Product Manager, Storytelling & Publishing

Posted Jun 11

The big picture: Axios, a fast-growing media company, is looking for a Product Manager to contribute to our publishing tools and editorial features across our website and newsletters. This person must live and breathe efficiency, simplicity, and have a head for systems thinking and automation.

Why it matters: This role is key to helping the newsroom shape the journalism that makes people smarter, faster. Our readers come to Axios to get caught up on what’s important and why it matters -- we build products to facilitate and enhance that experience. Our editorial tooling is the key way that we will scale Axios as we grow our local journalism to support our expanding business. This person will be key to reaching the vision of what Axios will be.

What we’re all about: We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, skills, and perspectives. We believe that inclusion drives true innovation, and a best-in-class experience for our readers and team members alike. We are intently focused on building a user-centric, editorially rich organization with an innovative and collaborative work culture contributing to the future of news.

We’d love to hear from you if you have any combination of these skills:

  • Track record of shipping digital products that solve problems and delight users for at least 2+ years.
  • Approach to work that is measured, urgent, thoughtful, and collaborative.
  • Self-motivated, well organized, and have the analytical skills that allow you to make difficult decisions thoughtfully.
  • Clear thinker and precise communicator in both speaking and writing.
  • Commitment to quality - you take pride in facilitating your team to deliver unmatched products with measurable value.
  • Driven by passion, not ego, with a pride in your craft.
  • A passion for news and media, and its role in the lives of our users.
  • Self-motivated to dive in and figure things out and proactively reach out for help when necessary.
  • Experience setting team strategy and defining OKRs.
  • Ability to run efficient meetings, facilitate discussion and present to senior leadership.

About the Product Manager Role and our team:

Responsibilities

Strategy

  • Contribute to the product strategy and OKRs for the newsroom tools and editorial features across our website and newsletters.
  • Represent the team in conversations with the newsroom, product, design, technology partners as well as senior management.

Execution

  • Drive product development through the entire development cycle, from ideation, design and development, through to launch, support and optimization. 
  • Manage sprint planning and coordinate releases, which includes providing project progress, status & visibility (as needed).
  • Plan ahead and ensure product backlog is prioritized, groomed, and has sufficient detail.

Collaboration

  • Partner with stakeholders, design, and engineers, to collect feature requests, user behavior trends, and analyze issues to identify areas of improvement within the product.  
  • Work closely with engineers and leads to create the necessary artifacts to keep delivery on track.

What we like about you:

  • You love our users. You’re always seeking to gain a deeper understanding of their needs so you can come up with new ways to serve and delight them.
  • Your integrity is inspiring. You know at your core what’s the right thing to do, and you’re the first to express when you see something that’s not.
  • You’re curious and inquisitive. To the benefit of everyone, you challenge yourself to learn about different perspectives that help you grow, learn, and develop expertise.
  • You’re receptive. You don’t assume that no news is good news and welcome constructive feedback and reflection.
  • You challenge yourself. In a supportive environment, you’re not afraid to engage in discussions that invite different perspectives - in fact they help you learn and develop expertise.
  • You’re exacting, yet flexible. Prepared, precise, and proactive could be how your colleagues describe you, but never dogmatic, rigid, nor stubborn. 
  • You’re an advocate. You build long-term relationships of accountability and are responsive to the experiences, voices and perspectives of all people. 

Don’t forget:

  • Competitive salary
  • Health insurance (100% paid for individuals, 75% for families)
  • Primary caregiver 12-week paid leave
  • 401K
  • Generous vacation policy, plus company holidays
  • Commuter benefit
  • A commitment to an open, inclusive, and diverse work culture

Additional pandemic-related benefits:

  • One mental health day per quarter
  • $100 monthly work-from-home stipend
  • Tele-mental health services 
  • OneMedical membership, including tele-health services 
  • Increased work flexibility for parents and caretakers 
  • Access to the Axios “Family Fund”, which was created to allow employees to request financial support when facing financial hardship or emergencies 
  • Virtual company-sponsored social events

Base salary for this role is in the range of $130,000 - $140,000 and is dependent on numerous factors, including but not limited to location, work experience, and skills. This range does not include other compensation benefits.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

Axios is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. Axios makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.