Audience Engagement Editor

Under the direction of SFGATE’s editor in chief, the audience engagement editor will have a deep understanding of how people consume news via social media and newsletters and the know-how to lead strategy to increase those news consumers. The audience engagement editor will be able to sift through analytics, pick out the important trend lines (good and bad) and identify ways to influence them. They will work with social and newsletter editors both locally in San Francisco and with Hearst’s central team in New York.

Why SFGATE?

Launched in 1994, SFGATE.com was one of the first large-market media sites in the world and served as the exclusive digital home of the San Francisco Chronicle for 19 years. In 2019, the Chronicle (which can now be found online at the paywalled sfchronicle.com) and SFGATE officially became two separately run entities with their own editorial staffs and independent newsrooms.

Today, SFGATE is a digital-only publication that reaches more than 28 million readers every month and tells the stories of the people, places and ideas that make San Francisco, and the Bay Area at large, the weird and wonderful place that it is. We help readers navigate their day, whether it’s by keeping them updated on big breaking news, guiding them to interesting local experiences or sharing a part of the Bay they haven’t seen before.

The site is home to seven verticals: Culture, offering a unique mix of the entertainment news you actually need, and the underground stories from hidden corners of the Bay Area you want; Local, the premier destination for everything that life in San Francisco encompasses (from wildly expensive real estate to schools to what it’s like to live above a raucous bar); Sports, covering the intersection of sports and culture; Travel, covering everything from flight deals and travel news to hotel hacks and under-the-radar day trips; Politics, where we keep you up to speed on all local, state and national politics that have implications in the Bay Area; Food + Drink, where we tell you the backstory of the people behind the bar and in the kitchen; and News; plus, SFGATE has satellite editors covering Lake Tahoe, California Parks, the Central Coast, Hawaii and Disneyland.

What you’ll do:

Consistently have new ideas: We want someone who is a problem solver and can help us find new, unique ways to ensure important, impactful stories reach the audiences they’re intended for.
Be autonomous: This is a position that comes with a lot of trust. You are expected to communicate across the organization, meet deadlines, understand analytics and to proactively identify big moments and blockers.
Be a problem solver: Seeing opportunities as they arise is a huge part of this role, but almost as big is being able to parse the day-to-day analytics reporting to find trends and patterns that we can capitalize on. Social platforms are always changing, and someone with a mindset that can adapt to rolling with the punches is key for success in this position.
Be organized: You’ll partner with our site leads for projects both big and small, all intended to introduce our content to new readers and build loyalty with our existing readers in a variety of ways. We need someone who can keep it all straight, and be able to shift from one task to another without missing a beat.
Model best practices: One of the best ways to learn is by experiencing success and failure through experimentation. We value someone who wants to run their own experiments by posting on social media platforms and contributing to the team’s learnings by having intimate knowledge of what their day-to-day challenges are. You should also be comfortable jumping in to post on social platforms during big breaking news moments when it’s all hands on deck.

Who you are:

You have 3+ years of experience overseeing social and/or newsletter strategy, preferably in a digital news environment, and have managed direct reports before.
You’re based in the Bay Area or willing to relocate
You have strong attention to detail, and a journalist’s sense of editorial integrity
You have strong communication skills, in particular the ability to translate analytics and patterns into insights and recommendations for social and newsletter leads
A collaborative attitude and eagerness to work in partnership with site leaders
Experience with tools such as Chartbeat, Looker, Google Analytics, SocialFlow, and ESPs like Sailthru
You’ve read SFGATE and have an understanding of the brand and voice

In accordance with applicable law, Hearst is required to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role if hired in California. The reasonable estimate is between $85,000 and $90,000. Please note this information is specific to those hired in San Francisco. A final decision on the successful candidate’s starting salary will be based on a number of permissible, non-discriminatory factors, including but not limited to skills and experience, training, certifications, and education.