Membership Manager

AAJA24; North Carolina; Hybrid; USD 72,000 - 88,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off

Public holidays

401(k) plan

Job summary

NC Local is seeking an audience strategist to build our audience and establish a membership program from the ground up. You’ll collaborate with our newsroom, development and leadership teams to promote journalism and drive signups for newsletters and products.

The role leads marketing, CRM analytics and donor campaigns, shaping how North Carolinians come to know NC Local and sustain statewide journalism funding. A remote position with NC residency is expected.

Qualifications

• Experience building or growing a membership, subscription or individual giving program.
• Proven track record in donor campaigns and crafting compelling appeals.
• Data-driven with CRM and analytics experience to guide strategy.

Responsibilities

• Drive awareness of NC Local through a statewide audience-building plan.
• Define and run the membership program end-to-end, from welcome to renewal.
• Grow newsletter subscribers and convert readers to supporters.
• Lead donor campaigns and segment journeys with measurable impact.
• Collaborate across newsroom, development and leadership teams.

Skills

Membership program development

CRM analytics

Audience development

Email marketing

Fundraising campaigns

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

CRM systems

CMS

Email platforms

Analytics tools

Paid social

Job description

• Reports to: Community Engagement Director
• Salary: Starting at $80,000

About NC Local

NC Local is a statewide nonprofit newsroom on a mission to connect North Carolinians to the issues shaping their lives. We make complex state issues understandable and useful, hold public institutions accountable, and help communities become more informed and civically engaged.

We started our journey by asking people across North Carolina what news and information they needed most. Since launching in fall 2025, we've surfaced stories no one else was covering, brought communities together around critical issues at events, and built partnerships with newsrooms and other organizations across the state. We've also secured investments from major philanthropic institutions and a growing base of donors who see NC Local's vision and path to scale.

Now we're growing our team to reach our next level of impact. This role will shape the strategy that carries NC Local from its launch year to a sustainable organization that serves every part of this state. It's an opportunity to join a well-backed startup and help a dedicated team shape it into an enduring statewide institution.

Position Overview

NC Local is seeking a skilled audience strategist to develop our audience and build a membership program from the ground up. As a new brand, NC Local is on a fast-paced path to developing a loyal audience for our journalism, regional newsletters and across our growing partnership network. Our readers appreciate our work and are sending recurring donations. Now, it’s time to develop a membership program that charts pathways from reader to supporter.

You’ll also own how North Carolinians come to know NC Local in the first place. Working closely with our digital engagement producer and other team members, this role promotes our journalism and the NC Local brand and drives initiatives that attract signups for our email newsletters and other products.

The work runs from the top of the funnel to the bottom. You’ll grow the audience through marketing and digital tools, study what the data and the CRM tells you about who’s ready to give, and run the campaigns that ask them for their support.

NC Local has ambitious yet achievable targets for membership revenue, and this role will design and lead the program that gets us there. This is a role for someone who’s comfortable with a blank page and wants to own something end to end, while working collaboratively and cross-functionally with colleagues on the newsroom and development teams and with executive leadership.

What you’ll do

Drive awareness of NC Local

• Build and run a marketing strategy that grows awareness of NC Local across the state, including in counties where people currently meet our journalism through a partner outlet.
• Market membership as a key NC Local initiative, managing landing pages, campaign creatives, paid and organic promotion, and messaging for the case for supporting NC Local’s statewide journalism.
• Maintain a marketing campaign calendar that connects product launches, coverage moments and giving campaigns.
• Look for co-marketing opportunities with partner newsrooms, community organizations and events.

Build and lead the membership program

• Define the membership offerings: tiers, benefits and incentives
• Design the end-to-end member experience, from welcome series through renewal.
• Develop and manage member benefits, such as events, premium newsletters, behind-the-scenes briefings and other incentives.
• Set up the systems, tools and workflows to run the program.
• Serve as the primary point person for member inquiries, trouble-shooting and other questions.

Grow and convert the audience

• Grow newsletter subscribers using approaches specific to the product.
• Use digital tools to turn anonymous readers into known contacts — call-outs, sign-up prompts, surveys, guides and other resources.
• Analyze the CRM and analytics together to segment audiences by engagement level and to tailor campaigns and identify who’s ready to convert.
• Build direct relationships with people who encounter our journalism across all platforms and products — our site, our newsletters, our events and our social media — and create engagement and conversion opportunities.

Manage individual giving campaigns

• Execute fundraising campaigns to increase donor acquisition, retention and upgrades.
• Manage year-end campaigns toward specific goals.
• Lead, write and manage donor campaigns via email and other platforms.
• Manage campaign segmentation and user journeys, utilizing existing systems and recommending new tools.
• Partner with the Development Director and other colleagues to increase gifts from donors.
• Use data to guide strategy and track metrics that matter.
• Steward donors with timely communication and gratitude for gifts.

Work across the organization

• Partner closely with the Digital Engagement Producer, Editorial Director and Community Engagement Director to ensure that content promotion and organizational marketing reinforce each other.
• Work with the Development Director on the handoff between membership and major gifts.
• Help colleagues, board members and partners talk about membership consistently.
• Contribute to the planning and execution of NC Local community listening, storytelling and other events for members.
• Represent NC Local in communities across the state.

Commitment to diversity and inclusivity

NC Local is building an inclusive team that represents the diversity and multifaceted nature of our state across geography, demographics, culture and other lived experiences. We welcome talented individuals from all backgrounds who bring curiosity, dedication and a drive to succeed. If you’re interested in this role but don’t meet every listed criteria, we encourage you to apply anyway. We are looking for people who want to grow, contribute and make an impact.

What you bring to the organization

• You have experience building or substantially growing a membership, subscription or individual giving program.
• You’ve run individual giving campaigns that generated donations, and you know how to craft the messaging and appeals that draw support.
• You’re comfortable working with data: you work a CRM, form a hypothesis about who’s ready to give, test it and adjust.
• You are a creative thinker who can design a program, test what works and iterate as needed.
• You have an appreciation for local news and can explain why local journalism matters and why people should support it.
• You have skills in marketing, audience development or related roles that drive an audience.
• You’re a cross-functional collaborator and can succeed in an entrepreneurial environment.
• You have familiarity with CRMs, email platforms, CMS, analytics, paid social media and other tech.
• You have a willingness to work independently in an early-stage organization and help build systems and processes that don’t yet exist.

We know strong candidates won’t check every box. If this describes the work you want to do, tell us about yourself.

NC Local is a remote organization and candidates must live in or relocate to North Carolina.This is a salaried, full time position. The starting salary for this position is $80,000, with the possibility of a higher level for the most experienced and qualified candidates. This position is funded with support from the American Journalism Project. Employees can participate in an employer-sponsored health insurance plan, including vision and dental coverage; paid time off and holidays in accordance with NC Local policy; and a 401(k) plan.