DTC Community Lead, MS NOW

Reporting to the Sr. Director, DTC Business Operations, the DTC Community Lead will build and steward the MS NOW member community as part of MS NOW’s direct-to-consumer product.

This role will work closely with editorial, product, and customer care and will lead community programming, culture, and engagement. This Community Lead will be responsible for shaping a safe, mission-aligned, and participatory community that deepens member connection to MS NOW’s journalism, talent, and values.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on builder who thrives in fast-moving environments, exercises strong judgment, and is comfortable working closely with editorial teams during live and sensitive moments. This role will help define how community functions as a core pillar of the MS NOW product.

Responsibilities:

• Build and maintain a community programming strategy that drives participation, habit, and belonging across the MS NOW platform
• Own the community programming calendar, including prompts, discussions, AMAs, live Q&As, and event-driven moments
• Work closely with editorial and production teams to align community activity with coverage priorities and live programming
• Define, maintain, and evolve community guidelines to support safe, productive political conversation
• Own moderation strategy, including vendor tooling, configuration, and escalation workflows
• Serve as the primary point of contact for community-related questions originating from product, lifecycle, editorial, legal, and standards teams
• Act as the voice of the member by synthesizing community sentiment, themes, and feedback into clear insights
• Deliver regular reporting on community health, engagement, and emerging risks
• Manage and mentor Community Specialists and help scale the team as the community grows
• Provide leadership and judgment during live, breaking, or sensitive news moments

• 7+ years of experience in community, audience engagement, or editorial-adjacent roles
• Experience working closely with editorial teams in media, news, or mission-driven organizations
• Strong judgment and comfort operating in sensitive or high-visibility environments
• Proven ability to build programs, processes, and workflows in new or evolving products
• Clear communicator who works effectively across highly matrixed teams
• Experience with community platforms, moderation tools, or audience engagement systems
• Familiarity with subscription or membership-based products preferred

Additional Job Requirements: 

• Must be willing to work in New York, NY.
• Must have unrestricted work authorization to work in the United States. 

This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other discounts and perks.  

Salary Range: $150,000 - $185,000, bonus eligible.

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with a VERSANT Media employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. VERSANT Media's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to [email protected].

VERSANT Media is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. We include a good faith pay range for each position to comply with applicable state and local pay transparency laws and to promote equity across our organization. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, experience, and location and may include additional forms of compensation and benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, etc.

VERSANT Media is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at VERSANT via-email, the Internet, or in any form and/or method without a valid written Statement of Work in place for this position from VERSANT's Talent Acquisition team will be deemed the sole property of VERSANT. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by VERSANT as a result of the referral or through other means.