Director of Audience Experimentation

Director, Audience Experimentation

Hearst Newspapers is seeking a Director of Audience Experimentation to help shape the future of our audience growth through experimentation of new formats, processes, products and tooling across our newsrooms.

This role is part of the Central Audience Strategy team and sits at the intersection of audience development, innovation and editorial. This role will be tasked with identifying opportunities to test new ideas, lock arms with audience leads in newsrooms and our Product and Hearst Newspapers DevHub teams to develop newsroom testing and implementation strategies for emerging tools and technologies, and then scale successful approaches across Hearst Newspapers. The Director will build a culture of experimentation by helping teams develop hypotheses, design measurable tests in collaboration with internal partners, monitor outcomes, ensure newsroom adoption and rapidly iterate based on audience behavior.

From testing new storytelling formats and engagement experiences to evaluating AI-powered workflows and audience technologies, the Director will help identify the next generation of practices that strengthen audience engagement, habit and retention. This role reports into the Senior Director of Engagement and New Content Initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead Hearst Newspapers' audience experimentation program, creating a consistent framework for testing new ideas across markets.
• Serve as the primary liaison between the Central Audience team and Product and DevHub teams to ensure experiments move efficiently from concept to implementation to scaled rollout.
• Partner with key stakeholders to identify and define success for new opportunities that improve audience engagement, loyalty, retention and sustainable growth.
• Translate strategic priorities into measurable hypotheses, experiment plans and success metrics in concert with Product partners.
• Strike highly collaborative relationships with newsroom partners to understand pain points and areas of opportunity.
• Evaluate the performance of experiments against audience goals and recommend whether initiatives should be expanded, refined or retired.
• Maintain a portfolio of ongoing audience experiments, balancing quick wins with longer-term strategic investments.
• Identify and manage "Acorns for Audience" opportunities - small, high-potential experiments that can grow into scalable audience capabilities.
• Manage relationships with audience tooling vendors that support editorial workflows and facilitate audience growth.
• Lead implementation, onboarding and training for new audience technologies and tools.
• Produce recurring reports and executive updates on experimentation progress, outcomes, learnings and future opportunities.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning by sharing best practices, experiment results and emerging industry trends throughout the organization.

Qualifications

Ideal candidates will demonstrate many of the following:

• Experience shaping digital audience strategy, newsroom innovation, product strategy or editorial operations.
• Strong understanding of audience development, engagement and retention strategies for digital news organizations.
• Ability to self manage and handle multiple projects and fast deadlines.
• Familiarity with experimentation methodologies including hypothesis development, success metrics and iterative testing.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative findings into actionable recommendations.
• Experience designing, managing or evaluating experiments using data to inform decision-making.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across multiple teams.
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills, with experience preparing updates for senior leadership.
• Curiosity about emerging audience behaviors, AI, automation and new digital storytelling formats.

Additional Information

• Sponsorship: This position does not provide immigration sponsorship. Applicants must have the right to work in the U.S. without immigration sponsorship.
• Accommodations: We are committed to an accessible application process. If you need an accommodation to apply, please contact hnpemployment@hearst.com. This email address is for accommodation requests only.

Benefits

We support our employees through personal and professional development and promote physical, financial and emotional wellbeing for employees and their families. Our benefits include:

• Physical Wellbeing: Medical, dental and vision coverage to help keep you and your family healthy.
• Invest in the Future: Competitive retirement plan with a matching program in most markets.
• Generous Paid Time Off: Ample time off, including holidays and vacation.
• Paid Parental Leave: Paid leave to support growing families and new parents.
• Monthly Child & Dependent Care Reimbursement: Financial support for the care of your loved ones.
• Emotional Wellbeing: Mental wellness benefits to support your emotional wellbeing.
• LGBTQ+ & Inclusive Health Services: Inclusive healthcare designed for individual needs.
• Fertility Coverage & Menopause Support: Support throughout different stages of your health and family journey.
• Pet Wellness Reimbursement & Rover Credits: Support to help keep your pets happy and healthy.
• And more: Learn more about additional benefits and details here.

Compensation

The base salary range below is the Company's good-faith estimate for this position in the posted work location at the time of posting. Final starting salary will be based on permissible, non-discriminatory factors, including but not limited to skills, experience, training, certifications, education, location and market considerations.

Base Salary Range:

$150,000 - $160,000 USD