Programming Strategist (Optimization Nat Geo Animals & Nat Geo Kids YouTube

The National Geographic Programming Strategy team owns the planning and scheduling of our National Geographic content across platforms, including linear, nonlinear, DTC and You Tube platforms, and sits within the Disney Entertainment Television group. The team programs hundreds of hours of premiere content per year, as well as library content in both long and short form formats. From linear and nonlinear television to Disney+, You Tube and beyond, our team crafts the release strategies that connect our content with the largest possible audience across all platforms.

The team is the ultimate curators, platform strategists and slate planners for National Geographic content from the Walt Disney Company.

The Programming Strategist leads day-to-day management and optimization of National Geographic’s You Tube channels, Nat Geo Animals and Nat Geo Kids, driving content execution, publishing, and performance growth. This role partners cross-functionally to ensure effective distribution and alignment with platform strategy, leveraging You Tube analytics and creative tools including Premiere and Photoshop to deliver data-driven, high-performing content across the You Tube channels.

• Optimize content, metadata, and thumbnails across You Tube channels, aligning with brand performance and best practices.
• Enter all information required for upload and metadata flow for titles, descriptions, metadata, tags, chapters, thumbnails, and end screens to You Tube.
• Ensure accuracy, quality control, and timely delivery of all published content.
• Support execution of content plans defined by the Programming Strategy team.

• Manage daily channel operations, including homepage curation, playlist organization, metadata updates, and link maintenance.
• Work with Operations to troubleshoot upload, content, or platform issues and provide feedback on tools and workflows.
• Serve as one of the key contacts for Operations, You Tube/Google partners, and internal stakeholders.

• Monitor channel and content performance in partnership with Research teams.
• Track key metrics such as views, watch time, CTR, and retention.
• Apply performance learnings to improve thumbnails, titles, and metadata; optimize content packaging and publishing cadence; and support testing and iteration of content formats and presentations.

• Implement You Tube best practices across all uploads and channel experiences.
• Stay current on platform trends, algorithm shifts, and emerging features.
• Assist in testing and refining thumbnails, titles, and formats using performance insights.

• Partner with Programming, Operations, Production, Marketing, and Digital teams to execute content plans.
• Support promotional campaigns, tentpoles, and cross-platform initiatives.

• Monitor audience behavior, trends, and feedback to inform optimization decisions.
• Share observations and insights with the broader team to improve programming strategy.

• Support technical workflows related to fingerprinting, content claims, monetization, and geo‑filtering.
• Assist with implementation of platform features such as Shorts or Live initiatives.

• Experience: 3+ years of experience managing and growing a major You Tube channel. You Tube certification is a plus. Familiarity in the designated Made for Kids space and direct experience navigating COPPA restrictions and MFK platform restrictions.
• Platform Expertise: Expert in digital content optimization, monetization, You Tube Studio/Analytics, growing an online community, SEO and/or copywriting, and You Tube best practices.
• Strategic & Creative: Ability to translate complex trends into actionable content strategies; skilled at collaborating with creative teams. Experience working with or within established brand guidelines for a globally recognized media company, including maintaining tone, visual style, and messaging consistency across content.
• Operational Excellence :
  Highly organized, with…