Community & Partnerships Lead, The Christian Science Monitor

Community & Partnerships Lead

The Christian Science Monitor is a mission-driven international news organization undergoing a period of strategic renewal. Amid a rapidly changing media landscape, we are deepening our commitment to thoughtful, independent journalism while adapting to how audiences discover, engage with, and support news today. This is an opportunity to help a distinctive organization strengthen its relationship with readers and expand its reach through trusted communities and partnerships.

The Community & Partnerships Lead works with the newsroom, as well as audience, product, and promotions teams, to develop and lead strategies that deepen engagement with Monitor journalism and extend its reach through communities and partnerships. As a key hub in newsroom operations, the role builds and activates relationships with the Christian Science field, highly engaged Monitor readers, and aligned communitiestranslating those relationships into meaningful advocacy, audience growth, and revenue opportunities. The role is also responsible for fostering direct relationships with audiences, identifying opportunities to engage readers more deeply, and translating audience feedback into actionable insights that can inform editorial and product decisions.

This is a hands-on role that blends strategic thinking with direct execution. The Community & Partnerships Lead designs and leads, in collaboration with the User Research team, initiatives such as listening sessions, community programs, and partnerships with aligned organizations, with the goal of building trust, expanding reach, and creating sustainable pathways for audience growth beyond traditional platforms.

The Community & Partnerships Lead approaches this work with curiosity and open-mindedness. The incumbent prizes thoughtful engagement, strong relationships, and a deep respect for the perspectives of readers and communities. They are also comfortable recognizing that, at the Monitor, success is not defined solely by numbers. We are inspired by our founder Mary Baker Eddy's instruction to "injure no man, but to bless all mankind."

The Community & Partnerships Lead is motivated by The Christian Science Monitor's founding mission "to spread undivided the Science that operates unspent." That includes hewing to our five operational guidelines:

• Bring a healing, purifying thought to many homes.
• Get above the fray.
• Cover the day's vital global news.
• Investigate ideals and endeavors, not just events.
• Be clean, family-friendly, and non-sensational.

The Community & Partnerships Lead embraces our newsroom's three culture pillars:

• We're scrappy.
• We're rigorous.
• We have unwavering fidelity to our mission.

The Community & Partnerships Lead is responsible for working with senior management to develop and lead strategies that deepen relationships with audiences and extend the reach and impact of Monitor journalism through communities and partnerships. The incumbent builds and activates networks of engaged readersincluding the Christian Science field and other aligned audienceswhile collaborating across the newsroom, audience, product, and promotions teams to translate those relationships into meaningful engagement, advocacy, and growth.

Core responsibilities include:

• Strengthens and activates relationships with the Christian Science field, developing approaches that enable members to more actively engage with, support, and advocate for the Monitor and its journalism
• Builds and deepens relationships with other highly engaged readers and aligned communities, identifying opportunities to translate those relationships into advocacy and support
• Designs and leads, in collaboration with the User Research team, community engagement initiatives such as listening sessions, reader forums, and advisory groups that foster trust and ongoing dialogue with audiences and synthesizes that feedback into actionable recommendations
• Identifies and develops partnerships with aligned organizations, institutions (e.g., universities), and communities that expand reach and introduce new audiences to the Monitor, with a focus on sustained audience growth and engagement
• Works across the newsroom to connect reporters and editors with audiences in meaningful ways, including facilitating conversations, events, and other forms of direct engagement
• Collaborates with the Audience Growth Lead, Strategic Initiatives Lead, and product and promotions teams to ensure community and partnership efforts align with broader growth and engagement priorities

Supervisor: Managing Publisher

Direct Reports: None

Regular Contacts: Works closely with the Editor, Managing Editor, Audience Growth Lead, Strategic Initiatives Lead, and other senior newsroom leaders, as well as product and promotions teams

Job Requirements:

Education/Experience:

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree in journalism, communications, or related field preferred
• 710+ years of experience building and activating communities, networks, or partnershipssuch as in journalism, advocacy, organizing, membership-based organizations, or mission-driven institutions preferred
• Demonstrated experience mobilizing audiences or stakeholders around a shared purposeturning interest or affinity into active engagement, participation, or advocacy
• Experience working in or with mission-driven organizations, media organizations, or communities with strong values alignment preferred

Knowledge and skills:

• Strong ability to build trust and relationships with a wide range of audiences, including highly engaged and values-driven communities
• Demonstrated ability to activate and mobilize communitiesturning audience interest into participation, advocacy, and sustained engagement
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing community engagement or partnership strategies that drive meaningful outcomes
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to represent the Monitor effectively with external audiences, partners, and community members
• Strong instincts for identifying opportunities to connect people to the Monitor's journalism in ways that feel meaningful, authentic, and aligned with its mission and voice
• Ability to translate audience feedback and engagement into clear, actionable insights that inform editorial, product, or growth decisions
• Ability to design and lead initiatives such as listening sessions, partnerships, or community programs, and to move them from concept to execution
• Comfort working across teams and influencing without direct authority
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously
• Persistence, attention to detail, and proactiveness
• Thoughtful understanding of how trust, credibility, and long-term relationships are builtand how those relationships can translate into advocacy and growth

Technology Skills:

• Familiarity with tools and platforms used to gather and manage audience feedback (e.g., surveys, forms, community platforms, or CRM systems)
• Experience using audience insights and engagement tools to identify patterns, surface themes, and inform decisions
• Comfort using communication and engagement tools (e.g., email platforms, virtual event tools, or community forums) to connect with and activate audiences
• Ability to organize and synthesize qualitative feedback at scale, and translate it into clear insights for internal teams
• Comfort working with collaboration and project management tools (e.g., Google Workspace or similar)
• Uses AI tools to support research, synthesis of feedback, and communication workflows, with a willingness to experiment and adapt as tools evolve

Work Environment:

Three full days a week in the Boston newsroom strongly preferred.

Engagement with Christian Science:

Membership in The Mother Church required, Primary Class instruction highly preferred.

Pay range: $114,112 - $148,346.80 annually

The pay ranges disclosed in our job postings are the compensation ranges the Church reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for a given position at the time of posting.

The offered salary will be determined by factors such as the applicant's relevant education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities; and benchmarking, work location, and internal equity.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.

Equal Opportunity Employer This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.