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Come join us and build a future of impactful, purpose-led journalism.

Big Issue is seeking a Digital Editor of vision and rare ability to help drive forward our digital-first content plan. You will play a pivotal role in shaping our new editorial engagement strategy, alongside other senior editorial team leaders across all our platforms, bringing even more people to Big Issue and helping expand our mission of dismantling poverty, creating opportunity and fighting for social justice.

You will bring ideas and expertise built up from previous experience as a digital editor or similar output producer management role to develop projects with reporters and those with a stake in a better future.

You will have strong grounding in investigative journalism, be across the political and cultural landscape of Britain and beyond, have a brilliant contacts book, a way with headlines, a wit in delivery and experience in creating data-led target market-specific content. You will be across developing publishing trends. You will be brimming with must-read, must-view, must-engage ideas and be able to help nurture and grow the next generation of journalistic talent.

You will be a key advocate of the Big Issue Group Brand and have this at the heart of all the role entails.

The role is full time and permanent based at our London (Finsbury Park) office with hybrid working available. There will be necessary travel to our Glasgow editorial base.

Main Duties:

• Assigning stories to journalists and working with the team to develop excellent content
• Preparing work schedules and deadlines, encouraging team members to meet targets, and facilitating timely publication
• Ensuring the editorial sections of the website, including home page and category pages, are kept updated and engaging for returning visitors
• Keeping your antennae buzzing for the right sort of Big Issue content that meets our identity and grows our reach
• Designing innovative and unique solutions to optimize routine daily news and feature coverage
• Managing The Big Issue engagement editor to increase readers / audience engagement and trust across all Big Issue channels
• Monitoring and using multimedia, social media and alternative storytelling strategies to widen readership base
• Commissioning content in step with the magazine deputy editor and other seniors across the team
• Editing news content with the production team
• Overseeing beat-specific newsletters with reporters and looking to create and develop new newsletters
• Overseeing The Dispatch section of The Big Issue magazine, bringing content from online for a weekly digest
• Ensuring we are driving traffic to key Big Issue content pillars, continually developing these pillars, and adapting our SEO strategy around them
• Liaising frequently with the commercial teams to ensure that we are hitting revenue targets
• Working closely with marketing and PR teams so that digital plays a key role in extending The Big Issue's reach and impact

Desired Skills and experience:

• Experienced in developing ideas and working with reporters from inception to completion
• Strong knowledge of investigative methods, finding and analysing data, and potential legal complications

• Data-focused: you are fully conversant with analytics and traffic tools and use them to shape content strategy
• SEO proficient: you understand how to prioritise content based on what users are looking for, be it topical or evergreen
• Content amplification: you have experience of using social channels to drive site traffic, including paid activity
• Experience in creating newsletters and having them punch through to audiences
• Format development: you understand and can deliver video, audio and other formats that will enable The Big Issue to create a greater range of engaging, stand-out content
• Digital evangelist: you are keenly aware of developing trends and can explain the benefits of them to a diverse range of stakeholders

• Positive and encouraging attitude, willing and keen to develop our journalists

• Brand guardian: you understand the importance of tone and quality of output, meeting parameters agreed with The Big Issue Editorial Director

Salary and Benefits:

• The salary offered will be between £48,000 - £50,000
• Incremental holiday entitlement starting at 25 days per year plus bank holidays (pro-rata for part time staff) plus paid leave to care for a sick child or grandchild and a sick or elderly relation
• Company Sick Pay
• Enhanced contribution to our workplace pension
• Enhanced maternity pay
• Training and development opportunities including an open learning library and management training schemes
• Health benefits include life cover, a health Cashplan scheme which provides access to counselling and a range of therapies
• Please note that we reserve the right to review and amend our staff benefits and they do not form part of any contract of employment

Workplace details

This role will be based at our Big Issue office in London (Finsbury Park office).

When applying, please upload your CV and a covering letter explaining in 500 words how you would make an engagement strategy work at Big Issue. This should include, based on relevant experience, details of what you feel we are missing, good practice elsewhere and anything else you feel is relevant.

Closing date – 12 July 2023 (23:59pm)

Big Issue Group is striving towards Equal Opportunities. We particularly welcome applications from those who are underrepresented in our sector, such as women in senior roles, and people with disabilities and from Black and Minority Ethnic communities.

Since 1991, The Big Issue has fought poverty by creating opportunities and supporting people to take control of their lives. Over time our organisation has grown and now The Big Issue Group consists of The Big Issue Company Ltd, Big Issue Invest Ltd, our social investment arm, and Big Issue Changing Lives Community Interest Company.

For enquiries, please contact the recruitment team at [email protected]