About Independent Media

Independent Media comprises The Independent, Standard Digital, Bulletin, BuzzFeed UK, HuffPost UK, Tasty UK, Seasoned, IndyBest and indy100.

Harnessing market-leading innovation and excellence across its portfolio of pioneering brands, Independent Media has unrivalled scale, integrity and authority via its sites, apps, video, audio, experiential, newsletters and social media.

While each Independent Media brand speaks in an authentic, unique voice to a loyal and distinct audience, they stand together in their commitment to positivity, inclusivity, and quality journalism and content.

Independent Media’s network reaches 650 million users each month, with 1.1 billion content views across its brands and platforms, including web, apps, social media, podcasts, email, YouTube, syndication partners and print.

The role

This role is a 12 Month Fixed Term Contract.

The Independent is looking to recruit an optimisation editor to join an exciting new team, working across news and sport.

The role will help further expand one of the world’s fastest-growing news brands in a small team of digital publishing experts. The right candidate will come from a strong news background and have a firm grasp of all aspects of digital publishing, including SEO, social media and editing.

They will need to be able to work independently to optimise content to reach a large audience. The role is perfect for candidates who want to take the next step in their career. The right person will be excellent at crafting copy and headlines, as well as planning and organising evergreen content for major events.

The successful candidate should have a keen interest in the news industry and the future of journalism, including the use of AI on the Bulletin platform. Experience in a similar role at an equivalent title is essential. This is a middleweight to senior role, where the successful candidate will have regular dialogue with the Head of Growth and other senior colleagues.

You will be expected to be comfortable managing multiple priorities in a calm and methodical manner. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. The roles are hybrid or remote, but with a requirement to convene at the London HQ for periodic training.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

• We champion diversity in our teams and in our reporting. As a growing and global brand, we must have a workforce that’s more representative of our readers, viewers, clients and partners, and a workplace that creates a sense of belonging for everyone

• We are committed to hiring and developing a diverse workforce regardless of background, and we support our people to thrive in their careers here.

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.

Key responsibilities and accountabilities

• Writing engaging headlines and editing news copy.

• SEO and digital publishing skills.

• Understand digital analytics tools.

• Have a proven track record as a journalist and have audience skills.

• Be a problem solver.

• Be a self-starter.

Essential skills and experience:

• Experience of successfully working in a similar role at a similar title.

• Experience in content optimisation.

• Demonstrable skill as a senior journalist.

• Strong familiarity with the Independent and our coverage.

• Excellent organisational and planning skills.

• Ability to interpret data and make insightful recommendations.

• Ability to clearly communicate best practices.

• Experience of working in a dynamic fast-paced media environment.

• Knowledge of world events.

Our values – you will deliver across all our values

Inclusive: We champion diversity in our teams and in our reporting. Working as a team, we put transparency and effective communication at the heart of everything we do.

Innovative: From the very beginning, The Independent has been breaking the mould. We take risks and are always looking to try new ideas in pursuit of excellence.

Independent: Nobody tells us what to think; we make up our own minds and aren’t afraid to do things differently. Like our readers, we value honesty and integrity above outside influences.

Please note that this role is a 12 Month FTC.