Full-Time

Head of News & Politics Partnerships

Substack

Substack

1,001-5,000 employees

Digital publishing platform with subscription monetization

Compensation Overview

$190k - $250k/yr

+ Equity

Washington, DC, USA

Remote

The role may also be based in New York City, San Francisco, or Los Angeles; periodic travel is required for team building and strategic meetings.

Category
Sales & Account Management (1)
Required Skills
Data Analysis

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Requirements
  • At least 10 years of professional experience in news, publishing, or politics.
  • Experience managing direct reports and a team.
  • Experience building and iterating on programs that can scale across markets.
  • Experience using data to measure impact and develop stronger programs.
  • Experience working directly with creators.
  • Ability to interface with creators, writers, reporters, politicians, and industry leaders.
  • Ability to work quickly and effectively while managing several projects under deadline.
  • Strong written, verbal, and diplomatic communication skills with close attention to detail.
  • Strong people skills and a deep interest in supporting creators and shaping culture.
  • Deep connections within the news market and politics.
  • Ability to set ambitious strategy and goals while executing them in a fast-paced startup environment.
Responsibilities
  • Grow and manage the News & Politics category on Substack.
  • Recruit and advise top talent in the news and politics creator economy.
  • Develop strategic programs to activate creators, bring new users to Substack, and support current creators.
  • Develop and scale best practices for social media strategy, audience development, and digital content.
  • Partner with communications, product, and data teams to identify promising political creator segments and refine the Substack creator experience.
  • Enhance politics outreach strategies and streamline processes for onboarding and supporting creators.
  • Support event, brand, and marketing initiatives.
  • Position Substack as a platform where creators can connect directly with fans and build media businesses.
  • Lead the Partnerships team and work cross-functionally with communications, product, business operations, and leadership teams to build and execute market and brand programs.
  • Oversee strategy, budget, external relationships, goal execution, and team management for the market.
  • Travel for team building and strategic meetings.
Desired Qualifications
  • A keen sense of the evolving technology and media landscape.
  • Being a voracious reader and Substack subscriber.

Substack is a digital publishing platform that lets writers and creators publish and distribute content through newsletters, blogs, podcasts, and videos, while enabling monetization through subscriptions. Creators can set their own monthly fees (roughly $5–$27); Substack handles billing, payments, and technical administration, so creators can focus on producing content. The platform also includes a built‑in marketing network that helps grow subscriber lists by leveraging Substack’s user base. Substack monetizes by taking a percentage of creators’ subscription revenue, aligning its success with that of its creators. Compared with competitors, Substack combines direct-to-reader monetization with comprehensive administrative and marketing support in one platform, reducing friction for creators. Its goal is to help writers and other creators earn sustainable income directly from their audience by providing the tools to manage and grow subscriptions.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

Series C

Total Funding

$200.2M

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2017

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • July 2026 Pangram integration gives readers AI transparency across posts, notes, replies, comments.
  • January 2026 TV apps and recording studio deepen creator tooling and distribution.
  • Substack's July 2025 $100 million round valued it at $1.1 billion.

What critics are saying

  • Beehiiv launched podcast hosting in April 2026, targeting Substack writers with zero revenue share.
  • January 2026 TV-app backlash showed writers reject Substack's video-and-social pivot.
  • Creator defections would turn Substack into a checkout layer, collapsing network effects.

What makes Substack unique

  • Substack monetizes directly through paid subscriptions while keeping writers' audiences portable.
  • Substack bundles publishing, email, podcast, video, payments, and AI detection.
  • Substack's network discovery drives 40% of free signups and 20% of paid signups.

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Benefits

Company Equity

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

-4%

2 year growth

-4%
TechCrunch
Jul 22nd, 2026
Substack integrates AI detection tool to show which newsletters use artificial intelligence

Substack has integrated AI detection software Pangram into its platform, allowing users to scan posts, comments, and replies to estimate how much content was written by humans versus AI. The feature works on content over 100 characters in Substack's app. The tool aims to combat "AI slop" and maintain trust rather than penalise AI-assisted writing. Writers can add optional AI disclosure notes explaining their creative process. Publishers can scan their own drafts before publication and contest results they believe are errors. CEO Chris Best said the move aligns with Substack's philosophy that writers should focus on ideas worth sharing whilst software handles everything else. The feature joins other platforms now labelling AI-generated content, including social media sites for photos and videos and music streaming services.

Semafor
Mar 30th, 2026
Beehiiv enters podcasting space to challenge Substack's creator dominance

Beehiiv is launching podcast hosting and monetisation features as newsletter platforms compete for creator loyalty. The company aims to offer a unified service for publishing, audio, email and video, challenging independent podcasters' reliance on multiple platforms. Beehiiv is positioning itself against Substack by emphasising its flat-fee model over Substack's revenue-sharing approach. CEO Tyler Denk has criticised Substack's expansion into social networking and television as attempts to lock in creators, describing some moves as "dark". Substack has dismissed the competitive threat. Co-founder Hamish McKenzie said in February that he views Beehiiv as "fellow travelers" in empowering creators rather than competitors. The platform has largely ignored Beehiiv's criticism whilst expanding its own features. Both companies, alongside Patreon, are racing to build comprehensive creator platforms as the market consolidates.

TechCrunch
Mar 12th, 2026
Substack launches built-in recording studio for video creators

Substack has launched the Substack Recording Studio, a built-in tool for creators to pre-record and publish videos directly on the platform. Available only on desktop, the studio supports solo videos and conversations with up to two guests, offering custom watermarks, screen sharing and auto-generated clips and thumbnails. The company said creators using audio or video in the past 90 days grew revenue 50% faster than those who haven't. Substack has been expanding beyond newsletters into multimedia, having introduced video uploads in 2022, livestreaming monetisation last year, and a $20 million Creator Accelerator Fund. The platform recently launched TV apps for Apple TV and Google TV, featuring a TikTok-style "For You" recommendation row, capitalising on growing demand for long-form video content on television screens.

TechCrunch
Jan 22nd, 2026
Substack launches TV app amid writer backlash over video push

Substack has launched a beta TV app for Apple TV and Google TV, allowing subscribers to watch video posts and livestreams from creators on the platform. The app features a TikTok-like "For You" row highlighting recommended videos, with access based on subscription tiers. The move represents Substack's continued push into video, following the launch of video posts in 2022, monetisation capabilities in 2024, and a TikTok-like feed in March 2025. Future updates will include audio posts, enhanced search features and in-app subscription upgrades. However, the announcement has drawn criticism from users. Top comments on Substack's blog post urged the platform not to abandon its focus on writing, with one stating: "This is not YouTube. Elevate the written word.

The Post
Sep 19th, 2025
Substack Raises $100M, Aims to Transform Journalism

Nikki Macdonald's article discusses Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack, a newsletter subscription platform that recently raised $100 million. McKenzie, a former Tesla writer, aims to transform journalism by allowing writers to connect directly with readers. Despite concerns over Substack's hands-off moderation, McKenzie believes it offers a better model than social media. The article also touches on McKenzie's past experiences, including his time at Tesla and a personal tragedy that shaped his outlook.