Sr. Manager, Local Content and Presence

Position Title:

Sr. Manager, Local Content & Presence

Department:

Station Services

Corporate Area:

Station Services

Status:

Regular, Full time Exempt

Manager Title:

Director, Station Program Management

Position Overview:

The Senior Manager, Local Content and Presence, plays an important, matrixed, role on the Station Services team, to manage PBS’s portfolio of member station products and services that better connect audiences to local stations through localized station experiences across PBS-owned platforms. The incumbent works across PBS to represent stations as a stakeholder for content management and distribution products and services. The position will collaborate on the creation of a range of turnkey tools, training, and resources for stations and work to strengthen station understanding of PBS's multi-platform strategy.

The Station Products and Initiatives team works to maximize the quality and impact of PBS’s partnerships, products, and services for stations. By leading multi-departmental programs and initiatives, the Station Products and Initiatives team strives to improve PBS member station success in reaching new audiences, engaging their audiences across platforms, and opening new opportunities for revenue.

Key responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Strategic Collaboration & Leadership

• Acts as lead stakeholder and advocate on behalf of all member stations for PBS's portfolio of local station content related products, ensuring that their needs are communicated throughout PBS to create opportunities to build station sustainability

• Serve as a bridge between PBS and PBS member station staff to increase local presence across PBS platforms and enable discovery and presentation of local content to localized users

• Leads cross-functional collaboration with Product, Marketing, Engagement, PBS content teams, and PBS senior management to align stakeholders, drive decisions in complex situations, and advance strategic initiatives/projects on behalf of PBS, including developing deployment plans for new or enhanced product releases and implementing those plans when assigned

Station Relationship Management

• Proactively engages member stations to gather and interpret input on their needs, communicates findings and recommendations to PBS partners and senior leadership, and as needed, work with other PBS teams to develop and implement solutions and/or new initiatives that improve stations' local content and presence strategies

• Manages PBS relationships with member stations and crafts communications to provide:

  • Product rollout information, product marketing materials, training, and continuing implementation resources

  • Guidance on use and deployment of related products and services

• Organize collaborations among PBS member stations

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders through consistent, reliable follow-through

Product Marketing & Distribution Support

• Partners with teams across PBS, including Product, Marketing, and Engagement, to help stations maximize the distribution and marketing of their content, managing and prioritizing station feedback and building business case justifications for further product and service growth. Products and services include:

  • Local Content Distribution and Management: PBS's CMS systems; Local distribution endpoints; Local Content initiatives

  • Local Presence and Marketing: Curate content scheduling platform, Station presence on PBS.org, Mobile and OTT apps

• Manage relationships with outside vendors in support of delivering distribution and content-related products and services where appropriate

Team & Organizational Support

• Provide support to members of the Station Services team

• Promote an environment of collaboration to best serve the needs of stations and PBS

• Provide regular project updates, including station on-boarding status for PBS staff

• Represent PBS Station Services at system meetings and conferences as needed

• Perform other duties as assigned

Requirements for success:

• 4 - 6 years of progressively responsible work experience in product management and development, project management, business analysis, or other fields involving digital media and technology

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, media, technology, marketing or related field preferred. An equivalent combination of education and work experience may be considered.

• An understanding of public broadcasting station or non-profit membership organization operations. Prior employment, or extensive interaction with public media stations, is highly valued.

• A strong background in digital technologies, specifically video technologies.

• A strong customer service orientation

• Relational intelligence and stakeholder management between customers, specifically member stations and producers

• Solution minded thinker who can assess situations and identify solutions

• Ability to communicate at all levels of the organization (including senior management and peer groups) on issues of product strategy and ongoing station communications

• Skilled at bridging communication between technical and non-technical teams, serving as an effective translator between audiences to drive shared understanding and alignment Knowledge of the media, distribution, and streaming landscapes, including current industry and user trends, emerging technologies, and standards

• Ability to analyze and gather both quantitative and qualitative data, and to present findings and recommendations

• Excellent management and interpersonal skills

• Ability to work quickly in a fast-paced and rapidly changing environment

• Attention to detail and pride in high-quality execution of work

• Enthusiastic and energetic team player who is excited about the possibilities afforded by new technologies

PBS is an Equal Opportunity Employer in accordance with the EEOC and the Commonwealth of Virginia.