Head of Growth & Retention

Company: Upward News

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Job Summary

We're looking for a Head of Growth & Retention to own subscriber acquisition, conversion optimization, and retention across every channel. You'll oversee the full funnel — from paid ads and partnerships to newsletter conversion rates, social media strategy, and churn reduction.

This is both a strategic and hands-on role. You'll test, analyze, and optimize every step of the user journey to scale our audience and grow revenue sustainably.

Responsibilities

• Scale Paid Acquisition: Plan, test, and optimize paid campaigns (Meta, Google, X, etc.) to grow free and paid subscribers. Manage partnerships, list swaps, and cross-promotions with other aligned newsletters and organizations.
• Optimize Conversion Funnels: Improve upgrade rates across newsletters, landing pages, and social media channels. Run A/B tests on headlines, CTAs, pricing, and copy to increase conversions.
• Social Media Strategy: Develop content and ad strategies that convert followers into paid members. Collaborate with our creative and editorial teams to ensure consistent messaging and results.
• Retention & Lifecycle Marketing: Analyze churn, engagement, and satisfaction data. Design lifecycle campaigns (email, upsells, reactivation) to retain paying subscribers.
• Data & Experimentation: Build dashboards, track KPIs, and run continuous experiments to improve performance. Translate insights into actionable growth and retention playbooks.
• Content Feedback Loop: Work with editorial to identify which stories drive conversions and improve audience satisfaction.
  
  

Qualifications

• 4+ years in growth, lifecycle, or performance marketing — ideally in media, newsletters, or subscriptions.
• Deep experience with paid acquisition (Meta, Google, native, etc.) and conversion optimization.
• Strong understanding of email marketing, funnels, and behavioral analytics (Stripe, Beehiiv, GA, etc.).
• Proven track record increasing paid conversions and reducing churn.
• Analytical, curious, and relentless about testing and improving.
• Aligned with Upward News's mission and audience.
• Experience with political media or cause-based marketing