About Chicago Public Media

To nourish the public conversation by telling the stories
 that matter—stories that provoke thought, entertain, capture emotion and inspire action.

Chicago Public Media Mission Statement

Who is Chicago Public Media?

Chicago Public Media is one of the largest, most decorated, aggressively creative, and journalistically ambitious public radio organizations in the nation. We are home to WBEZ, Chicago’s NPR news station, celebrating our 75^th year anniversary broadcasting at 91.5 FM, and Vocalo Radio, Chicago’s Urban Alternative music station at 91.1 FM. We are the birthplace of such celebrated programs as This American Life, Wait,Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, Sound Opinions, Curious City and most recently, a growing portfolio of podcasts that include Serial, the “Making” series, including Making Obama and Making Oprah, and The Trouble with Shannon Cason. WBEZ’s award-winning newsroom is growing in order to tackle the stories that matter most to our community.  As an essential source of news and context, we are a powerful connector among lines of difference.

An opportunity to make an impact

At Chicago Public Media, we believe independent journalism is essential to a well-functioning democracy and access to fact-based, objective news and information a right of every citizen.  We serve the public interest by creating diverse, compelling content that informs, inspires and enriches.  We connect diverse audiences and help them make a difference in our communities, our region and our world.  If you are inspired by our mission and want to belong to an organization that inspires you, supports you, and challenges you, we encourage you to apply.

Position Summary

Chicago Public Media is transforming the way we communicate with listeners, retain members and expand our audience. We are searching for our Director, Membership CRM to lead those efforts as you will be responsible for retaining members and growing membership revenue, which accounts for approximately 60% of WBEZ’s annual funding. This position will lead WBEZ’s data-driven member communication and retention strategy across email, direct mail, and digital media channels. Leveraging traditional direct and digital marketing techniques, you will create a cohesive and engaging omnichannel journey that drives member engagement and retention and generates meaningful lifetime value. This highly visible role is responsible for generating a significant portion of the institution’s operating revenue on an annual basis thereby enabling the continued expansion of WBEZ’s journalistic mission. You will create the strategy, set and track goals, and establish meaningful reporting/analysis to drive the strategy.  The right candidate will need to generate significant member retention improvement and ensure member count and revenue growth objectives are met on an annual basis. This position reports to the Senior Director of Membership and Marketing.

Responsibilities:

• Meet or exceed annual goals for member retention and renewal revenue.
• Define the fundraising strategy and roadmap for member retention, specifically via email, direct mail and digital fundraising.
• Test, optimize and scale multi-channel, data-driven campaigns to retain members and reduce reliance on pledge drives.
• Lead direct marketing function, specifically email, direct mail, and marketing automation - not only for membership activities but for other marketing initiatives at CPM requiring direct marketing expertise/execution. 
• Collaborate with our Business Intelligence team to inform infrastructure for data-driven marketing, define reporting and analysis to monitor performance and drive the retention strategy based on your findings.
• Collaborate with Member Engagement team to facilitate engagement activities to assist in member retention.
• Act as a thought leader in the membership team by identifying new tactics and opportunities to drive transformative growth in member retention and renewal revenue.
• Partner with Sr. Director, Membership & Marketing and Director, New Member Acquisition to create and implement full-lifecycle strategy for members.
• Develop and maintain external relationships with peer organizations to inform, benchmark and guide WBEZ performance.

Requirements:

• 7+ years of experience in direct marketing with progressive responsibility.
• Bachelor's Degree in marketing, advertising or relevant on-the-job experience.
• Ability to understand the big picture and vision and then build a strategy to attain annual member retention and revenue goals.
• Expert knowledge of email marketing and marketing automation platforms and strategies.
• Proven results building data-driven direct mail programs that increase donor/customer loyalty.
• The ideal candidate will have a strong background and interest in technology coupled with an understanding for marketing and how the two come together to increase donor support.
• Experience managing and building a team of engaged direct reports.
• Ability to handle multiple responsibilities, establish priorities and consistently meet required deadlines.
• A keen point of view and experience providing creative direction for asset development and production.
• Has deep experience with analytics and using data and metrics to inform strategies; Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics experience a plus
• The ideal candidate with have experience in a consumer internet company, nonprofit or working in a startup or more “lean” environment where people need to be willing to be hands on and roll-up their sleeves as needed.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Detail-oriented and organized.
• Exhibit enthusiasm, passion, creativity and commitment.

Working at Chicago Public Media

We at Chicago Public Media care deeply about our employees as we know attracting, developing and growing talent is key to our success and enhancing our impact.  Our culture is one where collaboration, ideas, and innovation are encouraged.  We value colleagues who will enhance our culture by bringing new ideas, diverse experiences and talents to our dynamic workplace.

Chicago Public Media’s dedication to promoting diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion is reflective across our brands, WBEZ 91.5 FM and Vocalo 91.1 FM, in our staff and in our work.  We are fully focused on equality of opportunity and believe deeply in diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin and all other fascinating characteristics that make us different.

At Chicago Public Media we believe dedication to a great workplace includes supporting our employees and their families. As a result, we provide a broad and generous benefits package for you at hire and in the years to come.  Our benefits include:

•  6 weeks fully paid family leave
•  12 weeks paid maternity leave
•  Exceptional Medical, Dental, and Vision plans at an affordable cost
•  A  403(b)retirement plan with a company match
•  Generous paid time off, including starting with 3 weeks’ vacation and 4 personal days