Head of Social & Audience Development

Job Description

Job Description

Overview of The Drum

The Drum is evolving from a traditional publishing business into a global media, events and intelligence company connecting the world’s marketing leaders through journalism, experiences, insights and community.

As the marketing industry undergoes profound disruption driven by AI, changing media consumption and new forms of influence, The Drum is building a more audience-first and socially driven business, where journalism, events, video, rankings, intelligence and commercial partnerships work together to build influence and engagement.

Social platforms are no longer simply distribution channels. They are increasingly where audiences discover brands, consume content and build professional communities.

Our ambition is simple: to become the most influential social brand serving the global marketing industry. This role will be central to that transformation.

The Role

As Head of Social, Audience & Influence, you will be responsible for making The Drum one of the world’s most influential media brands for marketers.

You will own The Drum’s social strategy, audience growth and platform presence globally, ensuring our journalism, events, awards, intelligence products and commercial initiatives consistently reach and engage the right audiences.

This is a highly visible leadership role sitting at the intersection of editorial, content, events, commercial and brand strategy.

You will lead how The Drum shows up across LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, newsletters and emerging platforms, helping transform the business into a truly social-first organisation where audience growth and influence are built into everything we do.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to redefine how a global media brand builds influence in the modern marketing landscape.

You will shape how audiences discover The Drum, engage with our journalism and participate in our communities.

You will create the frameworks, formats and culture that enable The Drum to become a must-follow brand for marketers globally.

The successful candidate will combine strategic thinking with hands-on social expertise, strong editorial instincts and a deep understanding of how influence is built in modern media.

Key Responsibilities

Social & Influence Strategy

• Develop and own The Drum’s global social and audience strategy.

• Define how The Drum builds influence across LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, X, newsletters and emerging platforms.

• Establish clear objectives, KPIs and growth plans for each platform.

• Identify new opportunities for audience growth, engagement and brand visibility.

• Ensure social and audience thinking informs business strategy across editorial, events and commercial activities.

Social Media Leadership

• Own The Drum’s organic social media strategy globally.

• Build The Drum into one of the most influential social brands within marketing and media.

• Establish governance, publishing standards and platform best practice across the organisation.

• Lead experimentation with new formats, technologies and emerging platforms.

• Create scalable reporting frameworks that measure both audience growth and influence.

Social-First Content & Franchise Development

• Develop repeatable social-first content franchises and editorial formats.

• Identify opportunities to create recurring shows, video series and platform-native content properties.

• Ensure major editorial initiatives are designed for social impact from the outset.

• Build systems that maximise the value and lifecycle of all content investments.

• Partner with editorial teams to identify stories and formats with strong social potential.

Thought Leadership & Creator Strategy

• Develop strategies that increase the visibility and influence of The Drum’s editors, journalists and senior leaders.

• Build frameworks that encourage internal participation and thought leadership.

• Support senior stakeholders in building professional influence across key platforms.

• Identify opportunities to collaborate with creators, industry voices and external communities.

• Help position The Drum and its people as essential voices within the global marketing industry.

Video & Multimedia Growth

• Develop a social-first video strategy across all platforms.

• Partner with editorial and production teams to create scalable video formats.

• Ensure all multimedia content is designed with audience behaviour and platform consumption habits in mind.

• Integrate podcasts, documentaries, short-form video and live content into wider audience strategies.

• Drive the growth of video audiences and engagement.

Audience Development & Distribution

• Build repeatable distribution frameworks for major editorial campaigns, events and industry moments.

• Ensure audience planning becomes an integral part of editorial commissioning and business planning.

• Create systems that maximise reach across owned and third-party platforms.

• Monitor audience insights and performance data to continually improve strategy.

• Champion intelligent content repurposing and cross-platform distribution.

Business-Wide Audience Leadership

• Partner closely with Editorial, Events, Awards, Commercial and Marketing teams.

• Ensure audience and influence objectives are embedded across the business.

• Support the promotion of major events, awards and proprietary initiatives.

• Develop practical frameworks that allow all teams to contribute to audience growth.

• Build a culture where audience thinking is everyone’s responsibility while maintaining clear ownership of social strategy and performance.

Commercial Audience Strategy

• Support commercial teams in demonstrating The Drum’s audience and influence capabilities.

• Develop audience strategies for branded content and commercial partnerships.

• Help partners maximise value from their relationships with The Drum.

• Identify opportunities to create socially driven sponsorship and partnership products.

What Success Looks Like

• The Drum becomes one of the most influential social brands in global marketing.

• Significant growth across LinkedIn, YouTube, newsletters and emerging channels.

• Stronger audience engagement and increased brand visibility globally.

• Social-first thinking becomes embedded across the organisation.

• Major editorial initiatives consistently achieve greater reach and impact.

• Senior leaders and journalists become recognised voices within the industry.

• Video and social franchises become meaningful drivers of audience growth and commercial opportunity.

• Audience growth contributes directly to subscriptions, event attendance, partnerships and business performance.

• Distribution and influence planning become core parts of business decision-making.

Why Join The Drum?

• Help shape the future of one of the world’s leading marketing media brands.

• Build a globally influential social and audience platform for marketers.

• Work across journalism, events, awards, intelligence and commercial partnerships.

• Collaborate with some of the world’s leading brands, agencies, platforms and creators.

• Join a business undergoing significant transformation and international growth.

• Play a central role in defining how influence is built in modern B2B media.

Requirements

Required

• 7+ years’ experience leading social media, audience growth or digital influence strategies.

• Proven success building audiences and engagement across multiple platforms.

• Deep understanding of LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok and emerging social ecosystems.

• Strong understanding of platform algorithms, audience behaviour and content formats.

• Experience creating social-first content strategies and recurring content franchises.

• Strong analytical capability and experience using audience insights to inform decisions.

• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.

• Commercial awareness and understanding of how audience translates into business value.

• Excellent communication and leadership skills.

Preferred

• Experience within media, publishing, marketing or communications.

• Understanding of B2B audience development.

• Experience supporting executive thought leadership and personal brand development.

• Experience working across editorial, commercial and events teams.

• Understanding of creator economy trends and influencer ecosystems.

• Experience building social video strategies and multimedia audiences.

Benefits

• 27 days PTO
• 401k retirement plan
• Company-wide discretionary bonus scheme based on business performance
• Enhanced family leave package
• x2 paid volunteering days a year
• Company-wide mentoring programme
• Employee referral bonus
• Company social events
• Hybrid working
• Early finish on Fridays
• Learning & Development fund/opportunities