The Independent, Commissioning Editor - Voices

About us

The Independent is an online news publisher that was established in 1986 as a politically independent national newspaper. In 2016, The Independent became a fully digital publisher, moving away from print in pursuit of sustainability, and to keep its values alive.

Through The Independent and indy100 websites, its subscription and contribution services, as well as its syndication and advertising businesses, The Independent hopes to continue the work of many decades, and with over 100 million unique global visitors a month, to make its voice ever louder and more insistent the world over.

The Independent is looking for a Commissioning Editor to join its award-winning Voices desk.

The successful candidate will be a team player with an excellent and diverse contacts book, a passion for representing varied opinions on the biggest news stories of the day, and a good knowledge of all aspects of digital journalism – including social media and SEO.

We are looking for someone who reads the news compulsively; who has an opinion on everything but also the ability to work fairly and diplomatically with people who might hold opposing views to their own; who prides themselves on snappy headline-writing and excellent copy-editing; and who can engage audiences in innovative ways. 

About you

• Experience of working in comment journalism, or for a mainstream publication in a related capacity.
• Proven track record in building new audiences and introducing exciting writers to a digital space.
• Strong understanding of social media.
• Resilient and friendly in a busy newsroom with competing demands.
• Confident in writing and on the phone checking facts with organisations and reaching out to politicians and prominent public figures.
• Experience using a CMS.
• Excellent writer with the ability to turn around an opinion piece at short notice if needed.
• Happy to communicate across different desks and mindful of how an opinion story can collaborate with news, video, features and any other sections.
• Good timekeeping and being used to turning work around quickly but accurately.

Key responsibilities

• Supporting the co-editors as a member of a close-knit team delivering a diverse list of opinion pieces each day.
• Suggesting ideas for news-hooked articles each day (as well as potential writers to commission)
• Attending meetings to represent the desk when needed.
• Writing opinion pieces when called upon.
• Commissioning writers appropriate for a wide range of different subjects.
• Helping with speaking events, podcasts and videos.
• Maintaining good relationships with long-standing columnists and guiding ideas for their pieces.

Desirable

• Experience of working on video journalism and/or podcasts in addition to written journalism.
• Qualification or training in media law and ethics.

Expected behaviors

1. Continuous Improvement – Works in a smart, flexible and focused way, is open to change and suggests ideas for improvements to the way things are done.
2. Collaboration – Builds and maintains positive and supportive working relationships with colleagues. Helps to create an inclusive and professional work environment.
3. Building Capability – Keeps own knowledge and skill set current and evolving and looks for ways to continue learning to support the achievement of business objectives.
4. Quality Service – Delivers high quality and efficient service and takes account of the diverse customer needs and requirements when looking at ways to improve service quality.
5. Responsive Delivery - Works to agreed business goals and objectives and deals with challenges in a constructive and responsive way. Takes personal responsibility for quality of outputs.
6. Revenue Growth – Works toward onboarding new partners and solution while optimizing existing relationships to increase revenue and achieve monthly and quarterly goals

The Independent is an equal opportunities employer, if you require any reasonable adjustments to complete your application, please do not hesitate to advise us accordingly.

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