SENIOR AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT EDITOR, THE EMANCIPATOR, Center for Antiracist Research - Boston University

About The Emancipator.

The Emancipator is a digital magazine that reimagines the first abolitionist newspapers in the
United States for a new day. Just as 19th century anti-slavery publications reframed and
amplified the quest for abolition, the new Emancipator centers critical voices, debates, and
commentary to reframe the national conversation on racial equity and hasten racially just
outcomes. Housed within the Center for Antiracist Research, we are the go-to publication for
anyone who wants to understand how racism impacts us all and what can be done about it. We
are driven by a commitment to understanding how systems work to allow everyone to live and
thrive. Joy and possibility underlie our ethos.

About You.

The Emancipator is looking for a driven, nimble collaborator who will focus on fostering loyalty,
engagement, and affinity to The Emancipator. This specialist is in charge of cross-platform
audience engagement and brand growth and will serve as a highly motivated, innovative
thought leader who will develop strategies for both our digital and IRL community.

We’re looking for someone who brings strong journalism fundamentals, a passion and curiosity
for reaching audiences where they are at, and a drive to have impact. This digital leader will
help us target our audience and produce content and approaches that grow our resonance.
Strategy, creative thinking, and entrepreneurial skills are essential for success. The ideal
candidate has strong attention to detail, and experience distilling and illustrating complex issues
and themes. You will manage the social media producer and lead on social strategy.

This candidate should be a whiz with reader metrics, someone able to crunch numbers, break
down complex data sets, and filter real-time metrics to spot opportunities. But we also need a
journalist who sees our stories and reporters as more than just data points. We need someone
who can help decipher the *why* behind a story’s success, and who believes deeply in The
Emancipator’s journalistic mission.

You are collaborative and energetic, a person who understands the pace and odd hours that
sometimes come with a startup enterprise, and who is willing to work hand-in-hand with a wide
variety of reporters, editors, and producers. This role will also lead nontraditional distribution
efforts, getting stories and information to those who need it the most, whether through audio,
digital, social media or other formats.

This is a unique opportunity to develop a new digital property’s audience strategy from the
ground up, bringing big ideas to life cohesively across platforms and on the ground. You’ll be
central to creating the kind of inclusive, joyful, can-do culture that symbolizes the mission of this
startup. You are not creating for the moment; you are creating for the future.

The Engagement Director reports to the Publisher/General Manager.

Responsibilities.

Core strategic functions include leading audience development and creation, support and
evolution of brand strategy:
● Manages the day-to-day audience expansion and brand growth needs of The
Emancipator editorial team, working across multiple projects (newsletters, SEO,
headlines, audience acquisition and retention) while anticipating needs of synergy and
internal business partners.
● Oversee and direct social media producer in pitching ideas, researching, crafting, and
building social media messages, building social sharing toolkits, and devising social
deployment of special projects and series in a timely manner.
● Provide insight-driven recommended actions, working with individual teams to adjust
factors like visual elements, publication time, and general promotional strategy on both a
per-story and broader strategic basis.
● Optimize for engagement and prioritize accessibility.
● Celebrate growth and offer constructive feedback that is foundational to a trusting,
transparent relationship with senior leadership

Research: building on new insights, applied information architecture, integrated engagement
strategies, audience research and analysis.
● Look for creative approaches to engage the community in coverage and identify
information needs, habits and readership patterns.
● Drive engagement through experimental approaches onsite and via our channels
(newsletters, app, social media, other platforms) based on key engagement goals.
● Conduct real-time analysis for breaking and developing news events, giving guidance to
journalists on best practices, story angles, publish times, and audience trends.
● Oversee SEO strategy and identify opportunities on search and social media
● Provide data and performance metrics needed in building strategy deliverables
requested in building partnerships and launching new programs across all platforms
● Create executive level summaries, progress updates and impact reports providing
actionable insights on media performance and optimizations. Assist in building sales
materials and liaising on branded content initiatives.

● Journalism background and 8+ years of experience with building engagement within
online communities.
● A track record of successful, audience-focused work. Strong writing and editing skills.
● A progressive understanding of the ways that readers engage with content on social,
newsletters, via search, and via mobile platforms.
● A willingness to adapt and be audience focused, with a curious mindset and a
commitment to creating an inclusive work environment.
● Experience with analytics programs such as Parse.ly, Omniture, and Google Analytics

Submitting a cover letter is preferred, but not required.