Vice President, Talent Strategy

The role

The Vice President of Talent Strategy serves as the principal architect and strategic scout for creative, journalistic, and host talent. You will align talent acquisition, career stewardship, and creator partnerships with NPR's multimedia vision.

What you will do

• Serve as the primary executive liaison and advisor to high-profile journalists, hosts, and creative contributors.
• Design and lead a discovery strategy to build a diverse pipeline of on-air and digital talent.
• Act as the central connective tissue between creative talent, representatives, and internal executive teams.
• Oversee talent agreement frameworks, including contract renewals, compensation structures, and rights agreements.
• Ensure talent recruitment and partner strategies reflect NPR's mission and journalistic ethics.
• Partner with Content Insights to evaluate audience consumption trends and future talent requirements.
• Embed diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into talent identification and retention.

Required qualifications

• 12+ years of progressive executive leadership in talent management, talent relations, media recruiting, or creative talent strategy within news, podcasting, digital media, or broadcast entertainment.
• Demonstrated, active network of professional relationships with journalists, creators, literary and talent agencies, management firms, and digital-first storytellers.
• Proven track record of structuring and negotiating complex, multi-party talent contracts, intellectual property rights, and compensation agreements.
• Demonstrated success building and sustaining diverse, multi-perspective talent rosters.
• Substantive experience acting as a trusted mediator in high-stakes creative environments.
• Unwavering commitment to editorial independence, high-integrity journalism, and the civic mission of public media.
• Executive Relationship Building: Exceptional diplomatic presence.
• Contractual & Negotiation Acumen: Strong fluency with creative intellectual property rights, talent deal points, non-disclosure terms, and talent contract structuring.
• Audience & Format Vision: Forward-looking creative perspective.
• Strategic Collaboration: Ability to lead complex cross-functional alignments.
• Crisis Management & Discretion: Exceptional judgment, confidentiality, and composure.
• Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communications, Media Studies, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent practical work experience.

Nice to have

• Prior experience navigating talent relations within a federated, public service, or non-profit media network operating alongside union collective bargaining agreements (e.g., SAG-AFTRA).
• Proven experience executing creator-led co-productions, live podcast tours, or multi-platform distribution partnerships.
• Familiarity with the commercial and sponsorship frameworks unique to digital audio, podcast monetization, and multi-market station networks.

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

• Employee must reside in Washington, D.C. / Maryland / Virginia / New York City.
• 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.