Job Description

Senior Director of Audience Growth and Engagement

The Houston Chronicle is seeking a Senior Director of Audience Growth and Engagement to lead the next chapter of our digital strategy.

This senior leader will oversee efforts to grow and deepen audiences for the Houston Chronicle across video, engagement and conversation, social platforms, emerging platforms, local trends and trending content. The role will help transform viewers, listeners, readers and commenters into loyal fans of our journalism—and build meaningful relationships with audiences across Houston.

We’re looking for someone who is deeply curious about audiences: what they need, how they discover information, what makes them return and how journalism can better serve them. This leader should be able to articulate a clear, actionable philosophy for digital growth and translate that philosophy into newsroom strategy, daily operations and measurable results.

This is a hands-on role for a creative, data-informed and operationally minded digital leader who is comfortable with experimentation, change and scale. The successful candidate will understand that the audience strategies that worked in the past will not be enough for the future. As search traffic declines and platform and consumer habits continue to evolve, this leader will help us build new ways for audiences to discover, engage with and depend on our work.

This is an opportunity to bring your vision to a senior leadership team boldly reimagining what local news can be. You will help make the Houston Chronicle a powerhouse of digital journalism—one that serves all of Houston and remains essential for years to come.

As a member of the newsroom’s senior leadership team and masthead, the Senior Director of Audience Growth and Engagement will help shape strategy across the organization. This role reports to the editor-in-chief and oversees teams focused on video, audience growth and engagement, local trends and trending content, and social media.

You’ll join our news organization at a pivotal moment.

The Medill School at Northwestern recently named our newsroom a Bright Spot in Local Journalism. The American Press Institute recently included us in a creators cohort, and we wrote about our experiences innovating with creators. We were named the Best Newsroom in Texas for 2026 and were finalists for ONA Awards for innovative journalism and INMA’s Global Media Awards for newsroom innovation.

Some newsrooms are talking about change. We’re actually changing. Join us.

The Responsibilities

• Lead audience growth and engagement strategy across platforms, formats and content teams.
• Develop new strategies for audience discovery and loyalty as search declines and traditional content distribution models evolve.
• Help the newsroom move beyond legacy content strategies by identifying new opportunities in video, audio, social, newsletters, communities, emerging platforms, creators and other forms of audience connection.
• Articulate a clear point of view on digital growth and turn it into actionable plans, priorities and operating practices.
• Coach teams and ideas with metrics at the forefront of decision-making; establish goals, evaluate performance and use audience data to guide experimentation and investment.
• Build strategies that move audiences from casual discovery to sustained engagement and loyalty.
• Understand how to grow fans on different platforms and operationalize effective tactics across the newsroom.
• Lead and support experimentation, taking smart risks and learning quickly from what works and what doesn’t.
• Embrace AI across the organization to help journalists with their work, improve audience understanding and drive innovation.
• Work collaboratively with the managing editor of news and strategy to oversee the daily operations of the newsroom.
• Champion inclusive reporting that reflects the diversity of Houston, with strategies and journalism designed to serve communities—not simply report about them.
• Demonstrate collaborative, creative and transformational leadership centered on learning, strong journalism and innovation.
• Push the organization to bring new approaches to old problems and explore new platforms, possibilities and audience relationships.
• Partner across editorial, product, technology, marketing, analytics and business teams to align audience strategy with the organization’s broader goals.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will bring:

• Significant experience leading audience growth, engagement, digital strategy or a related function in a news or media organization.
• A strong understanding of how audiences discover, consume and engage with journalism across platforms.
• Experience developing new growth strategies in a rapidly changing digital environment
• Proven track record of developing viewership around franchise shows and YouTube strategy
• A track record of using data, experimentation and audience insights to improve reach, engagement and loyalty.
• Experience leading, coaching and developing multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong editorial judgment and a deep respect for journalism and public service.
• Comfort working across strategy and execution, with the ability to move from a big-picture vision to daily operational decisions.
• A creative, entrepreneurial mindset and enthusiasm for emerging platforms, technology and AI.
• A commitment to inclusive journalism and serving the full breadth of Houston’s communities.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

To Apply

As part of your cover letter, please explain your philosophy of audience growth and engagement. Please also share specific examples of how you have driven digital growth and built meaningful relationships with new readers, listeners or viewers, particularly through strategies that went beyond traditional search or legacy distribution models.

About the Houston Chronicle:

The Houston Chronicle, recognized for its Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism, serves its 2.3 million residents with content and marketing solutions across two of Houston’s largest websites — HoustonChronicle.com and Chron.com, along with our magazine, television and newspaper brands. Our mission is to spark conversations that inspire action to create a better Houston. All our content and the innovative business solutions we provide invite Houstonians to join conversations about a community we’ve been committed to covering and helping prosper for more than 120 years. The community we all call home.

About Hearst Newspapers:

With 2,500 employees across the nation, HNP encompasses a network of 24 daily and 52 weekly publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union, several top digital-only news and lifestyle sites, marketing services businesses, and entertainment businesses such as King Features Syndicate.

At HNP, we are investing in new and innovative ways to tell stories – growing newsrooms, diversifying tools, evolving platforms – to support the millions of people who trust us each month to help them make decisions, take action and be inspired.

Be a part of something bigger – your headline awaits.

Recognizing the diverse needs of our candidates, if you are interested in applying for employment and need assistance or an accommodation to use our website or regarding the application process, please contact us by email at hnpemployment@hearst.com. Please do not use this email address to inquire about the status of applications. We will only respond to inquiries concerning requests for a reasonable accommodation through this email address.

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