Director of Audience & Research

Overview

Job Title: Director of Audience & Research

Department: Editorial- Audience & Research 

Reports To: Executive Editor

Supervises: Audience Engagement Editor; research and analytics staff 

FLSA Status: Exempt

Location: Washington, DC 

Schedule: Full-Time | Hybrid Schedule

Job Summary

RFA is rebuilding its language desks and newsgathering teams. The Director of Audience & Research provides the research and data that editors need to plan coverage and reach audiences in each market.

 

The Director will lead RFA's audience research and evaluation, and will oversee the Audience Engagement Editor and research staff. The Director will turn findings into clear guidance for editors and will work with the language desks to reach existing audiences and build new ones.

RFA's audiences live under heavy censorship and surveillance, and people who take part in research can face reprisal. Conventional audience research in these conditions is difficult and sometimes dangerous. The Director must design research that produces credible findings while protecting participants.

 

The Director is also responsible for independent evaluation of RFA's desks and programs, and for the accuracy of the audience and performance data RFA reports to USAGM and Congress.

This is an editorial position reporting to the Executive Editor. It is an opportunity to build RFA's research and evaluation function almost from the ground up.

Responsibilities

Audience strategy and team leadership

• Lead the audience team, including the Audience Engagement Editor. Set priorities for audience development and distribution across the language desks.
• Set audience goals with each desk Editor in Charge, including goals for reaching new audiences in each market.
• Set research priorities each year with the Executive Editor and the desk Editors in Charge. The Executive Editor settles disagreements over priorities.
• Work with Innovation, TechOps, and the language desks on platforms, analytics tools, and circumvention channels.

 

Evaluation

• Build and run a continuous evaluation framework for RFA's language desks and newsgathering teams. Set the criteria with the Executive Editor and share them with the President before evaluations begin.
• Convene and manage an Evaluation Panel made up of the President, the Executive Editor, the   Director, and the Chief Communications Officer. The President chairs the panel. The panel reviews candidates, selects outside evaluators for each evaluation based on their journalism, academic, policy, regional, and language expertise, and checks each candidate for conflicts of interest.
• Evaluate each desk and team routinely at regular intervals, as well as new programs, formats, and the rebuilt language desks. Recommend specific improvements and goals.
• Measure outcomes such as reach, engagement, pickup by other outlets, and citations in policy and official documents. Document cases where RFA reporting shaped public debate, accountability, or policy.
• Send evaluation reports to the President and the Executive Editor at the same time.
• Track how desks act on evaluation findings, and report progress to the Executive Editor and the President each quarter.

 

Audience research

• Design and run research (qualitative and quantitative surveys) on RFA's audiences in closed and restricted media environments.
• Plan each study with the Editor in Charge of the relevant language desk, so the research reflects what the desk needs to know and conditions in that market to inform its overall strategy.
• Map media habits, platform use, and information needs by country and language service. Identify groups RFA is not yet reaching.
• Where standard fieldwork is impossible or unsafe, use adapted methods such as diaspora and traveler surveys, remote and encrypted interviews, proxy indicators, and digital trace data(stating each method's limits plainly).
• Produce media environment and censorship assessments for RFA's target countries.
• Manage research vendors and partners, including USAGM-commissioned studies.

 

Audience data and performance measurement

• Own RFA's core performance indicators and the dashboards that report them. Combine digital analytics, social media data, and distribution data into one consistent view of reach.
• Account for VPN use, circumvention tools, and blocking when interpreting audience data.

 

Guidance for the newsroom

• Turn research and evaluation findings into specific, actionable recommendations for editors on audiences, topics, formats, and platforms. These findings will guide audience engagement strategy, short- and long-term goals, and overall performance in line with RFA's congressional mandate.
• Report findings candidly, including when coverage is not reaching its intended audience.
• Brief desk editors regularly, and train staff to read and use audience data.
• Advise editorial leadership on how RFA should adjust as conditions change in its target countries.
• Inform recommendations for training for news units, teams, and desks in consultation with editorial leadership.
• Act as primary leader in producing monthly impact reports (for internal and external circulation) with inputs from Editorial leadership and RFA’s communications/public affairs.

 

Data for government and external reporting

• Sign off on all audience and performance data RFA releases outside the organization.
• Collect, verify, and reconcile data for external reports and data requests, and deliver it on time.
• Work in close consultation with the Communication Department, provide verified data for RFA's reports to USAGM and Congress, and for RFA's public reporting. 
• Respond to research and data requests from USAGM, auditors, and other stakeholders, in coordination with External Affairs and RFA leadership.
• Represent RFA in USAGM discussions on research methods, performance indicators, and research standards.

 

Safety and data protection

• Protect the safety of sources and research participants, including informed consent, data security, and methods suited to high-risk environments.

Qualifications Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, social science, political science, international relations, statistics, data science, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years in audience research, media research, audience development, or program evaluation, including at least 3 years managing staff or research teams
• Knowledge of the media landscape in at least one RFA market: China, North Korea, Southeast Asia, Tibet, or the Uyghur region
• Strong professional experience researching audiences in authoritarian, conflict, or restricted media environments
• Proven Experience with quantitative methods (survey design, sampling, statistical analysis) and qualitative methods (interviews, focus groups)
• Experience designing and running program evaluations, including work with outside evaluators
• Extensive experience working with editors in the newsrooms, and using research to inform editorial decisions and making recommendations that results in real impacts 
• Experience managing research vendors, contracts, and budgets
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including producing impact reports and assessments for internal and external audiences
• Ability to work across editorial, technical, communications, and executive teams and to navigate competing priorities 

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in social science, data sciencem communications, statistics, or a related field.
• Pofessional experience with digital analytics tools, audience dashboards creation and management are strongly preferred
• Experience at an international news organization, a USAGM network, or other public-interest media
• Understanding of how VPNs, circumvention tools, and blocking distort audience data, and how to adjust for them 
• Experience with adapted methods where fieldwork is impossible: diaspora and traveler surveys, remote or encrypted interviews, proxy indicators, digital trace data 
• Working knowledge of one or more RFA languages (Mandarin, Cantonese, Tibetan, Uyghur, Burmese, Khmer, Vietnamese, Lao, or Korean)
• Knowledge of more than one RFA markets
• Experience training journalists or editors to use audience data 
• Familiarity with federal grant reporting and performance frameworks

Physical Requirements / Working Conditions

This is a full-time, exempt position based in Washington, DC. Some flexibility in work hours required to accommodate international time zones. The role follows a hybrid schedule, with 3 days in office and 2 days remote.

Salary Range: 118,200-160,150. Final salary is commensurate with experience and skills that are compatible with the requirements of the role.

This position is ineligible for sponsorship by the company for any work authorization; applicants must possess existing work authorization to be considered for the position.

Application Instructions: Please submit a cover letter along with your application.