We’re looking for a digital product manager to oversee the packaging, presentation, and distribution of Pacific Standard‘s content across our Website, social media accounts, project-specific microsites, and premium program. This is both a project management position, responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing all digital presentation efforts, and a publishing strategy role, charged with thinking about the best way to get all of our journalism to the widest possible audience. This position will also work with editorial staff to track the impact our content strategy has on audience growth, brand awareness, and reader engagement, and to reframe and reposition technical aspects of the site to ensure long-term stability and maximize reach. This role reports to and works closely with the editor-in-chief and oversees a small team of both internal direct reports (an assistant editor for audience and engagement and an engagement fellow) and external contracts (developers, designers, and platform product teams). This person will be ultimately responsible for the look and feel of Pacific Standard on the Web.
Primary Responsibilities
- Develop and implement data-driven strategies and best practices for putting Pacific Standard stories in front of the right audiences, wherever they might be, and in the most effective formats.
- Develop, lead, and mentor a product team.
- Continue to develop new ways of presenting features online, building on multimedia efforts already underway. Lead outside teams of developers, designers, artists, and data visualizers.
- In collaboration with the digital director, rethink site architecture and archival recirculation efforts to maximize traffic.
- Act as the point person for our relationship with SAY Media, updating staff on changes, shifts, and potential developments on our content management system, but be excited and willing to manage the migration to and build-out of a completely reimagined, independent site.
- Oversee the assistant editor for engagement’s management of the premium membership program.
- Collaborate with art director, research editor, copy-editor, story editors, writers, proofreaders, and editor-in-chief to dream up higher-gloss digital projects, with many moving parts.
- Envision bigger editorial projects and products where it makes sense, but also know how and when to mine material from the cutting-room floor for connected extras.
- Manage and oversee the work of the assistant editor for audience and engagement.
- With the assistant editor, manage and oversee the work of the year-long engagement and production fellowship position.
- Tie all the miscellaneous knots, not listed here, of maintaining and producing a fast-paced, modern magazine Website and accompanying digital products.
Core Competencies
- Highly detail-oriented with strong organizational, management, and people skills.
- A dynamic leader that can both establish a strategic vision and command operational excellence.
- Proven effectiveness at building, managing, and mentoring high-performing teams.
- Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment.
- Willingness to accept direction and participate fully in a collaborative and creative work environment, while also working independently and proactively on multiple assignments.
- Has a genuine interest in social science and can make complex ideas interesting and compelling to a lay audience, while managing not to alienate experts.
- Can participate and contribute in a fluid way to a larger conversation about editorial strategy and audience expansion.
To Apply
This position is based in our offices in Santa Barbara, California. To apply, send a resume and cover letter outlining your interest and relevant experience to Nicholas Jackson at njackson@psmag.com. All application materials should be submitted electronically. We regret that we cannot respond to all applicants. Absolutely no phone calls, please.
