Group Director of Subscriptions Revenue

THE COMPANY

The Irish Times Group is Ireland’s leading independent quality news and information publishing organisation. The core activity of The Irish Times Group has evolved from six-day print publishing to a seven-day multi-platform news publisher with a market-leading position in the development of subscriptions. We focus on producing quality journalism and information for our users under the principles of The Irish Times. As well as our B2C subscriptions business we provide (B2B) media solutions for customers as we continue to grow and evolve in a fast-paced changing media landscape. 

The company is owned by The Irish Times Trust and is managed by The Irish Times DAC. In recent years, The Irish Times Group expanded its interests to include the Irish Examiner, The Echo, regional newspapers, in addition to the Citywest print facility, RecruitIreland.com, MyHome.ie, RIP.ie, The Gloss and Score Beo.

THE ROLE

The Group Director of Subscriptions Revenue is a new role within the Senior Leadership Team. Reporting to the CEO, this role will bring together the two digital subscription teams from The Irish Times and Irish Examiner. The goal will be to create a single, groupwide strategy for subscription growth in all group titles. Home delivery, customer care and corporate subscriptions will also form part of the overall strategy. 

You will bring energy to setting up a new team, able to bring together people across two locations to work collaboratively on growth.  You will be detail and numbers-oriented, able to forensically analyse audience behaviours that lead to subscription and retention. Your background might be in managing similar subscription models or more broadly in revenue management or e-commerce. In any case, you will be able to demonstrate results in driving revenue and creating customer loyalty.  

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

 Strategic Leadership 

• Develop and lead the Group subscription strategy aligned with commercial priorities. 
• Set and deliver ambitious subscriber, revenue (both Average Revenue Per User and Life Time Value), and retention targets across both brands. 
• Ensure subscription strategy supports long-term sustainable revenue and strengthens the Group through initiatives such as bundling. 
• Build subscriber strategy across Editorial, Product, Data and Analytics, Marketing and Customer Care through effective teamwork. 
• Ensure the current and future audience is considered in all aspects of the strategy  

 Subscription Acquisition, Pricing & Paywall Performance 

• Lead Group strategy on dynamic pricing, trials, introductory offers and value-based pricing. 
• Oversee paywall performance, including metering, segmentation, testing and conversion optimisation. 
• Work closely with Editorial, Product, Data & Technology teams to create a best-in-class user experience. 
• Develop and evaluate new subscription bundles and multi-product offerings across print and digital. 
• Oversee the introduction of a registration model across The Irish Times Group.  

 Retention, Engagement & Lifecycle Management 

• Lead the retention strategy, including churn modelling, cancellation journey optimisation, save/winback initiatives and loyalty programmes. 
• Work with Data and Analytics to build strategies which enhance engagement and reduce churn. 
• Align Group Customer Care on subscriber experience improvements at key lifecycle points. 
• Oversee subscriber value initiatives such as rewards and exclusive benefits. 

 Marketing Collaboration  

• Partner with the Marketing teams on subscription-related campaigns across acquisition, lifecycle marketing and retention. 
• Work together to define campaign objectives, audience segmentation, messaging direction and performance KPIs. 
• Ensure campaigns are aligned to subscription priorities, insights and revenue targets. 
• Collaborate on promotions and communications that improve conversion and retain loyalty. 

 Data, Insights & Commercial Performance 

• Champion a data-first approach to subscription growth, ensuring decisions are driven by insights. 
• Oversee forecasting, KPI reporting and analysis of LTV, churn, ARPU and cohort performance. 
• Collaborate with the Data and Analytics team to develop testing frameworks, predictive models and subscriber segmentation. 
• Translate complex commercial and behavioural data into clear recommendations for senior leadership. 

 Product Partnership & Subscriber Experience 

• Work with the Product Managers to develop initiatives which drive subscription growth and retention. 
• Collaborate with UX and Product Managers to create enhancements that directly affect subscriber value. 

 Senior Leadership & Cross-Group Collaboration 

• Serve as a senior leader contributing to the group strategy, planning and commercial decision making. 
• Lead and mentor teams involved in subscription strategy, pricing, analytics and growth operations. 
• Champion a subscriber-centric mindset across departments and business units. 
• Represent the subscriptions function internally and externally as required. 

 EXPERIENCE 

 Essential 

• Extensive senior experience in e-commerce, digital revenue or similar commercial roles. 
• Expertise in dynamic pricing, paywall management, digital funnels and retention strategy. 
• Strong analytical capability and commercial acumen. 
• Proven cross-functional leadership, able to work effectively with Product, Editorial, Marketing, Analytics & Technology. 
• Track record of delivering measurable subscription and/or significant revenue growth. 

 Desirable 

• Experience in media, publishing, streaming subscriptions or similarly driven businesses. 
• Understanding of content value drivers.  
• Experience managing multi-brand subscription portfolios. 

 PERSONAL SPECIFICATIONS 

• Minimum of a degree qualification in a relevant field. 
• Strategic thinker with strong commercial judgement.  
• Highly collaborative and skilled at building alignment across diverse teams.  
• Analytical, data-driven and evidence-focused.  
• Innovative, curious and comfortable challenging established approaches.  
• Excellent communicator with the ability to influence at CEO and Board level.  
• Resilient, adaptive and comfortable in a fast-changing media environment.

The Irish Times Group operates a Hybrid working policy.

Our benefits include, Health Insurance contribution, Pension Contribution, Sick Leave Cover, Employee Assistance Programme, Maternity and Paternity Leave, Irish Times & Irish Examiner Premium Digital Subscriptions, Income Protection Policy, Corporate Gym Membership discounts, Free Digital GP and Life Assurance Policy.