Video Lead - Stories

About the role

In 1969, Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett co-launched Sesame Street with a then-radical idea: educational content didn’t have to be dry to be meaningful. Storytelling, visual craft, spirit, and warmth could all help shape how people learn.

We’re not making children’s television at Mercury, but we do believe that the founders, builders, and entrepreneurs who turn to us for context deserve content that’s truly useful, memorable, enjoyable — and just a little bit magical.

To that end, Mercury’s Stories team is looking for Video Lead to own and grow our YouTube presence. You’d join a creative team that makes multimedia content — from a magazine to research reports, tutorials to audio stories — exploring many facets of what it takes to build enduring companies.

In this role, you’ll lead channel strategy for YouTube, overseeing video production and shaping channel-native programming across long-form video, Shorts, recurring series, and emerging formats. You’ll combine strong editorial instincts with deep platform fluency to grow high-quality video programming without losing creative sharpness or brand integrity.

If this sounds like you…

• A deeply platform-native video strategist who understands what makes YouTube channels grow…
• A strong creative operator who can move fluidly between big-picture programming strategy and frame-by-frame edit feedback…
• Someone with strong creative taste who knows how to turn loose ideas into compelling content, including recurring formats, series, and more…
• An enthusiastic collaborator who knows how to set the pace and scale output (and yourself) while holding the quality bar high…
• A self-directed builder who thrives in remote-first, async environments and brings clarity, momentum, and strong communication to collaborative work…

In this role, you will:

• Own Mercury’s YouTube strategy and programming across formats, using audience insights, platform trends, analytics, and editorial judgment to drive channel growth
• Lead production from concept through publishing — including scripting, creative development, shoot planning, editing oversight, packaging, and distribution
• Develop and refine formats and concepts that strengthen audience engagement and channel identity
• Build scalable workflows and production systems that support consistent, high-quality output
• Oversee freelancers, editors, producers, talent, and external partners, providing clear creative direction and feedback
• Jump into production directly when needed — shaping story structure, reviewing edits, refining thumbnails/titles/hooks, or producing content yourself

You have:

• 8+ years of relevant experience across video, multimedia, social content, editorial, creator media, and/or brand storytelling
• Significant experience growing YouTube channels with measurable audience and engagement results
• Deep understanding of YouTube as a platform, including programming strategy, retention, packaging, Shorts, distribution, and channel growth
• Experience balancing performance goals with high creative, editorial, and brand standards
• Experience leading productions and managing freelance editors, producers, shooters, agencies, talent, and/or other collaborators
• Strong communication and organizational skills in remote-first, often async environments
• Excitement around experimentation, iteration, and building from the ground up