Managing Editorial Director, Newsletters

A leading digital news and media company is seeking a Managing Editorial Director, Newsletters to lead the strategy, editorial development, execution, and growth of its newsletter portfolio. This senior editorial leader will be responsible for building a differentiated, high-performing newsletter business that deepens audience relationships, drives habitual engagement, expands first-party audience data, and creates opportunities for subscription growth and monetization.

Combining exceptional editorial judgment with a sophisticated understanding of digital audience behavior, newsletter strategy, and performance analytics, the Managing Editorial Director will oversee the development of compelling newsletter products that reflect the distinct voices, editorial strengths, and audience opportunities across the company's digital properties.

The role will partner closely with newsroom leadership, editors, reporters, audience engagement, product, technology, marketing, and commercial teams to identify growth opportunities, optimize performance, and establish newsletters as a core component of the company's audience development and revenue strategy.

The ideal candidate is an innovative, business minded editorial leader who understands how to translate strong journalism, distinctive personalities, exclusive reporting, and timely content into essential, recurring reader experiences that build loyalty and deliver measurable business results.

Note: This position is based in New York City and requires an on-site, in-office presence.

Key Responsibilities:

Newsletter Strategy & Portfolio Development

• Develop and execute a comprehensive newsletter strategy aligned with editorial priorities, audience growth objectives, and commercial goals.
• Lead the development, positioning, and evolution of the newsletter portfolio across the company's digital brands, identifying opportunities to launch new products, strengthen existing offerings, and respond to emerging audience interests.
• Establish a clear editorial vision, differentiated value proposition, and target audience for each newsletter.
• Identify opportunities to leverage the company's journalism, columnists, personalities, franchises, and subject-matter expertise to create distinctive newsletter products.
• Build a portfolio strategy that balances broad-reach newsletters with targeted products serving high-value audience segments and specialized interests.

Editorial Leadership & Content Development

• Oversee newsletter editorial planning, programming, production, and quality standards, ensuring content is timely, compelling, accurate, and consistent with each brand's voice.
• Partner with editors, reporters, columnists, and newsroom leadership to translate daily coverage, exclusive reporting, breaking news, and original storytelling into engaging newsletter experiences.
• Establish editorial calendars, production workflows, publishing standards, and quality-control processes that ensure consistency, timeliness, and editorial excellence.
• Champion distinctive formats, compelling subject lines and headlines, personalization, and editorial storytelling that drive opens, clicks, and repeat engagement.
• Ensure newsletters deliver a clear editorial value proposition beyond repackaging existing website content, giving readers a compelling reason to subscribe and return.
• Uphold editorial standards, fact-checking practices, brand integrity, and company policies.

Audience Growth & Subscriber Acquisition

• Develop and execute strategies to grow newsletter reach, subscriptions, and active readership across the company's digital properties.
• Partner with audience engagement and marketing leadership to integrate newsletter acquisition into the broader audience development strategy.
• Identify opportunities to convert website visitors, app users, social audiences, and other readers into newsletter subscribers.
• Drive subscriber acquisition through on-site promotion, editorial integration, registration opportunities, cross-promotion, partnerships, and other distribution channels.
• Develop effective subscriber onboarding and activation journeys that communicate each newsletter's value and establish consistent reading habits.
• Implement strategies to improve subscriber retention, reduce churn, and reactivate inactive subscribers.

Performance Analytics & Optimization

• Establish performance metrics and reporting processes to evaluate individual newsletters and the overall portfolio.
• Monitor key performance indicators, including subscriber growth, delivery volume, open rates, click-through rates, engagement, unsubscribe rates, retention, and conversion.
• Use audience insights, testing, and performance trends to optimi