Senior YouTube Producer, CNN Digital Products & Services

This is a Full Time Job

We're hiring a Senior Producer, YouTube, to help build and produce original series and formats that drive audience growth, watch time, and revenue. This role works in lockstep with the Channel Manager, YouTube, and the Video Editorial Team and is key to developing a new slate of mid- to long-form storytelling. The ideal candidate is a YouTube-fluent creative with strong editorial instincts and the ability to consistently think outside the box to champion what the next era of CNN on YouTube will look like. The ideal candidate consumes YouTube daily and understands its platform-specific mechanics, psychology, incentives, and culture.

Your Role Accountabilities …

Original Series Development & YouTube-Native Storytelling
• Pitch, produce, and edit mid- and long-form YouTube videos (8-15+ minutes) aligned
• with CNN's editorial mission and platform behavior.
• Pilot, incubate and refine low-to-medium lift, high ROI formats that can scale into long-term franchises.
• Collaborate with the Channel Manager on creative direction and planning.

End-to-End Production Leadership
• Own the full pipeline: concept - scripting - field/shoots (as needed) - edit - package - publish.
• Apply a visual language that feels native to YouTube.
• Deliver consistently polished exports with clear, curiosity-led logic.

Packaging, Optimization & Platform Fluency
• Partner with the Channel Manager on titles, thumbnails, hooks, intros, and packaging systems that maximize CTR, retention, and watch time.
• Diagnose why a video over- or under-performed and propose actionable creative fixes.
• Track platform trends, competitor formats, and emerging features.

Editorial Collaboration & Cross-Functional Partnership
• Work with producers, reporters, hosts, editors, and show teams to surface high-impact stories suitable for YouTube Originals.
• Guide newsroom partners on adapting stories into YouTube-first executions.
• Mentor and elevate other producers as the first senior creative hire dedicated to YouTube Originals.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement
• Test new creative approaches and iterate quickly based on data and audience feedback.
• Help define best practices and workflows for a growing Originals pipeline.
• Push CNN's platform-native evolution through strong taste, clear reasoning, and a deep intuition for what works on YouTube.

Qualifications & Experience…
• 5–7+ years producing digital video, with substantial YouTube-first experience.
• Ability to pitch, script, shoot, and edit mid-/long-form stories that thoroughly engage audiences.
• Sharp understanding of YouTube-specific pacing, visual logic, intros, tension arcs, and retention mechanics.
• Fluency in YouTube analytics, A/B testing, packaging optimization and performance interpretation.
• Deep familiarity with successful YouTube formats and niches beyond hard news, and an understanding of why they work.
• Strong editorial judgment and capacity to translate complex reporting into engaging, universally appealing frameworks.
• Proficiency in video editing software (motion graphics a plus).
• Track record of building or contributing to successful YouTube series or franchises.
• Experience collaborating with journalists, strategists and multi-disciplinary editorial teams.
• Ability to articulate and defend creative decisions with both YouTube-native logic and editorial rigor.
• Comfortable in fast-moving environments with shifting priorities and tight turnarounds.
• Self-directed, detail-oriented, and energized by building something truly new.

Preferred
• You've consumed YouTube on a daily basis for years, especially off-hours.
• You can explain, on first watch, why a video succeeds or fails structurally, emotionally, and editorially.
• You've developed a strong portfolio of original YouTube series.
• You can toggle between YouTube instincts and newsroom rigor while maintaining creative clarity.
• You deeply understand YouTube at the consumer and viewer experience level.
• You favor impact, simplicity, and modern video mechanics over legacy conventions.
• You bring a storytelling background that extends beyond traditional news or J-school lanes.