Director of Audience Outreach and Community Engagement

Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting

PO Box 284, Hallowell, Maine, , United States

Web:

Company Profile

Contact Email: contact

Location: Hallowell, Maine, United States

Employment Type: Full time,

Salary: $64000-$68000 per year

Job Title
:
Director of Audience Outreach and Community Engagement

Location
:
Maine (hybrid)

Position Type
:
Full-Time

Reports to
:
Executive Director

The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting (MCPIR), which publishes The Maine Monitor, is a nonprofit news organization reporting on issues of public interest in the state of Maine. Founded in 2009, MCPIR has grown in size and impact, employing 19 and publishing daily and weekly newsletters. We have quadrupled our staff and increased our newsletter subscribers by more than 200% over the last four years.

In addition to The Maine Monitor, which produces critical investigative and in-depth accountability journalism on issues of statewide importance, since November 2025, we produce Monitor Local, a division of The Maine Monitor focused on providing civic news for rural communities across Maine. The Maine Monitor’s reporting is widely respected for its depth and insights, winning local and national awards.

About the role

The Maine Monitor is seeking a Director of Audience Outreach and Community Engagement to lead our strategy for reaching new readers and engaging communities both online and in-person. We see this role as core to our overall mission, and the individual as part of our senior leadership team. Journalism only fulfills its purpose if it reaches the people of Maine it’s meant to serve, and stays with them — and neither of those things happens passively.

It requires someone who is willing to learn where different communities across Maine actually get their information, build trust and create opportunities for community conversations around our reporting, and bring what we learn back into the newsroom. This person will build awareness of our work among Mainers who don’t yet know us and deepen the habits and trust of the readers we already have.

This role will guide how Mainers discover, connect with and help shape our journalism, from search and social media to newsletters, events and beyond. This senior leadership role reports directly to the Executive Director and carries two equally important pillars of responsibility:

• Audience growth and discovery — ensure our journalism reaches new readers across the state through digital channels, search and SEO, newsletters, social platforms and emerging technologies. Take the lead in proposing strategic adjustments as needed, informed by data.
• Community engagement and convening — conceive and oversee the execution of community engagement activities, including informal gatherings, speaking appearances for our staff, tabling at community events, and our formal Monitor Talks live journalism events. Strategically plan community engagement to enhance awareness of The Monitor’s journalism and build trust, strengthen relationships and ensure our reporting reflects the information needs of Maine communities.

As The Monitor expands into new regions and deepens its statewide footprint, the Director of Audience Outreach and Community Engagement will be central to ensuring our journalism both reaches wider, more diverse audiences and serves as a trusted community resource and convener. This role manages a small team, including the digital editor (a member of the leadership team himself) and an engagement and outreach specialist;

it coordinates and collaborates closely with peers across editorial and development to align strategies for growth, engagement and sustainability.

The position is an exempt position. It requires periodic in-person presence at the organization’s office in Augusta and at events around the state, but otherwise can be done remotely in Maine.

Specifically, this role will:

Audience Growth & Discovery

• Social: Lead social strategy that focuses on new audience discovery and building community. Develop a video strategy in collaboration with the…