Director - Elections, Versant Media

Versant Media is hiring a Director of Elections to oversee editorial, technical and analytical aspects of elections coverage and voter polls. This person will work across television and digital editorial teams, as well as operations and technology, along with our vote data and voter poll providers, to ensure market-leading coverage of U.S. primary and general elections for MSNBC, the leading platform for political coverage, and CNBC, the leader in business and financial news. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of the U.S. electoral system, as well as expertise in data analysis, statistical models and polling. Responsibilities: Work with vote count and exit poll providers to manage incoming data, analyze it for audience consumption, and deliver key insights to editorial teams across platforms. Assess race projections from outside vendor and provide guidance to newsroom colleagues on how to report them. Cultivate and maintain source relationships with secretaries of state and other elections officials across the country. Train newsroom staff on how to access and interpret elections and polling data for audiences across news platforms. Manage Versant’s relationships with vote count and exit poll providers to ensure data quality and accuracy. Collaborate with editorial teams and exit-poll provider on survey design and questions. Work with technical colleagues to create newsroom data access and fuel online and television graphics presentation of elections and polling data. Assist reporters and producers across news platforms in finding and utilizing polling and elections data in their reporting. Set and maintain editorial standards for use of outside political polls. Lead any future partnerships or initiatives around polling and elections data.