Audience Development Manager

The Role

City Cast is seeking a passionate community and brand builder to join our City Cast Chicago team as Audience Development Manager. This person will be the engine behind our local audience growth efforts and our broader relationship with our fans in your city. The ideal candidate comes prepared to build fandom around this new local media brand through marketing tactics including social media strategy, partnerships, membership and events.

Application Due: Friday, January 30, 2026

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

Social Media & Audience Engagement

• Be the cultural pulse of the brand on social media, knowing what matters to the local community, who is influencing local culture, and what content matters most to our audience. Use this knowledge to inform local podcast and newsletter topics and also to inform HQ marketing approaches
• Work with Executive Producer, Creative Producers and Host to develop content and engagement approaches across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit
• Engage with our audience daily across all platforms, including monitoring and responding to comments and DMs on IG, TT, Spotify, YouTube, Reddit and other key audience touchpoints
• Identify and share back analytics, trends, wins, and learnings from social performance

• Monitor all local audience-facing platforms and touchpoints to ensure consistency with City Cast’s brand, voice, and overarching marketing strategy

Local Marketing & Membership Execution

• Develop approach to localized marketing plan and budget spend in conjunction with national marketing team
• Collaborate with the marketing by executing on partnerships, sponsorships, events and collaboration opportunities with local organizations and like-minded brands.
• Help execute PR opportunities at the local level.
• Collect and create local content for marketing team to use in ads promoting City Cast Chicago
• Collaborate with the national membership team to optimize the local member experience
• Share back local insights, cultural dynamics, city trends, and innovative ideas with City Cast marketing and membership teams to inform our work nationally

What We’re Looking For

• 2+ years experience in social media, audience engagement, or community management
• Experience driving audience growth strategies for a brand
• Deep knowledge of Chicago’s local culture, institutions, events, who is influencing who, and online communities
• Strong writing and voice skills — you know how to sound human, engaging, and on-brand
• Familiarity with TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and short-form video content creation
• Highly organized, self-directed, ready to roll up your sleeves, and energized by connecting with people
• A collaborative spirit who thrives in a startup-like environment

Benefits

The Audience Development Manager will report to the Executive Producer of City Cast Chicago. This position is full-time, with excellent benefits. The annual salary range is $75,000 - $110,000 depending on experience. You must be local, though work will be primarily remote. City Cast is an equal opportunity employer committed to excellence through diversity, which involves attracting talented people from diverse backgrounds and traditions. . We encourage everyone to apply.