We are hiring a new Head of Community News Operations to join the Social Spider CIC team and help us take our innovative social enterprise model for independent local journalism to the next level.

This will be a full time role based at our offices in Walthamstow, London. Salary will be £25,000 pa. Deadline for applications is 6pm on Monday November 25th 2019.

At this exciting point in our development, we are looking for an independent and confident social enterprise leader who is enthusiastic about shaping a social enterprise solution in response to the decline of corporate local news.

Click here to see the full job description including a list of duties and essential skills and experience.

For questions about the role please email anna@socialspider.com

About Us

At Social Spider CIC we publish three monthly community newspapers, written by and for local people. We launched our first newspaper, Waltham Forest Echo, in 2014 and have since launched Tottenham Community Press (2016) and Enfield Dispatch (2018). In November 2019, we launched a new newspaper, EC1 Echo, in partnership with Clerkenwell-based charity, The Peel.

We are a not for profit social enterprise that puts the concerns of our community at the heart of our publications. We are at the forefront of developing a new sustainable model for creating local news; this role is an exciting opportunity for someone who would like to work for a small and innovative social enterprise that is changing local media for the better.

Duties Include

• Coordinating the work of the community news team including editors, local managers, advertising sales and designer
• Developing and exploring new revenue streams for our community news activity
• Creating proposals for community news projects
• Overseeing the digital output of our community news operation including overseeing our websites, social media and blog
• Developing an online revenue strategy for the community news operation
• Writing grant funding proposals for community news activity
• Advocating for independent community news at a local and international scale D
• Developing relationships with local and national partners

Person Specification

At this exciting point in our development, we are looking for an independent and confident social enterprise leader who is enthusiastic about shaping a social enterprise solution in response to the decline of corporate local news.

The post-holder should be keen to play an integral role in the development of an independent news publisher. They should take the initiative to explore new possible revenue streams for local news and have an active interest in the future of the sector.

This is a project management and business development role in a sector where the social need is clear and where business models are unclear but are evolving fast. Previous experience in media is desirable but is not essential if an applicant has a strong interest and commitment to journalism, combined with business development skills.

This role requires strategic thinking and creative solutions, we are looking for an ambitious person who is excited by this challenge.

Essential Skills

• Business development
• Project management
• Writing tenders and proposals Identifying funding opportunities and writing applications
• Developing relationships with partners Interest in local media
• Strong organisational skills
• Compelling communicator (written and verbal)
• Experience of using WordPress and other basic web skills

Responsible To

The Head of Community News Operations will be responsible to David Floyd, Managing Director and Mark Brown, Development Director. There will be an opportunity to join the management board of the organisation following a 6-month probationary period.

Deadline and Contact

Please send a CV and cover letter to David Floyd at david@socialspider.com Closing date for applications is 6pm on Monday November 25th 2019.