Audience Growth Lead, The Christian Science Monitor

Department:                  The Christian Science Monitor

SUMMARY

The Christian Science Monitor is a mission-driven international news organization undergoing a period of strategic renewal. Amid a rapidly changing media landscape, we are deepening our commitment to thoughtful, independent journalism while adapting to the opportunities and challenges of the AI era. This is an opportunity to help a distinctive organization shape how that journalism reaches and resonates with audiences around the world.

The Audience Growth Lead works with the newsroom as well as the product and promotions teams to grow and deepen The Christian Science Monitor’s audience through thoughtful, mission-aligned strategies that increase subscriptions, engagement, and loyalty.

As a key hub in newsroom operations, the role is pivotal in ensuring that Monitor journalism reaches the right audiences in the right ways. The Audience Growth Lead brings a disciplined, curious approach to understanding how readers discover, engage with, and return to our journalism—translating insights into clear actions that strengthen impact and sustainability.

This is a hands-on role that blends strategic thinking with direct execution. The Audience Growth Lead partners across the newsroom and business teams to improve performance through search (SEO, AEO, and GEO), newsletters, homepage strategy, and audience development initiatives. The role requires strong judgment, data fluency, and the ability to turn insight into practical steps that will drive growth.

The Audience Growth Lead approaches audience work with curiosity and open-mindedness. The incumbent prizes clarity, experimentation, and continual learning.They are also comfortable recognizing that, at the Monitor, success is not defined solely by numbers. We are inspired by our founder Mary Baker Eddy’s instruction to “injure no man, but to bless all mankind.”

MISSION AND CULTURE

The Audience Growth Lead is motivated by The Christian Science Monitor’s founding mission “to spread undivided the Science that operates unspent.” That includes hewing to our five operational guidelines:

• Bring a healing, purifying thought to many homes. We counteract cynicism about news and humanity by upholding a higher standard of both.
• Get above the fray. Because we’re owned by a church, we’re free from corporate and political interests.
• Cover the day’s vital global news. We provide a trustworthy and concise compilation for our thoughtful, busy readers.
• Investigate ideals and endeavors, not just events. We keep abreast of the times by recognizing key currents of thought and their impact.
• Be clean, family-friendly, and non-sensational. We are “a newspaper for the home.”

The Audience Lead embraces our newsroom’s three culture pillars:

• We’re scrappy. We seek creative solutions. We’re hungry and nimble. We experiment and streamline.
• We’re rigorous. We embrace others challenging our ideas and our writing. We strive for editorial excellence, and we help each other continually improve. We know that feedback is a gift.
• We have unwavering fidelity to our mission. We make our founding mission the basis for every decision and initiative.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Audience Lead is responsible for working with CSM senior management to drive audience growth and engagement through a combination of data-informed strategy, editorial partnership, and hands-on execution. The incumbent operates as an individual contributor, collaborating across teams to improve performance and build sustainable audience relationships.

Core responsibilities include: 

• Works with the Managing Publisher, editorial leaders, the analytics team and product partners to define and advance audience growth priorities, with a focus on subscription growth, engagement, and newsletter expansion.
• Leads day-to-day execution of audience strategies across key channels, including search (SEO), emerging generative search (GEO), newsletters, homepage, and distribution platforms.
• Partners directly with editors and writers to shape story framing, write and refine headlines, and optimize packaging to improve reach, engagement, and subscription conversion—while maintaining Monitor voice and sensitivities.
• Excels at partnering with teams across the organization, particularly analytics and marketing/promotions, to drive maximum impact.
• Leads SEO strategy and execution, including keyword identification, headline optimization, and ongoing refinement of content to improve search visibility and performance.
• Identifies opportunities to grow subscription conversion and reader loyalty through content strategy, user journeys, and audience insights.
• Collaborates with analytics partners to interpret audience data, define success metrics, and translate insights into actionable recommendations.
• Effectively prioritizes across multiple channels and initiatives, balancing impact, urgency, and available resources.
• Tracks performance across key initiatives and communicates clear, concise updates to stakeholders.
• Supports the development and expansion of newsletters as a core driver of engagement and retention.
• Monitors trends in audience behavior, search, and platform dynamics, and adapts strategies accordingly.
• Tests and iterates on new approaches to reach and engage audiences, balancing experimentation with practical results.
• Ensures audience strategies directly support the Monitor’s mission, editorial standards, and non-sensational approach.

STAFF MANAGEMENT AND JOB CONTACTS

Reporting Relationships

Supervisor: Managing Publisher

Regular Contacts: Has regular contact with newsroom staff and the analytics team, as well as the product and promotions teams.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Education/Experience

• A Bachelor’s degree is required.
• At least 7–10 years of experience in audience development, digital strategy, SEO, analytics, or related work—preferably within mission-driven media organizations.

Knowledge and skills

• Demonstrates strong understanding of audience growth levers, including SEO, AEO, GEO, newsletters, engagement strategies, and subscription funnels.
• Demonstrates strong headline writing and story packaging skills, with the ability to balance clarity, accuracy, and audience engagement.
• Excels at partnering with teams across the organization and adapting their style as needed, while consistently staying focused on customer needs and clear communication across stakeholders.
• Deep understanding of SEO as an editorial practice, including keyword strategy, search intent, and how content structure impacts discoverability.
• Uses AI tools effectively to enhance workflows across analysis, content optimization, and execution, with a willingness to experiment and adapt as tools evolve.
• Familiarity with evolving search dynamics, including generative search (GEO) and platform-driven discovery.
• Comfortable working with data and analytics tools; able to interpret performance and translate insights into action.
• Strong editorial judgment and understanding of how journalism connects with audiences.
• Effectively communicates information and ideas, both in writing and orally.
• Responds quickly to colleagues and stakeholders, facilitating efficient decision-making and progress.
• Works calmly and effectively under deadline pressure.
• Possesses strong organizational and problem-solving skills with attention to detail and follow-through.

Technology Skills

• Experience with analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Chartbeat, Parse.ly or similar) and ability to interpret performance data to inform decisions.
• Familiarity with SEO tools (e.g., Google Search Console, keyword tools) and understanding of search and discovery systems.
• Experience with newsletter platforms and audience engagement tools.
• Familiarity with CMS platforms and digital publishing workflows.
• Working knowledge of audience metrics, subscription funnels, and engagement tracking.
• Comfort using data tools (e.g., spreadsheets, dashboards) to analyze and communicate insights.
• Familiarity with experimentation and optimization approaches (e.g., A/B testing).
• Comfort working with and evaluating emerging technologies, including AI tools, to improve workflows and performance.

Work Environment

Three full days a week in the Boston newsroom strongly preferred.

Engagement with Christian Science

Membership in The Mother Church is valued, but is not required. The Audience Lead respects that, while the Monitor is not a sectarian publication, it is grounded in the healing mission of the Church that publishes it. The incumbent is receptive to developing a deeper understanding of how that mission informs and uplifts our journalism. For more background, see www.CSMonitor.com/About.

Pay range: $114,112 - $148,346.80 annually 

The pay ranges disclosed in our job postings are the compensation ranges the Church reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for a given position at the time of posting.

The offered salary will be determined by factors such as the applicant’s relevant education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities; and benchmarking, work location, and internal equity.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.