Director of CRM, The Athletic

$160-185k

This range is based on US market data and may vary in other locations

Senior and Expert level

Remote from Canada, US

More information about location

Subscription-based sports content publisher

Job no longer available

Subscription-based sports content publisher

501-1000 employees

B2CPublishingContentSports

Job no longer available

$160-185k

This range is based on US market data and may vary in other locations

Senior and Expert level

Remote from Canada, US

More information about location

501-1000 employees

B2CPublishingContentSports

Company mission

To produce smarter coverage for die-hard fans and redefine the way fans get access to sports content by flipping the normal model for sports journalism.

Job

Company

Role

Who you are

8+ years of experience leading individuals and teams to achieve tangible results, guiding people from inception through to successful execution
Experience managing a diverse and distributed team, including skill building and career development
Experience partnering with digital product and data teams
Experience guiding technical discussions as it relates to CRM tooling, data and technology
Experience collaborating with journalists or working in a newsroom is a plus
This is a remote role for candidates based in the United States or Canada only

What the job involves

You will be responsible for leading CRM at The Athletic, including setting the vision and strategy for the program, advancing our practices and guiding cross functional operations to achieve our company objectives
You are a strategic leader who will be responsible for driving innovation and change in CRM, to ensure we deliver a best-in-class experience for sports fans everyday
You will use CRM to drive subscriber growth, engagement and retention, to help solidify The Athletic as the best sports news destination in the world
Develop the strategy for driving prospect and subscriber engagement through CRM channels and beyond, in service of subscriber conversion and retention
Serve as the leader of CRM and represent the strategy and work to company leadership
Set strategic and operational goals that quantify CRM impact and progress towards key goals, ensuring that the CRM strategy ladders into broader company objectives
Partner with editorial, product and marketing to design and develop the editorial newsletter and content portfolio to achieve subscription business objectives
Represent and communicate CRM’s strategy, priorities, and impact in presentations, discussions, and other live forums across the company
Guide prioritization and trade offs to ensure the team has sharp focus and can maximize impact
Guide experimentation and the continuous advancement of email products and formats
Leverage technology to advance our CRM practices, including targeting, automation, and algorithmic decisioning
Act as a stakeholder and decision maker for teams that collaborate closely with CRM, including product, engineering, data, marketing, commercial and editorial teams
Serve as the client to vendors and partners, making our requirements known and maintaining strong relationships
Manage and grow the CRM team, setting performance expectations and providing mentorship to become an industry-leading practice and organization

Our take

The Athletic provides authentic, in-depth coverage written by journalists who know the teams they write about inside out. Its model bucks the trend of traditional sports journalism outfits by asking for a subscription rather than relying on ad-revenue.

Despite initial doubts that users would be willing to pay for sports journalistic content, The Athletic has found significant success and was acquired by the New York Times in 2022. Despite it operating at a loss directly after the takeover, it was clear that the New York Times perceived this as a long-term investment.

In 2025, it was reported that The Athletic was now profitable, which aligns well with its parent's prediction of profitability within 4 years. This has been aided by accelerated customer growth alongside the rising trend of subscription-based sports news.

Kirsty

Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle

Insights

Top investors

20% female employees

8% employee growth in 12 months

Glassdoor (3.8)

Trustpilot (1.1)

Company

Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)

Jan 2020

$50m

SERIES D

May 2019

$21.8m

SERIES C

Total funding: $139.7m

Company benefits

Paid Time Off
Paid Sick Leave
Paid Parental Leave
401 (k)
Short & Long Term Disability
Free Subscription
Competitive Health Care
HSA & FSA
Commuter Benefits

Company HQ

Financial District, San Francisco, CA

Leadership

Adam Hansmann

(President & Co-Founder)

Previously a McKinsey Business Analyst and then Associate at Calera Capital.

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