Head of Audience, Belfast Telegraph

Head of Audience, Belfast Telegraph

Department: Editorial

Function: Publishing

Reporting to: Executive Editor, BT

Role Purpose

The Head of Audience will lead the Audience Team and be responsible for driving online readership, engagement and audience growth for the Belfast Telegraph. You will manage the team who curate the site and ensure every story reaches the right audience, in the right format, on the right platform and at the right time.

You will have a deep understanding of how online readers consume news across platforms and be adept at using data, audience insight and editorial judgement to shape strategies that grow reach, loyalty and reader value. Working collaboratively with the newsroom, you will identify priority stories, plan audience strategies from the outset and help ensure our journalism is packaged and distributed for maximum impact.

You will be part of the senior management team shaping the future strategy of the Belfast Telegraph, helping to embed digital-first thinking, supporting forward-facing review of audience functions and managing budgets as necessary.

Role Responsibilities (Overview)

• Drive audience growth in line with strategic priorities, ensuring the right stories reach the right audience every day across all relevant platforms
• Lead, manage and develop the Audience Team, ensuring their skills and workflows evolve with the needs of a digital-first newsroom
• Develop and implement best practice for maximising audience engagement, loyalty, registration and subscription-supporting behaviours
• Own the homepage and front-door strategy, using testing, insight and innovation to improve performance and presentation
• Build and run a planning process that enables the Audience Team to prepare priority coverage early, with clear audience goals, platform plans and measures of success
• Oversee newsletters and other reader engagement products, using them to deepen loyalty, drive sign-ups and support long-term audience value
• Keep up to date with product, platform and website developments, working with technical and product teams to identify improvements and new features where necessary
• Liaise with counterparts across the Mediahuis group to gain and share insights, benchmark performance and apply proven audience-growth approaches
• Keep up to date with developments on social and emerging platforms to ensure the Belfast Telegraph has a best-in-class, future-facing distribution strategy
• Use real-time and historical data to track progress, share actionable insights with the newsroom, identify audience opportunities and solve performance challenges creatively
• Provide quality control and regular feedback to the Audience Team, content teams and production teams to strengthen headlines, presentation, timing and platform execution
• Work closely with the Executive Editor, news desk and senior editors to ensure priority stories are planned, presented and distributed for the biggest possible impact
• Work closely with visual, audio and journalist creator desks to develop strategies that grow video views, podcast listenership and platform-specific storytelling.
• Work closely with the graphics department to optimise how online content is illustrated, presented and made more engaging across digital formats
• Develop new ideas to enhance digital storytelling, improve content packaging and better serve existing and emerging online audiences.

Experience & Qualifications (Minimum Experience & Essential Knowledge)

• At least 5 years' editorial experience working in a digital media environment
• Experience of digital publishing and distribution
• Experience managing people desirable

Skills

Technical & Non-technical

• Content Management Systems (Web CMS and Desk) - editing, page layout
• Data literate - e.g. Google Analytics
• Excellent working knowledge of social media and other digital tools
• Excellent knowledge of Northern Ireland's libel laws
• Self-starting, shows initiative, operate without supervision, motivated
• Flexibility / willingness to adapt
• Copy editing
• Comfortable working on digital deadlines in a 24/7 news cycle where speed and accuracy are crucial
• Ability to multi-task and work across different platforms and channels
• Excellent news judgement

Others

• Strong communication skills
• Results Oriented
• Creative Flair
• Planning & Organising
• Detail Oriented
• Effective Collaboration
• Decisiveness

Some of our Benefits

• Free Parking
• Bike to work scheme
• 25 days annual leave plus 10 bank holidays
• Enhanced pension contributions
• Educational assistance
• Employee Assistance Programme

For further information and to submit your application, click the apply icon.