Director of Programming

Vice President of Content

WUWM, Milwaukee’s NPR is excited to announce the search for a new Vice President of Content. WUWM works to inspire, connect and engage the Milwaukee community through storytelling that reflects the diverse perspectives of our incredible city and region. Recently celebrating 60 years of public service, WUWM 89.7 Milwaukee’s NPR is southeast Wisconsin’s leading public radio station, reaching over 100,000 people a week through our broadcast signal. Over the course of an average month, our content also reaches an additional 200,000 people through non-broadcast channels. Headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, our broadcast signal reaches 13 counties in Southeast Wisconsin, reaching as far north as Sheboygan, west to Madison, and south to Gurnee, IL.

Milwaukee is a city of contrasts and connections, where rich cultural traditions meet a spirit of reinvention, and where neighborhoods, nature, and industry intersect in dynamic ways. Nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan, Milwaukee offers big-city amenities with a small-town feel: a nationally recognized food scene, a thriving arts and music community, major league sports, and some of the most affordable housing among peer cities. With a diverse population, a deep history of civic engagement, and an expanding innovation economy, Milwaukee is a place where individuals and families can put down roots, make an impact, and enjoy a high quality of life. Whether you're biking along the lakefront, exploring historic neighborhoods, or connecting with communities doing meaningful work, Milwaukee offers both opportunity and authenticity.

WUWM is a service of University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (UWM). UWM is Wisconsin’s second-largest university, with a unique dual mission of access and research to provide high-quality education for students from all backgrounds. UWM is one of 146 top research universities recognized as “R1” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

THE POSITION

The Vice President of Content will play a key role in this pivotal moment for WUWM and public media as we continue our evolution from a legacy public radio station into a dynamic, multi-platform public media organization. As the station’s top news executive, this role will lead a mission-driven content team to deepen our editorial integrity and grow our practice of community-informed journalism while also expanding the scope and impact of our local content. This role offers a unique opportunity to enhance the trust of long-time listeners through traditional broadcast while also driving innovation that attracts and engages our next generation of listeners through digital, on-demand, and non-broadcast platforms. The successful candidate will bring vision and discipline to ensure that our journalism and storytelling remains independent, community-informed, and locally rooted while also helping to shape a content strategy that connects, inspires, and engages the richness, complexity, and diversity of life in southeast Wisconsin.

Reporting to the President/General Manager, the WUWM Vice President of Content is responsible for leading the strategy to achieve the mission and vision of WUWM. The VP of Content serves as a member

of the senior leadership team and leads an award-winning content team, which includes our newsroom and Lake Effect, our daily current affairs talk show. This role also supports our programming team, which includes on-air hosting and cohesively scheduling national radio programming alongside our local storytelling, to sustain and build audience.

POSITION PRIORITIES

STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP

• Visionary Thinking: Serves as an executive leader with a clear and compelling vision for content and audience engagement aligned with the station’s mission and strategic plan.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Works seamlessly across departments - content, marketing, development, digital and operations - to prevent silos and align programming strategies with organizational priorities.

• Team Leadership: Cultivates a high-performing, inclusive team culture that fosters innovation, clear communication, accountability, and professional growth.

• Change Management: Has the flexibility to navigate an evolving media landscape and audience behaviors with agility, positioning the station and your team for long-term relevance and sustainability.

• Audience Focus: Uses data-informed insights and community input to guide strategic decisions that deepen audience service, loyalty, and impact.

EDITORIAL AND CREATIVE DIRECTION

• Editorial Excellence: Champions journalism and storytelling that reflects the station’s values of trust, integrity, public service, and care for community.

• Original Content Development: Sparks and supports the creation of compelling new programs and initiatives that resonate locally.

• Culture of Experimentation: Encourages risk-taking and iterative content development, especially in digital-first and cross-platform storytelling.

• Talent Development: Identifies and nurtures creative talent – on-air and behind the scenes – to elevate the station’s voice, sound, and brand.

• Community Connection: Inspires content that reflects and engages the rich diversity of our region through culturally relevant, curious, and inclusive storytelling.

PROGRAMMING AND OPERATIONS

• Sound Strategy Execution: Oversees the management of programming operations with a sharp focus on editorial quality, scheduling, and consistency across platforms.

• Audience Service and Flow: Ensures a thoughtful and cohesive listener experience that maximizes audience retention and grows new audiences.

• Partnership Management: Supports work to develop strong relationships with NPR, PRX, APM, and other content partners to ensure robust and relevant programming partnerships.

• Editorial Standards and Compliance: Supports and upholds the highest standards in FCC public radio compliance, including underwriting language and journalistic ethics.

• Operational Efficiency: Leads with a keen eye toward resource stewardship – staffing, budgets, and systems – to support sustainable growth and innovation.

QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS

The VP will supervise the content team as they develop and prepare content for distribution across the station’s various radio broadcasts, digital channels and other platforms.

The candidate must be able to combine organizational strategy & visionary skills with the day-to-day management of station programming and personnel. We seek someone who gets excited about creating great content individually, as well as managing and leading a creative team. An ideal candidate is excited by the prospect of leading the news teams from a 60-year-old public radio station to a community-engaged, digital-forward, public media organization. The person must be a proven coach and collaborator who understands the creative media landscape and has experience training staff to develop radio and audio content that can cross over into digital and social platforms with ease.

Just as importantly, we’re looking for someone who brings joy to the work, who leads with curiosity, encourages fun, and isn’t afraid to embrace a little whimsy in the pursuit of meaningful storytelling.

Salary Range: the target hiring range for this position is expected to be between $95,000.0-110,000.0

• Bachelor’s degree

• Minimum of 5 years full-time experience in managing/overseeing news and information creation and distribution

• Minimum of 3 years in a supervisory role

• Background in broadcast journalism

• Experienced developing, communicating and implementing mission driven strategy to a news and information content creation team

• Demonstrated experience at a successful public radio news-formatted station which integrates with the NPR public radio network

• Experience tracking and integrating audience data into the development of coverage

• Demonstrated track record in building and developing audiences through multiplatform content distribution

• Experience in audio/video production and is comfortable acting as the voice of a radio station for fund drives, sponsorships or on-air hosting

• E xperience leading through organizational change, including engaging stakeholders in planning, communication, and implementation of new processes or systems