Senior Vice President, Audience Development & Content Distribution

Responsibilities

• Drive Enterprise Content Planning: Build and manage the enterprise-wide content roadmap, aligning daily news flow, major investigative series, podcasts, newsletters, and special projects across all publishing platforms to optimize newsroom capacity and audience engagement.
• Execute Channel & Syndication Strategy: Oversee multi-platform distribution across owned digital properties (apps, web, newsletters) and third-party networks (search, social platforms, news aggregators, streaming platforms) while adapting to media consumption trends and algorithm shifts.
• Lead Ecosystem Relationships: Build, maintain, and expand long-term executive relationships with publishers, digital-native media outlets, radio/TV syndicators, and non-profit journalism networks.
• Optimize Audience Growth & Impact: Direct cross-functional initiatives with SEO, social media, and newsletter teams to boost discovery, retention, and measurable civic and journalistic impact.
• Architect Station Network Publishing: Design, govern, and scale the operational framework for network syndication, content sharing, joint reporting initiatives, and affiliate publishing across Member stations and affiliate newsrooms.
• Cultivate Member Relationships: Serve as the central executive partner to station managers, news directors, and affiliate leaders, establishing partner advisory cadences and service standards that deliver maximum strategic value to Member stations.
• Establish Impact & Performance Metrics: Partner with data and analytics teams to define network operational KPIs, content adoption metrics, and ROI frameworks, translating audience data into actionable strategic recommendations for editorial leadership.
• Modernize Publishing Workflows: Architect technology-enabled distribution workflows, enterprise CMS stacks, asset management repositories (DAM/MAM), and ethical AI tools designed for distributed network environments.
• Manage Budget & Executive Alignment: Oversee the content operations and distribution budget, manage strategic resource allocation, and collaborate with Legal, Product, Tech, and Revenue leadership to preserve brand safety and organizational alignment.

Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in media strategy, content operations, audience development, or network distribution—ideally within a major newsroom, public broadcasting network, or federated media alliance.
• Demonstrated expertise managing complex editorial calendars, media partner relationships, and multi-channel digital distribution mechanics (SEO, news aggregators, newsletters, social platforms, and streaming syndication).
• Proven experience designing, scaling, and managing complex affiliate syndication systems, content-sharing networks, or federated member-station alliances.
• Executive-level familiarity with enterprise publishing architecture, distributed CMS stacks, media asset management systems (MAM/DAM), and workflow automation.
• Exceptional executive presence with a track record of building consensus, inspiring collaboration, and aligning independent station partners and cross-functional leaders around shared strategic goals.
• Strong operational budget management experience with familiarity with network economics, membership models, or syndication structures.

Preferred

• Deep operational understanding of public radio, member-station governance, and federated media fundraising/licensing models.
• Direct experience evaluating and implementing ethical AI, automated distribution tools, or next-generation media delivery frameworks within distributed media environments.

Benefits

• NPR Benefits : NPR provides comprehensive benefits for employees and dependents. Regular, full-time employees scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week are eligible to enroll in NPR’s benefits options. Benefits include access to health and wellness, paid time off, and financial well-being. Plan options include medical, dental, vision, life/ accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability, short-term disability, and voluntary retirement savings to all eligible NPR employees.