Customer Success Strategist at Hearst in Norwalk, CT

CUSTOMER SUCCESS STRATEGIST Location: Norwalk, CT, United States Customer Success Strategist  WHO WE ARE A company with deep roots, building like a startup. Hearst has been in the business of informing and connecting communities since 1887, and we've never been more energized about what comes next. Today, Hearst is one of the most profitable and diversified media companies in the United States, with significant ownership stakes in ESPN, investments across hundreds of businesses, and a newspaper division that has consistently grown by evolving faster than the market expected. Hearst Connecticut Media Group sits at the center of that evolution. We reach more Connecticut residents than any other local media organization, with 100,000+ paying subscribers, 61 million digital users annually, and the #1 comScore ranking in the state. Our brands (CT Insider, CT Post, New Haven Register, Stamford Advocate, Greenwich Time, and others) are trusted institutions that have served Connecticut communities for generations. But trust only matters if it translates into results for our advertisers. That's where you come in. THE OPPORTUNITY This is not a maintenance role. It's a reinvention role. The digital advertising landscape in 2026 looks nothing like it did even three years ago. AI is reshaping how campaigns are built, how performance is analyzed, and how client strategies are developed. We are leaning into that shift, aggressively, not cautiously. We are embedding AI-powered tools into our workflow to surface insights faster, identify risks earlier, and deliver smarter recommendations to the businesses we serve. For this role, AI fluency will be strongest when paired with practical platform fluency. The strategist we hire should be comfortable looking at paid media performance through the lens of real campaign platforms - especially Google Ads and Meta Ads - and translating what those platforms are telling us into smarter client strategy. What AI makes possible for this role: •  Automated performance pattern recognition across hundreds of campaigns simultaneously. •  AI-generated optimization recommendations that a strategist interprets, contextualizes, and acts on. •  Predictive churn signals and renewal risk scoring before issues become visible. •  Faster, sharper client narratives built from real-time data, not retrospective reporting. •  More informed review of paid search and paid social performance across Google Ads and Meta Ads Manager.   The Customer Success Strategist who joins us now will help define how this works in practice, not inherit a finished playbook. If you are energized by building something rather than running something, this role was written for you. THE ROLE Customer Success Strategist This is a proactive, strategy-oriented position focused on helping our sales and customer success teams deliver measurable outcomes for local businesses across Connecticut. You will not manage a reactive book of business. Your job is to stay ahead of the data, ahead of the risks, and ahead of the opportunity, and then equip the people around you to act on what you find. You will work across SEO, SEM, Paid Search/Google Ads, Paid Social/Meta Ads, Programmatic Display, Email Marketing, and web solutions, interpreting performance, surfacing insights, and translating them into strategies that help our clients grow. You will also be a key user of our AI-powered intelligence tools, developing fluency in how to prompt, interpret, and apply machine-generated analysis in real-world client conversations. WHAT YOU'LL DO Responsibilities 1. Strategic partnership. Serve as a trusted strategic resource to sales and customer success teams, developing proactive, data-backed recommendations that align digital programs to each client's business goals. 2. AI-powered performance analysis. Leverage our AI intelligence tools alongside platform data, Google Analytics/GA4, Salesforce insights, Google Ads, and Meta Ads Manager to identify campaign trends, optimization opportunities, and risk signals before they become problems. 3. Campaign strategy & optimization. Recommend and support digital marketing strategies across SEO, SEM, Google Ads, Meta Ads, Programmatic Display, Email Marketing, and website solutions, with a clear understanding of how each product performs, fails, and improves. 4. Paid media insight development. Review paid search and paid social performance signals such as budget pacing, conversion activity, keyword/search-term trends, audience performance, creative engagement, targeting, landing-page alignment, and lead quality to help teams prioritize the right next action. 5. Client narrative development. Translate data into compelling, clear performance stories for business reviews, renewal conversations, and growth planning sessions, equipping sales teams to walk into every client meeting with confidence. 6. Onboarding strategy. Partner with sales, fulfillment, and operations to confirm client goals, success metrics, product mix, tracking needs, timelines, and launch expectations at the start of every new engagement. 7. Retention & growth intelligence. Proactively identify renewal risks and upsell opportunities through structured customer success planning, data review, and collaboration with account teams. 8. AI fluency & adoption. Actively develop and apply proficiency with AI tools to accelerate analysis, sharpen recommendations, and help the broader team build confidence in data-driven decision-making. WHAT YOU BRING Skills & Qualifications 1. Digital fluency. Strong working knowledge of SEO, SEM, Paid Search, Paid Social Advertising, Programmatic Display, Email Marketing, and website performance, including how these products are sold, measured, and optimized for local businesses. 2. Preferred platform experience. Hands-on or working experience with Google Ads and Meta Ads Manager is strongly preferred. Candidates should be comfortable reviewing campaign structure, budgets, pacing, targeting, audiences, creative performance, conversion activity, and optimization opportunities, even if day-to-day campaign execution sits with fulfillment teams. 3. Analytical instinct. Ability to interpret performance data across platforms, diagnose trends, identify root causes, and convert raw numbers into practical strategic recommendations. 4. AI curiosity. A genuine interest in how AI tools are changing the way digital strategy is developed and communicated. Experience with AI-powered analytics platforms or LLM-based tools is a plus, though a demonstrated eagerness to develop that skill is equally valuable. 5. Communication clarity. Exceptional ability to translate complex data and strategy into concise, compelling narratives for both internal teams and client-facing audiences. 6. Cross-functional collaboration. Comfort working across sales, fulfillment, operations, and leadership teams, building trust through follow-through, clear communication, and reliable insight. 7. Platform proficiency. Google Analytics/GA4 experience strongly preferred. Familiarity with Salesforce, performance dashboards, digital reporting tools, Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, and common paid media KPIs such as CTR, CPC, CPA, ROAS, conversion rate, and cost per lead is a significant advantage. 8. Proactive mindset. This role rewards people who act before being asked. If your instinct is to identify the problem before it surfaces, and to propose the solution before it's requested, you'll thrive here. EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE Background A college degree is preferred. We are looking for candidates with 3+ years of experience in digital media, customer success, marketing strategy, sales strategy, account management, paid media strategy, or a related client-facing digital advertising role. Experience interpreting performance from Google Ads, Meta Ads, Google Analytics/GA4, Salesforce, or digital reporting dashboards is strongly preferred. What matters most is not the title you've held. What matters is whether you've sat at the intersection of data and client outcomes and made something better because of it. Why this role, why now: •  You'll be among the first wave of strategists at Hearst CT to build with AI tools rather than adapt to them after the fact. •  You're joining a team that has outgrown its old operating model and is actively building the next one. •  The Connecticut market (3.6 million residents, $54M in digital advertising revenue) is a real proving ground for strategies that scale. •  You'll work alongside people who take local journalism and local business growth seriously. That combination of mission and commercial ambition is rare. •  You'll help turn paid media platform insight - especially from Google Ads and Meta Ads - into better client conversations and stronger outcomes.   Our Benefits: At Hearst Newspapers we not only support our employees through personal and professional development, but we also believe in promoting each individual’s physical, financial and emotional wellbeing (and that of their family).  Our industry-leading benefits include:  • Physical Wellbeing: Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage to keep you and your family healthy.  • Invest for the Future: Competitive retirement plan with matching program in most markets.  • Generous Paid Time Off: Recharge with ample time off, including holidays and vacation.  • Paid Parental Leave: Support for growing families, with paid leave for new parents.  • Monthly Child & Dependent Care Reimbursement: Financial support for the care of your loved ones.  • Emotional Wellbeing: Be your best self with our mental wellness benefits.  • LGBTQ+ & Inclusive Health Services: Inclusive healthcare designed for every individual’s unique needs.  • Fertility Coverage & Menopause Support: Helping you along every step of your family journey.  • Pet Wellness Reimbursement & Rover Credits: We care about your pets, too – helping you keep them happy and healthy.  • And more, click here for additional benefits and details.    Join us at Hearst Connecticut Media Group and become part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and customer success. Apply now to make an impact in the Connecticut advertising market!  ABOUT US Hearst Connecticut Media Group is the leading news organization in the state, serving readers across all platforms through its news portfolio — including CT Insider, the Connecticut Post, New Haven Register, Danbury’s News-Times, Greenwich Time, Stamford Advocate, The Register Citizen, The Middletown Press, The Norwalk Hour, Connecticut Magazine and more. With the largest news gathering team in the state, Hearst Connecticut has a serious journalistic commitment to provide local, watchdog and investigative reporting that informs, educates and entertains the communities they serve. In addition to its journalism, the organization provides innovative, unique advertising and marketing solutions for local and regional businesses to grow and succeed. Recognizing the diverse needs of our candidates, if you are interested in applying for employment and need assistance or an accommodation to use our website or regarding the application process, please contact us by email at hnpemployment@hearst.com.  Please do not use this email address to inquire about the status of applications. We will only respond to inquiries concerning requests for a reasonable accommodation through this email address. About Hearst Newspapers:  With 2,500 employees across the nation, HNP represents a network of 24 daily and 52 weekly publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union, several top digital-only news and lifestyle sites, marketing services businesses, and entertainment businesses such as King Features Syndicate. At HNP, we are investing in new and innovative ways to tell stories–growing newsrooms, diversifying tools, evolving platforms–to support the millions of people who trust us each month to help them make decisions, take action and be inspired.   Be a part of something bigger–Your Headline Awaits    #LI-EF1 #LI-Hybrid