About Us
Powered by one of the largest global newsrooms in sports media, The Athletic brings sports fans the most comprehensive stories about the teams, sports and athletes they love. The Athletic’s newsroom of 500+ full-time staff delivers in-depth coverage of hundreds of professional and college teams across more than 47 North American markets and all 20 football clubs in the English Premier League, as well as many Championship clubs.
About The Role
As a Manager, Video Growth, you are a key leader within The Athletic’s content ecosystem. You will be responsible for driving the global audience strategy on and off-platform - overseeing performance and reporting on video produced across our Video, Reporter and Shows & Series teams.
This is a management role that bridges the gap between creative production, data-driven distribution, and external partnerships. Beyond platform optimization, you will spearhead our Creator Program, identifying and managing high-level talent to produce content powered by The Athletic. You will serve as a critical link between our external creators and our world-class newsroom, ensuring that influencer-led content remains aligned with our high standards of journalistic integrity and news-gathering needs.
The ideal candidate is a seasoned leader who understands the nuance of social algorithms, the mechanics of high-end series production, and the evolving landscape of the creator economy.
Responsibilities
- People Leadership: Manage and mentor a team of growth specialists and platform leads, fostering a culture of high performance, continuous learning, and career development.
- Platform & Series Strategy: Oversee the end-to-end performance of all video content, specifically focusing on the growth of our original Shows & Series across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
- Creator Program Oversight: Lead the strategy and execution of our Creator Program. This includes identifying talent, negotiating partnerships, and overseeing the production of creator-led content that leverages The Athletic’s brand.
- Newsroom Integration: Act as the primary liaison between the Video team and the Newsroom. Ensure creator content supports our news-gathering efforts and that breaking news is effectively leveraged across our social video channels.
- Data & Insights: Own the departmental data stack. Translate complex analytics into actionable strategies for the Director of Video Growth and executive leadership.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with the Senior Executive Producer of Creative Studios to support commercial RFPs, ensuring our growth and creator strategies are integrated into branded content pitches.
- Process Architecture: Design and implement sophisticated workflows that streamline content packaging, SEO optimization, and community engagement efforts across global time zones.
Requirements
- Experience: 7+ years of relevant experience in video growth, social media strategy, or digital publishing, with at least 3-5 years in a formal people management role.
- Leadership Mastery: Proven track record of managing teams and navigating complex, matrixed organizations.
- Creator Economy Expert: Deep understanding of the creator landscape, including talent management, contract nuances, and understanding what content enhances The Athletic brand
- Algorithmic Authority: Intimate knowledge of YouTube, TikTok, and Meta algorithms, with a demonstrated ability to pivot strategies based on platform shifts.
- Editorial Judgment: Strong news sense and the ability to ensure creator-led content meets the rigorous editorial standards of The Athletic.
- Technical Proficiency: While this is a leadership role, you must be fluent in the Adobe Creative Suite (Premiere and Photoshop) to provide high-level creative direction and quality control.
- Communication: Exceptional copywriting and presentation skills; ability to "speak to the numbers" to stakeholders at the executive level.
- Strategic Vision: Ability to work with high autonomy, transforming high-level business goals into tactical execution plans for your team.
The annual base salary range for this role is $90,000.00 - $120,000.00 USD. The total compensation offered for this position may vary based on factors such as education, experience, skills, and location.
For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. 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.
For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.
We are excited to learn more about you and your experience. To keep our hiring process as fair and authentic as possible, we ask that you submit your own work and not use GenAI tools to generate substantive content during the application and interview process. If you are a candidate for a technical role, we will let you know what specific tools you are permitted to use for your technical assessment.
The Athletic Media Company is an equal opportunity employer and enthusiastically encourages people from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. The Athletic will consider all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
Click here to review our Applicant Privacy Notice, which describes how and when The Athletic Media Company collects, uses, and shares certain personal information of job applicants and prospective employees. Beware of fraudulent job recruiting schemes! Our recruiters use [email protected] exclusively, and our team members will use an email address with @theathletic.com domain. We do not conduct interviews via text or instant message and we do not ask candidates to download software, to purchase equipment through us, or to provide sensitive personally identifiable information, such as bank accounts or social security numbers. If you have been contacted by someone claiming to be a member of the recruiting/HR team at The Athletic but operating from a different email address about a job offer, please report it as potential job fraud to the law enforcement and to [email protected]. 