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Head of Social (Remote)

The New York Times· Creative Development
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Hybrid (United States/United Kingdom)$200k - $240kFull-timePosted 5mo ago

About the role

Senior leadership role to lead audience growth across social video, YouTube, podcasting, and creator-driven content; owns audience growth strategy, P&L, and team leadership to expand The Athletic’s social and video presence and convert audiences into subscribers.

Responsibilities

  • Own and drive audience growth goals across YouTube, podcasting, and social media platforms — with clear KPIs for follower growth, reach, views, and engagement.
  • Develop and execute platform-specific growth strategies that capitalize on algorithmic opportunities, cultural moments, and creator trends.
  • Identify whitespace opportunities in the sports media landscape and build plans to exploit them before the competition does.
  • Monitor audience analytics and platform signals to continuously refine strategy and stay ahead of shifts in social consumption behavior.
  • Lead a creator strategy, identifying the talent we work with, and the ideal models for partnership that works for the talent and The Athletic.
  • Champion a distinct, ownable off-platform voice for The Athletic; push creative boundaries to develop content formats that set us apart from legacy and digital-native competitors.
  • Partner with the Head Of Video to develop social video content strategies designed to scale audiences while reinforcing The Athletic brand.
  • Partner with the Head Of Series and Specials to develop strategies to grow audiences on YouTube and podcasting channels.
  • Stay obsessively current on platform trends, creator strategies, and cultural conversations to inform content ideation.
  • Build and grow The Athletic's creator ecosystem — identifying, developing, and managing relationships with external creators.
  • Develop programming strategies that create pathways to The Athletic's owned platforms.
  • Own the P&L associated with The Athletic's social handles and creator channels — managing budgets, revenue opportunities, and ROI across platforms.
  • Work with marketing, editorial, and product to develop social-to-platform conversion strategies that drive subscriber acquisition and retention.
  • Report regularly to senior leadership on performance, strategy, and resource needs with clear accountability for growth targets.
  • Lead, mentor, and develop a team of two Growth Leads, with potential to expand into Social Media Managers as the function scales.
  • Build a high-performance team culture grounded in creative ambition, analytical rigor, and a bias toward experimentation.
  • Define clear roles, workflows, and success metrics across the team to drive accountability and output quality.

Qualifications

  • 7–12 years of experience in digital media.
  • Proven track record of scaling social media audiences and YouTube channels at significant scale — ideally within sports, entertainment, or news media.
  • Deep platform fluency across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), and podcast platforms, with strong understanding of algorithms, formats, and monetization.
  • Experience managing or overseeing creator relationships and talent-driven social content.
  • Comfort owning a P&L and making budget decisions in a growth context.
  • Strong analytical skills — data-driven decisions with creative judgment.
  • Exceptional communicator who can align stakeholders, inspire a team, and present to leadership.
  • Genuine passion for sports, sports media, and the creator economy.

Skills

Required:Audience growth strategyPlatform fluencyCreator partnerships

Benefits

  • Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.
Last updated Oct 21, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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