Senior Vice President, NPR Content Strategy & Business Development

The role

This executive will lead the strategic expansion of editorial reach and enterprise distribution. You will identify, negotiate, and execute strategic alliances with digital platforms, streaming networks, and audio networks to drive revenue and audience growth.

What you will do

• Pitch, negotiate, and close high-value content distribution, co-production, and IP licensing deals.
• Identify and secure deal structures with digital news aggregators, streaming platforms, and newsletter networks.
• Design business models such as enterprise member subscriptions and content licensing.
• Structure operational agreements for collaborative multi-newsroom reporting initiatives.
• Collaborate with executive leadership to identify grant-funded or corporate-sponsored distribution initiatives.
• Partner with the Chief Content Officer and network editorial leads to protect editorial standards.
• Manage the contract lifecycle, intellectual property rights, and revenue-sharing mechanisms.
• Track partnership performance, audience expansion, and net revenue.
• Refine cross-departmental Content workflows.
• Partner with Finance to direct divisional budgets and forecast resource needs.

Required qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in media business development, content licensing, distribution, or syndication within news or digital publishing.
• Proven history of initiating, negotiating, and closing complex, revenue-generating content distribution and licensing partnerships.
• An active network of media executives, syndicators, platform leads, and distribution decision-makers.
• Deep appreciation for independent journalism and understanding of balancing revenue with editorial integrity.
• Direct experience structuring IP licensing, copyright agreements, syndication contracts, and revenue-share models.
• Deep familiarity with IP licensing, copyright frameworks, syndication contracts, and revenue-sharing mechanisms for collective/networked content.
• Strong negotiation skills, analytical capability, and clear communication style.
• Experience collaborating with senior journalists, newsroom leadership, and legal teams.
• Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communications, Media Studies, Business Administration, or a related field, OR equivalent practical work experience.
• Must reside in the D.C. Metropolitan Area, which includes Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia.

Nice to have

• Substantive understanding of the public media system, member-supported networks, or federated non-profit distribution models.
• Direct commercial deal-making experience in episodic audio, podcast network syndication, or connected-car/smart-device audio ecosystems.
• Familiarity with public media sponsorship rules, non-profit business parameters, and related FCC regulatory environments.

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life/ accidental death and dismemberment
• Long-term disability
• Short-term disability
• Voluntary retirement savings
• Access to health and wellness
• Paid time off
• Financial well-being

Before you apply

• This is an NPR editorial role covered under the terms of the NPR Ethics Handbook.

About the company

NPR is a mission-driven multimedia organization that produces news, information, and music programming in partnership with hundreds of independent public radio stations.