Strategy & Ventures Lead

Francisco Partners; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

NewsBreak is seeking a Strategy & Ventures Lead to bring operating and investment discipline to its core business and two AI initiatives, NDot AI and Nearby AI, plus NexBreak Ventures. You will shape strategy, run BizOps, and build financial models to guide resource allocation and decisions.

Ideal candidates have 3–5 years in top-tier advisory or corporate development, strong financial modeling, and hands-on data skills (SQL).

Qualifications

• 3–5 years in top-tier investment banking, management consulting, corporate development, or strategy with technology exposure.
• Strong financial modeling: business cases, market sizing, unit economics and valuation.
• Hands-on data skills: SQL and large datasets to test assumptions.
• Structured problem solving and clear executive communication; translate questions into recommendations.
• Commercial judgment with ability to influence across functions.
• Curious, proactive and low-ego; able to discuss strategy with leadership and analyze customer cohorts.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate NDot AI and Nearby AI on strategy, product-market fit, progress, team, resourcing and unit economics.
• Analyze growth, funnels, retention and monetization directly in data systems to guide strategy and operating decisions.
• Build business cases and financial models that inform resource allocation and accelerate/continue/pivot/stop decisions.
• Set KPIs, milestones and stage gates, and track performance against the original investment case.
• Run regular business reviews with initiative leaders and help identify execution gaps and resourcing needs.
• Help build an active corporate venture platform from the ground up; develop investment theses, source opportunities and lead diligence.
• Define value beyond capital: distribution, AI/tech, monetization, data and partnerships.
• Monitor portfolio companies and build a portfolio-support playbook.

Skills

Financial modeling

SQL

Data analysis

Executive communication

Cross-functional influence

Tools

Hive

Spark

Python

Job description

About NewsBreak

Founded in 2015, NewsBreak is the Content Intelligence platform shaping the future content economy. With over 40 million monthly active users, our flagship platform delivers highly personalized local news and information powered by advanced AI, recommendation systems, and adtech.

Recognized by Fast Company as #32 on the Top Workplaces for Innovators, we're proud to be Great Place to Work® certified and home to a dynamic team of technologists, product innovators, and business leaders who are passionate about solving meaningful challenges at scale.

Together, we reached unicorn status in 2021, and we remain committed to continuing this high-growth trajectory with the right team to fulfill our mission: building the infrastructure layer for content intelligence.

If you’re inspired to dream big, innovate fast, and make a difference, we’d love to hear from you! For more information, visit www.newsbreak.com/about

The Role

We're looking for a Strategy & Ventures Lead to bring operating and investment discipline to NewsBreak's core business, our two new AI initiatives, and NexBreak Ventures. The initiatives are NDot AI, an AI growth platform for publishers, short-drama producers and other content creators, and Nearby AI, a local-intent marketplace. NexBreak Ventures is our new corporate venture arm: it invests in startups and helps them grow with NewsBreak's distribution, data, AI and monetization expertise.

What You'll Do

Strategy, BizOps & Analytics

• Evaluate NDot AI and Nearby AI on strategy, product-market fit, progress, team, resourcing and unit economics
• Analyze growth, funnels, retention and monetization directly in our data systems (SQL / Hive / Spark) to guide strategy and operating decisions
• Build business cases and financial models that inform resource allocation and accelerate / continue / pivot / stop decisions
• Set KPIs, milestones and stage gates, and track performance against the original investment case
• Run regular business reviews with initiative leaders and help them find execution gaps and resourcing needs

NexBreak Ventures

• Help build an active corporate venture platform from the ground up
• Develop investment theses, source opportunities, lead diligence, model valuation and returns, and make investment recommendations
• Define how NewsBreak adds value beyond capital: distribution, AI/technology, monetization, data, operating expertise and partnerships
• Support and monitor portfolio companies after investment, including building a portfolio-support playbook

Corporate Development (Build / Partner / Buy)

• Assess build, partner, invest and acquire options, and strategic transactions as they come up

What You'll Bring

• 3–5 years in top-tier investment banking, management consulting, corporate development, or strategy/BizOps, with meaningful exposure to technology
• Strong financial modeling skills: business cases, market sizing, unit economics and valuation
• Hands‑on data skills: comfortable writing SQL and working with large datasets to test assumptions yourself
• Structured problem solving and clear executive communication; you turn ambiguous questions into clear recommendations
• Commercial judgment and a willingness to challenge constructively, plus the ability to influence across functions
• Curious, proactive and low‑ego; equally comfortable discussing strategy with leadership and digging into customer cohorts

Nice to Have

• Experience with Hive, Spark or Python; cohort analysis and experimentation
• Corporate venture, VC or growth equity experience, including sourcing and diligence
• M&A modeling or tech corporate development experience
• Background in marketplaces, consumer internet, media/adtech or AI
• Empathy for founders and a strong network for sourcing deals

The US base salary range for this full-time position is listed below. Pay may vary based on a number of factors including job‑related skills, level, experience, geographic location and relevant education or training. At NewsBreak, we design our overall rewards package to attract top talents. Depending on the position, the role may also be eligible for discretionary bonus and options. Your recruiter can share more details during the hiring process.

Annual Base Pay Range

$180,000 — $240,000 USD

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