Job Description

Location : United Kingdom, United Kingdom Job Advert

JOB ROLE: Managing Editor

REPORTS TO: COO

CONTRACT: Permanent, Full-time

LOCATION: Working from home. Mandatory attendance at Quarterly company meetings.

ABOUT US

Shephard is a leading provider of business information and marketing solutions to the global defence community. Our products are used by the defence industry, military and government organizations across the world to support their decision-making, reach new markets, and seize opportunities.

We are at the forefront of delivering digital solutions to defence and our teams work with the biggest names in the defence industry, providing innovative digital solutions to a global client base.

Our business is driven by our four core values: a desire to excel; a determination to challenge the status quo; a commitment to treating our colleagues and customers with integrity; and a constant search for creative solutions.

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Managing Editor to lead our award-winning news team in one of Europe\xe2\x80\x99s leading business-to-business defence news organisations.

As the Managing Editor, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and executing our content strategy, maintaining editorial standards, and overseeing the day-to-day operations of our news platform. Your expertise will be instrumental in developing our digital offering, including incorporating data analytics and social media insights to optimize our editorial decisions.

You\'ll be responsible for leading a team of in-house and freelance journalists to deliver content that resonates with our B2B audience, reaches a wider readership, and contributes to the growth and success of our news platform.

The successful candidate will be rewarded with a competitive salary and benefits package, as well as the opportunity to work with a talented team of professionals in a dynamic and challenging environment.

If you are a strategic thinker with a passion for news and a proven track record of driving editorial excellence in a digital news environment, we would love to hear from you! Please submit your resume and cover letter for consideration.

THE ROLE - ACCOUNTABILITIES

Editorial Leadership

• Lead, inspire and develop a team of in-house reporters, fulfilment staff and external contributors to achieve editorial excellence.
• Develop and implement a data-driven editorial strategy that delivers outstanding editorial content.
• Assign and manage tasks, provide constructive feedback, and support professional growth and development.

Content Planning and Execution

• Oversee all aspects of news content creation and planning, using your editing skills to ensure our content meets high-quality standards and is aligned with the organization\'s voice and style.
• Manage the fulfilment team and work with Adsales to ensure it delivers for our advertising clients
• Collaborate with product development and marketing teams to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure content effectiveness and readership engagement.

Audience Engagement

• Utilize data insights to refine content strategies, optimize headlines, article formats, and distribution channels to increase readership and user engagement.
• Develop and execute social media strategies that promote our content effectively across various platforms.
• Leverage social media analytics to drive audience growth, interaction, and retention.

Content Optimization

• Ensure that all content is optimized for search engines (SEO) and shareable across various platforms to enhance visibility and reach.

SKILLS/EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

We are looking for candidates with:

• Proven experience as a Managing Editor or similar role in a news organization
• Strong leadership and team management abilities, with a focus on growing and developing reporters and the ability to work across teams
• A demonstrated track record of implementing learnings from data analytics and social media strategies and proficiency in SEO best practices and content optimization
• Exceptional writing, editing, and proofreading abilities
• Familiarity with content management systems (CMS) and digital publishing tools
• Analytical mindset with the ability to use data insights to inform content strategies
• Strong organizational and time-management skills, capable of meeting tight deadlines
• Ethical and professional conduct, ensuring compliance with journalistic standards and industry regulations

• Experience in writing for defence is preferred but not essential

WHAT WE WILL NEED FROM YOU

• Adherence to and respect for our company values
• A 35 hour working week
• Availability to attend quarterly meetings
• A business quality internet connection in your home (your place of work) in order to carry out this role effectively
• An appropriate working environment in your home
• Availability to travel as required to visit customers and attend events
• A willingness to work within the Traction framework, which is the management \xe2\x80\x9coperating system\xe2\x80\x9d recently implemented by Shephard

WHAT WE WILL PROVIDE

• A competitive salary and bonus plan
• A positive, communicative, flexible and supportive work environment, with regular feedback and reviews
• Support for training needs
• Regular communication on a company, team and one-to-one basis as well as quarterly meetings of the whole team (in person when possible) including strategy updates and the opportunity to collaborate in person
• Good employee benefits package (including life assurance, pension, EAP)
• 25 days\xe2\x80\x99 holiday

Hours 35
Job Type Full time
Contract Type Permanent
Salary Up to \xc2\xa360,000 depending on experience

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