Audience Engagement Assistant

We're hiring!

Block Club Chicago is hiring a full‑time Audience Engagement Assistant with good news judgment, experience in social media content creation (including video) and an obsession with Chicago’s neighborhoods to engage our audience across multiple platforms.

This person will work closely with our social media and newsletter editors to create content that resonates with our readers in newsletters and on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, Blue Sky, X, Threads and Linked In. They will also identify stories based on social trends, breaking news or tips from readers.

• Help execute Block Club’s audience engagement strategy for the newsroom via social media and newsletters.
• Film, edit videos for Tik Tok and Instagram using stories already published on Block Club’s website and original content you pitch.
• Adapt content from our site to meet platform‑specific performance goals, including turning stories into:
  • Instagram text and photo carousels
  • Photo slideshows on Instagram/Tik Tok
  • Instagram story slides
  • Linked In posts
• Work with the newsletter editor to build, edit and send daily newsletters to readers in neighborhoods across the city.
• Manage and share metrics across the organization as needed and work toward internal KPIs.
• Collaborate with the newsroom’s revenue team as needed to help with paid placements on social media and in newsletters.
• Work with journalists in the newsroom and the field to capture video and photos to create visually compelling Reels and Tik Tok posts.

• 1‑2 years of experience in social media or journalism
• Knowledge of Chicago and its neighborhoods
• Excellent news judgment and ability to work fast under tight deadlines
• Strong writing and editing skills — especially for headlines, subject lines and captions
• Knowledge of Cap Cut, Canva and/or other vertical video‑editing tools
• Familiarity with Chartbeat, Instagram and Tik Tok analytics
• Familiarity with newsletter platforms or newsletters generally
• A passion for Chicago news and a dedication to Block Club and its mission

This position is based in Chicago and requires the person to live in the Chicago area. It is a hybrid role, meaning you will work from home and also from Block Club’s Downtown office. Must be willing to travel to various locations across the city to capture video and photo elements for social media posts.

Send an email explaining why you’re a good fit for this job along with your resume and links to your social media accounts or accounts you manage/have managed. Please include any newsletters you’ve worked on, engagement projects you’ve tackled or anything else you’re proud of and would like us to see.

Put “Audience job” in the subject line, please!

Final date to receive applications is May 22, 2026.

This position offers a salary range of $55,000‑$65,000, commensurate with experience.

Full benefits (medical, dental, vision), 401K.

Generous vacation policy after 90 days of employment.

Ability to pitch your own stories every day and explore things that interest you.

Supportive, scrappy, tight‑knit editorial team.

Block Club believes the diversity of our community is a fundamental strength of our region. Our mission is best fulfilled when we embrace diversity as a value and a practice. We maintain that achieving diversity requires an enduring commitment to inclusion that must find full expression in our organizational culture, values, norms and behaviors. Throughout our work, we will support diversity in all of its forms, encompassing but not limited to age, disability status, economic circumstance, ethnicity, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation.