Head of Social
$200k - $240k/yr+ Annual bonus + Restricted stock
Senior, Expert
United Kingdom+1 moreMore locations: United States
HybridHybrid role based in either the United States or United Kingdom.
Social MediaSocial Media Strategy & Management
About the job
Requirements
- Seven to twelve years of experience in digital media.
- A proven track record of scaling social media audiences and YouTube channels at significant scale, ideally within sports, entertainment, or news media.
- Deep platform fluency across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), and podcast platforms, including understanding how algorithms, formats, and monetization work on each.
- Experience managing or overseeing creator relationships and talent-driven social content.
- Comfort owning a P&L and making budget decisions in a growth context.
- Strong analytical skills, using data to make decisions while applying instinct and creative judgment where appropriate.
- Ability to align stakeholders, inspire a team, and present clearly to leadership.
- A genuine passion for sports, sports media, and the creator economy.
Responsibilities
- Own audience growth strategy and targets across social and video handles, creator platforms, and a P&L tied to these channels.
- Partner with creative leads across podcasting and social video to develop content that grows followers, drives brand awareness, and converts social audiences into future subscribers.
- Lead a team of Growth Leads and Social Media Managers, setting the vision and maintaining a high standard for creative excellence and performance.
- Own and drive audience growth goals across YouTube, podcasting, and social media platforms, with clear key performance indicators for follower growth, reach, views, and engagement.
- Develop and execute platform-specific growth strategies that capitalize on algorithmic opportunities, cultural moments, and creator trends.
- Identify whitespace opportunities in the sports media landscape and build plans to exploit them before competitors.
- Monitor audience analytics and platform signals to continuously refine strategy and stay ahead of shifts in social consumption behavior.
- Lead a creator strategy by identifying talent to work with and suitable partnership models for the talent and The Athletic.
- Champion a distinct, ownable off-platform voice for The Athletic across platforms.
- Develop content formats that differentiate The Athletic from legacy sports media and digital-native competitors.
- Partner with the Head of Video to develop social video content strategies that scale audiences while reinforcing The Athletic brand.
- Partner with the Head of Series and Specials to develop strategies to grow audiences on YouTube and podcasting channels.
- Stay current on platform trends, creator strategies, and cultural conversations to inform content ideation.
- Build and grow The Athletic's creator ecosystem by identifying, developing, and managing relationships with external creators.
- Develop programming strategies that create pathways to The Athletic's owned platforms.
- Own the P&L associated with The Athletic's social handles and creator channels, managing budgets, revenue opportunities, and return on investment across platforms.
- Work with marketing, editorial, and product to develop social-to-platform conversion strategies that drive subscriber acquisition and retention.
- Report regularly to senior leadership on performance, strategy, and resource needs, with clear accountability for growth targets.
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of two Growth Leads, with potential to expand into Social Media Managers as the function scales.
- Build a high-performance team culture grounded in creative ambition, analytical rigor, and experimentation.
- Define clear roles, workflows, and success metrics across the team to drive accountability and output quality.
Desired Qualifications
- Experience scaling social media audiences and YouTube channels within sports, entertainment, or news media is ideally preferred.
About the company
The Athletic provides digital sports journalism with in-depth news, long-form stories, scores, schedules, and podcasts. It delivers premium content through a subscription model, giving paying readers access to articles and exclusive coverage by top writers, with updates on major leagues and international sports. The product works by offering monthly or annual access to a library of premium articles and podcasts through its website and apps; revenue comes primarily from subscribers, supported by partnerships and sponsored content. The Athletic differentiates itself from competitors by prioritizing high-quality, detailed reporting and smart analysis from top writers, rather than relying on cookie-cutter, ad-driven coverage. Its goal is to serve passionate sports fans with comprehensive, insightful journalism and to sustain its journalism by building a loyal subscription-based community.”} verkeerde_seconds_empty_rate: 0} // note: ignore any extraneous fields if present in tool input
Company Size
501-1,000
Company Stage
Acquired
Total Funding
$139.6M
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
Founded
2016
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Meredith Kopit Levien said June 22, 2026, The Athletic has many millions of readers.
- The July 23, 2026 Fubo launch creates new sponsorship inventory and distribution.
- ESPN layoffs and Washington Post cuts keep elite sports talent flowing toward The Athletic.
What critics are saying
- AI scraping can strip value from reporting, compressing subscriptions by 2026-2027.
- ESPN’s July 2026 layoffs and acquisitions intensify bidding for elite sports reporters.
- Fubo sponsorship revenue depends on partner traffic; weak CTV usage starves growth.
What makes The Athletic Media Company unique
- The New York Times owns The Athletic, pairing sports scale with newsroom distribution.
- The Athletic’s live blogs and video formats resist AI scraping better than static articles.
- Fubo’s July 23, 2026 CTV hub extends The Athletic into premium living-room video.
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Benefits
- Paid Time Off
- Paid Sick Leave
- Paid Parental Leave
- 401(k)
- Short & Long Term Disability
- Free Subscription
- Competitive Health Care
- HSA & FSA
- Commuter Benefits