Audience Development - Events

Washington, DC, New York, New York or Remote

Who we are

Semafor is a global news platform for an increasingly complex world in which consumers are overwhelmed by too many news sources and unsure what to trust. We are building Semafor to enable world-class journalists to deliver reporting and insights with rigor in journalistic forms that ensure a new level of transparency. Our editors and reporters distill the most important stories from all over in formats that uncover the forces shaping the stories, explain the interests behind polarizing narratives, and replenish the stock of shared facts.

As a global platform, Semafor recognizes that smart people can disagree and that informed readers need to understand alternative points of view from competing centers of power and culture in a multi-polar world. Want to join us? Read on.

Semafor is seeking an experienced Contract Audience Developer to support audience development and event execution for Semafor World Economy, our flagship global convening in Washington, D.C.

This role will take end-to-end responsibility for audience development across assigned events and programming, from initial audience strategy and list building through invitations, registration, attendee communications, and on-site readiness.

The successful candidate will combine strong audience judgment with hands‑on operational capabilities, ensuring that each event attracts the right mix of attendees, meets its participation targets, and delivers a seamless attendee experience.

Audience Strategy & Curation

• Develop and execute audience acquisition plans for assigned Semafor World Economy events.
• Build and curate targeted invitation lists using Semafor's internal databases and other relevant sources.
• Translate event briefs into clear audience criteria, including seniority, industry, organizational relevance, and desired audience composition.
• Work with internal stakeholders to align audience recruitment with editorial priorities, event objectives, and partner commitments where applicable.

Audience Acquisition & Communications

• Draft compelling invitation copy, registration messaging, reminders, and other attendee communications.
• Coordinate with the design team on the development and deployment of event invitations and associated creative assets.
• Manage invitation distribution, personalized outreach, follow-ups, and attendee communications.
• Track audience acquisition performance and proactively adjust outreach strategies to meet targets.

Event Website & Registration Management

• Manage event website content, registration pages, and RSVP workflows for assigned events.
• Ensure all event information, registration details, speaker content, and attendee‑facing materials are accurate and current.
• Maintain accurate registration data and manage attendee status changes, cancellations, and waitlists.
• Coordinate with relevant teams to troubleshoot registration issues and ensure a seamless attendee experience.

Capacity & Audience Management

• Own RSVP tracking and audience reporting for assigned events.
• Manage registration pipelines against venue capacity, attendance projections, and audience composition targets.
• Monitor not only the volume of registrations but also the quality and relevance of confirmed attendees against the event brief.
• Identify audience gaps and proactively recruit additional participants to maintain the desired balance.
• Manage over subscription, waitlists, and last‑minute attendance changes.

Cross-Functional Event Delivery

• Work closely with Editorial, Events, Design, Partnerships, and Audience Development teams throughout the event lifecycle.
• Maintain clear internal reporting on audience recruitment, registration progress,…