience growth.

• Build a culture where audience thinking is everyone’s responsibility whilemaintainingclear ownership of social strategy and performance.

Commercial Audience Strategy

• Support commercial teams indemonstratingThe Drum’s audience and influence capabilities.

• Develop audience strategies for branded content and commercial partnerships.

• Help partners maximise value from their relationships with The Drum.

• Identifyopportunities to create socially driven sponsorship and partnership products.

What Success Looks Like

• The Drum becomes one of the most influential social brands in global marketing.

• Significant growth across LinkedIn, YouTube,newslettersand emerging channels.

• Stronger audience engagement and increased brand visibility globally.

• Social-first thinking becomes embedded across the organisation.

• Major editorial initiatives consistently achieve greater reach and impact.

• Senior leaders and journalists become recognised voices within the industry.

• Video and social franchises become meaningful drivers of audience growth and commercial opportunity.

• Audience growth contributes directly to subscriptions, event attendance,partnershipsand business performance.

• Distribution and influence planning become core parts of business decision-making.

Why JoinTheDrum?

• Help shape the future of one of the world’s leading marketing media brands.

• Build a globally influential social and audience platform for marketers.

• Work across journalism, events, awards,intelligenceand commercial partnerships.

• Collaborate with some of the world’s leading brands, agencies,platformsand creators.

• Join a business undergoing significant transformation and international growth.

• Playa central rolein defining how influence is built in modern B2B media.

Required

• 7+ years’ experience leading social media, audiencegrowthor digital influence strategies.

• Proven success building audiences and engagement across multiple platforms.

• Deep understanding of LinkedIn, YouTube,TikTokand emerging social ecosystems.

• Strong understanding of platform algorithms, audiencebehaviourand content formats.

• Experience creating social-first content strategies and recurring content franchises.

• Strong analytical capability and experience using audience insights to inform decisions.

• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.

• Commercial awareness and understanding of how audience translates into business value.

• Excellent communication and leadership skills.

Preferred

• Experience within media, publishing,marketingor communications.

• Understanding of B2B audience development.

• Experience supporting executive thought leadership and personal brand development.

• Experience working across editorial, commercial and events teams.

• Understanding of creator economy trends and influencer ecosystems.

• Experience building social video strategies and multimedia audiences.

• 27 days PTO

• 401k retirement plan

• Company-wide discretionary bonus scheme based on business performance

• Enhanced family leave package

• x2 paid volunteering days a year

• Company-wide mentoring programme

• Employee referral bonus

• Company social events

• Hybrid working

• Early finish on Fridays

• Learning & Development fund/opportunities