Membership Manager

Location: NC-based, remote position

Reports to: Community Engagement Director

Salary: Starting at $80,000

NC Local is a statewide nonprofit newsroom on a mission to connect North Carolinians to the issues shaping their lives. We make complex state issues understandable and useful, hold public institutions accountable, and help communities become more informed and civically engaged.

We started our journey by asking people across North Carolina what news and information they needed most. Since launching in fall 2025, we've surfaced stories no one else was covering, brought communities together around critical issues at events, and built partnerships with newsrooms and other organizations across the state. We've also secured investments from major philanthropic institutions and a growing base of donors who see NC Local's vision and path to scale.

Now we're growing our team to reach our next level of impact. This role will shape the strategy that carries NC Local from its launch year to a sustainable organization that serves every part of this state. It's an opportunity to join a well-backed startup and help a dedicated team shape it into an enduring statewide institution.

NC Local is seeking a skilled audience strategist to develop our audience and build a membership program from the ground up. As a new brand, NC Local is on a fast-paced path to developing a loyal audience for our journalism, regional newsletters and across our growing partnership network. Our readers appreciate our work and are sending recurring donations. Now, it's time to develop a membership program that charts pathways from reader to supporter.

You’ll also own how North Carolinians come to know NC Local in the first place. Working closely with our digital engagement producer and other team members, this role promotes our journalism and the NC Local brand and drives initiatives that attract signups for our email newsletters and other products.

The work runs from the top of the funnel to the bottom. You'll grow the audience through marketing and digital tools, study what the data and the CRM tells you about who’s ready to give, and run the campaigns that ask them for their support.

NC Local has ambitious yet achievable targets for membership revenue, and this role will design and lead the program that gets us there. This is a role for someone who’s comfortable with a blank page and wants to own something end to end, while working collaboratively and cross-functional with colleagues on the newsroom and development teams and with executive leadership.

Drive awareness of NC Local

Build and run a marketing strategy that grows awareness of NC Local across the state, including in counties where people currently meet our journalism through a partner outlet. Market membership as a key NC Local initiative, managing landing pages, campaign creatives, paid and organic promotion, and messaging for the case for supporting NC Local’s statewide journalism. Maintain a marketing campaign calendar that connects product launches, coverage moments and giving campaigns.

Look for co-marketing opportunities with partner newsrooms, community organizations and events.

Build and lead the membership program

Define the membership offerings: tiers, benefits and incentives Design the end-to-end member experience, from welcome series through renewal. Develop and manage member benefits, such as events, premium newsletters, behind-the-scenes briefings and other incentives. Set up the systems, tools and workflows to run the program. Serve as the primary point person for member inquiries, trouble-shooting and other questions.

Grow and convert the audience

Grow newsletter subscribers using approaches specific to the product. Use digital tools to turn anonymous readers into known contacts - call-outs, sign-up prompts, surveys, guides and other resources. Analyze the CRM and analytics together to segment audiences by engagement level and to tailor campaigns and identify who’s ready to convert. Build direct relationships with people who encounter our journalism across all platforms and products - our site, our newsletters, our…