Senior Vice President, NPR Content Strategy & Business Development

Job description

OVERVIEW

A thriving, mission-driven multimedia organization, NPR produces award-winning news, information, and music programming in partnership with hundreds of independent public radio stations across the nation. The NPR audience values information, creativity, curiosity, and social responsibility – and our employees do too. We are innovators and leaders in diverse fields, from journalism and digital media to IT and development. Every day, our employees and member stations touch the lives of millions worldwide.

Across our organization, we’re building a workplace where collaboration is essential, diverse voices are heard, and inclusion is the key to our success. We are committed to doing the right thing in our journalism and in every role at NPR. This means that integrity, adherence to our ethical standards, and compliance with legal obligations are fundamental responsibilities for every employee at NPR.

Intro to Position

We are seeking a strategic, deal-driven SVP of Content Strategy & Business Development to lead the strategic expansion of our editorial reach and enterprise distribution. Reporting directly to the Chief Content Officer, this executive will serve as the primary architect and operator of our external partnership strategy. You will bridge the gap between our content production and revenue growth—identifying, negotiating, and executing strategic alliances with digital platforms, streaming networks, audio networks, and mission-aligned distribution partners.

In addition to structuring external partnerships, you will collaborate closely with enterprise stakeholders across the organization to standardize operational frameworks, direct the division’s OKR planning, and align resource allocation directly with Content’s overarching strategic objectives.

This is an NPR editorial role covered under the terms of the NPR Ethics Handbook. All editorial staff are bound by this guidance. Editorial staff is defined as staff members who play a role in shaping the journalistic or creative direction of NPR's content, including events.

Responsibilities

Strategic Business Development & Monetization

• Drive Partnership Revenue: Pitch, negotiate, and close high-value content distribution, co-production, and IP licensing deals for network content across platforms.

• Expand Distribution Channels: Identify and secure deal structures with major digital news aggregators, streaming platforms, newsletter networks, and public media systems to scale audience reach and maximize revenue.

• Innovate Business Models: Work alongside the CCO to design business models (e.g., enterprise member subscriptions, content licensing, revenue-share frameworks) that bring financial sustainability to NPR and the Network.

Partner Management & Strategic Alliances

• Co-Production & Joint Ventures: Structure operational agreements for collaborative, multi-newsroom reporting initiatives to ensure partner alignment while protecting editorial standards.

• Cross-Sector Alignment: Collaborate with executive leadership to identify grant-funded or corporate-sponsored distribution initiatives that support the organization's broader mission.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Execution

• CCO & Newsroom Partnership: Partner with the Chief Content Officer and network editorial leads to ensure business development strategies protect editorial standards and elevate network priorities.

• Deal Structuring & IP Oversight: Manage the contract lifecycle, intellectual property rights, licensing terms, and revenue-sharing mechanisms in collaboration with legal counsel.

• Metrics & Strategy Iteration: Track partnership performance, audience expansion, and net revenue to regularly present actionable pipeline insights to the CCO and executive team.

Business Operations

• Operational Excellence: Refine cross-departmental Content workflows to streamline project delivery and execution.

• Financial Oversight & Governance: Partner with Finance to direct divisional budgets, track CapEx, and forecast resource needs to maintain fiscal discipline.

• Workforce Strategy & Resource Allocation: Collaborate with People Team and Content leaders to drive organizational design, headcount planning and resource optimization.

• Strategy Stewardship: Lead the definition, tracking, and execution of divisional OKRs to align daily operations with overarching company goals.

The above duties and responsibilities are not an exhaustive list of required responsibilities, duties and skills. Other duties may be assigned, and this job description can be modified at any time.

Minimum Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in media business development, content licensing, distribution, or syndication within news or digital publishing.

• Proven history of initiating, negotiating, and closing complex, revenue-generating content distribution and licensing partnerships.

• An active network of media executives, syndicators, platform leads, and distribut

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