Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and AI

Vice President – Strategic Initiatives and AI 

The Dallas Morning News & Medium Giant 

Location: Dallas, Texas

Reports to: Publisher & Chief Executive Officer

Compensation: $200,000 Base Salary with 25% Bonus Opportunity  

Position Overview

The Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and AI serves as a strategic partner for the Publisher & CEO, driving execution against the company’s highest priorities while ensuring organizational alignment, operational rigor, and innovation. This role sits on the Management Committee and operates at the intersection of strategy, operations, and transformation.  While this position does not have direct reports, this person must have a skillset that enables them to influence change through partnership and effective communications skills. 

This person will lead enterprise-wide priority tracking, accelerating the adoption of best practices from Hearst Newspapers, and spearhead the integration of AI across The Dallas Morning News and Medium Giant.  This is a high-impact role requiring strong judgment, cross-functional leadership, and the ability to translate strategy into measurable outcomes.

Core Responsibilities

1. Strategic Priorities Tracking & Execution

• Partner directly with the Management Committee to define, refine, and operationalize the company’s top strategic priorities.
• Build and manage a rigorous tracking system to ensure accountability, transparency, and progress across all departments.     
• Both in Dallas, and across Hearst Newspapers, identify execution gaps and intervene to remove bottlenecks, reallocate resources, or recalibrate priorities.
• Prepare high-quality briefing materials, analyses, and recommendations for executive decision-making.

2. Integration of Hearst Best Practices

• Serve as the primary liaison for identifying, evaluating, and implementing best practices between The Dallas Morning News, Medium Giant, and Hearst Newspapers. 
• Benchmark performance, workflows, and product strategies against Hearst and other leading media organizations so we can: A) Identify who is best in class in key areas, and B) Set goals for ourselves so we are best in class in the most essential areas of the business.     
• Drive cross-functional implementation of proven models in areas such as audience growth, subscription strategy, newsroom operations, and revenue diversification. 
• Monitor and report on ROI and performance improvements resulting from implemented practices.

3. AI Optimization and Deployment

• Act as the point person for The Dallas Morning News and Medium Giant to adopt and effectively utilize Hearst AI tools
• Identify high-impact use cases for generative and agentic AI across editorial, advertising, customer experience, and back-office functions
• Partner with technology, product, and editorial leaders to deploy AI tools that enhance productivity, content quality, personalization, and revenue generation
• Build internal fluency through training, pilot programs, and scaling successful implementations.  This will include a monthly AI Update to the Management Committee and a newsletter to the Company to highlight the areas where we are utilizing AI to further advance our business.
• Identify 3-5% cost savings as a result of AI efficiency in 2027 and 2028 

Additional Responsibilities

• Lead special projects and enterprise initiatives 
• Together with the Publisher and CEO, lead the creation and planning for all Management Committee offsite meetings (3x per year) 

Qualifications

Required

• 10+ years of experience in strategy, operations, consulting, media, or a related field
• Bachelor’s degree mandatory and master’s degree preferred 
• Demonstrated ability to drive execution in complex, matrixed organizations
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with a bias toward action
• Proven experience leading cross-functional initiatives with measurable impact
• Exceptional communication and executive presence

Preferred

• Experience in media, digital publishing, or subscription-based businesses
• Familiarity with Hearst Newspapers’ operating model or comparable organizations
• Experience implementing AI/automation solutions in a business environment

Key Competencies

• Strategic clarity and operational discipline
• Effective cross-departmental communication and ability to influence even when the position does not have direct authority 
• Change management and organizational leadership
• Intellectual curiosity, particularly around AI and media transformation
• High degree of discretion, judgment, and integrity
• Travel Expectations = 4-8 days per quarter 

About The Dallas Morning News:

Since 1885, The Dallas Morning News (www.dallasnews.com) has been North Texas’ trusted source for credible, independent journalism — reporting with accuracy, fairness, and integrity. Each week, we reach more than 4 million people across print, digital, and social platforms, covering the stories that shape life in Dallas and across the state. From politics and public policy to business, culture, and sports, our mission is to inform, engage, and reflect the diverse communities we serve. 

HNP Overview: 

With 2,500 employees across the nation, Hearst Newspapers (HNP) represents a network of 28 daily and 50 weekly publications, including the Austin American-Statesman, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News, San Francisco Chronicle and Times Union (Albany). Our portfolio also includes several top digital-only news and lifestyle sites such as Chron., CT Insider, MySA and SFGATE, along with marketing services businesses like Medium Giant and entertainment brands such as King Features Syndicate. 

At HNP, we’re investing in new and innovative ways to tell stories — growing newsrooms, diversifying tools and evolving platforms — to support the millions of people who trust us each month to help them make decisions, take action and be inspired. 

Be part of something bigger — Your Headline Awaits