About openDemocracy

openDemocracy is an independent international media platform. We produce high-quality journalism which challenges power, inspires change and builds leadership among groups underrepresented in the media. Headquartered in London, we have team members across four continents.

We are a mission-focused organisation, which means we always think about the impact our journalism can have. Our investigative journalism has triggered legal changes, parliamentary probes, lawsuits and criminal investigations and we also offer a rich diversity of stories and perspectives from across the world. We help voices otherwise excluded from the media to reach larger audiences, and we campaign on key stories, pushing for a more open, democratic and egalitarian world.

Our stories frequently get picked up across the global media, including The New York Times, CNN, France 24, El País, National Geographic, Sky News, ITV News, Newsnight, BBC Radio 4’s Today, The World This Weekend and File on Four, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Mirror, Financial Times, The Times, Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent, Channel 4 News, LBC and Private Eye in 2021 alone.

openDemocracy.net attracts more than 11 million visits per year, and we provide a vital space for analysis, comment, and debate on issues ranging from democracy, gender and human rights to economics and climate change. We have projects publishing in Russian, Spanish and Portuguese as well as English. In the past two years, we’ve been nominated for and won a number of prestigious journalism prizes, from the Gabo Award to the Paul Foot and British Journalism Awards.

About the position

We are seeking an ambitious and enterprising audience engagement editor to take our audience engagement to the next level and expand the depth and breadth of people we interact with.

You will have a track record in producing content that resonates, and using that to grow an audience strategically – ideally in a fast paced environment that can be reactive as well as proactive.

This role joins the audience team during an exciting period of growth. Our reader revenue has grown rapidly in recent years, so too are those following us on different channels. Over the coming months and years, we plan to keep growing at pace – so you’ll thrive on coming up with ideas and honestly evaluating if they are effective.

One of our key priorities is to help build a more inclusive international media ecosystem. We strongly encourage applications from all groups that are under-represented in the media.

Purpose of the role

• Support the delivery and growth of openDemocracy’s audience and fundraising goals. Enabling us to serve our mission of challenging power and inspiring change across the world.
• Act as newsletter lead overseeing openDemocracy’s growing portfolio of regular and ad-hoc email newsletters.
• Develop and monitor supporter journeys, reader donation campaigns, email and social media insights and analytics. Helping identify what works.
• Grow and manage openDemocracy’s organic and paid social media. Creating and overseeing content for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube.

Key responsibilities

Social media

• Produce engaging social media posts, oversee community engagement and moderation, and run day-to-day organic social media curation and scheduling across our channels.
• Develop, test and evaluate ideas independently and with colleagues, sharing learnings and best practice with the wider team.
• Work closely with our multimedia producer to produce bespoke assets that can help our stories reach as many people as possible, across multiple channels.
• Work as part of a team to meet shared targets.

Digital communication and fundraising

• Support the day-to-day execution of openDemocracy’s reader donations fundraising strategy including:
• Leading on the development of our newsletter products, including our flagship weekly and daily newsletters.
• Reporting on results of all email campaigns.
• Inputting into workflow, website development and selection of our suite of software tools.
• Reporting on results to staff in core team meetings
• Supporting section editors and journalists in crafting and delivering digital marketing campaigns.

Person specification (essential)

• Experience managing social media channels and producing effective, legally compliant content that converts.
• Understanding of the audiences that exist on each channel and what content and approaches work.
• A proven track record of growing audiences and developing ongoing engagement through social media and other digital content.
• Experience with each of our key channels. These are Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, email, TikTok,  and Instagram.
• A track record of working as part of a team to produce graphic and video content under tight deadlines, often with limited budgets.
• Able to produce high quality email newsletter content that is clear and easy to read.

Person specification (desirable) 

• Experience working with remote teams and in a media/campaigning/social impact environment.
• Working knowledge of at least some of the software tools we use including: Adobe Creative Suite, Echobox, Facebook Business Manager, Webpushr, Sendible, Crowdtangle, Klaviyo, Buzzsumo, Civi CRM, Trello, Canva and Slack.
• Track record of creating successful email campaigns that drive further action.
• Thrives on working in a fast-paced, breaking news environment.
• Experience of working with external freelancers, such as graphic designers, video editors and journalists.

How to apply

Click here to fill in your application

The deadline is Sunday, 10 July 2022 at 23:59 GMT.

openDemocracy is committed to being an equal opportunities employer that values and respects the people who work with us. We positively encourage applications from suitably experienced candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity. We strongly encourage applications from groups that are underrepresented in the media.