Job Purpose
An outstanding career opportunity to work with the Investors Chronicle - the UK’s authoritative personal finance brand - renowned for its independence and objective, sharp investment analysis, and to contribute at the Financial Times to the growth of an exciting, successful company in an entrepreneurial, team-based environment.
You will be at the heart of the IC’s mission to empower active, affluent investors to take control of their personal investments through actionable, insightful content on investing. As editor, you will also be the editorial voice at the centre of our strategy to diversify and grow revenues and profits with an emphasis on sustainable content revenues.
You will set the strategy for the editorial team to adapt to change and to create the sense of urgency required to drive the online agenda faster, removing the digital-print divide and enhancing the Investors Chronicle print and online offering to attract more readers and increase reader engagement.
You will need to display a proven track record in financial journalism as well as a thorough understanding of commercial publishing operations. This is a high visibility role both internally and externally, requiring the gravitas and strong interpersonal skills to be the public face of Investors Chronicle and to represent the product portfolio at the highest levels of the institutional and retail investment sector.
You will be an editorial leader who is required to accelerate a cultural shift of the IC and to continue its progress building sustainable revenues from its insight and analysis and aligning the editorial and its teams with a strategy that emphasizes multiple channel publishing.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
• Lead the team of editors and ensure we are delivering world-class, must-have content. Ensure the Investors Chronicle’s reputation for editorial quality and integrity is upheld.
• Hold each journalist accountable to FT editorial standards with continual reviews of all of content. Refine and continually improve those standards.
• Identify areas for continual improvement in all aspects of our content and, working with the editors, lead the strategic content shifts and set editorial priorities, including new areas of coverage, features, changes to reporter beats and hiring of all editorial staff.
• Work closely with our product and business development teams to identify and implement product enhancements and editorial plans for new initiatives.
• Work with the financial publishing director and IC publisher to implement the shift away from a heavy reliance on print-driven businesses to a digital, content-driven business with diversified revenues.
• Serve as the eyes and ears of our customers through ongoing discussions with our subscribers, continual monitoring of subscriber feedback, analysis of subscriber surveys and statistical analysis of reader usage and business driver indicators (renewal rates, content sales) to identify and then enhance our strengths or address our weaknesses.
• Drive the integration of all IC content on each product to include written, community, interactive, data, events and video content.
• Closely analyse competitors and other leading media outlets for threats, trends and other developments to which we must react quickly.
• Work closely with the publisher and finance to establish and manage editorial budget to include compensation, freelance, ad-edit ratios, T&E, education and other costs.
• Manage the development and training of editorial staff including development reviews, and deal with workload, holidays, recruitment and other staffing issues.
• Host, chair and present at IC Events and arrange speakers
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential Skills
• Previous track record as an editor on a leading business or personal finance publication
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of the following:
o Equity markets and company analysis
o Personal finance/investing
o Publishing and magazine production (digital and print)
o Editing and writing with strong command of written and verbal communication
o The commercial operations of publishing
• Ability to operate effectively at the highest levels of the investment industry
• Ability to chair events and seminars
• Strong leadership and people management skills
• Strong commitment to staff development
• High standards of integrity
Personal Attributes
• Embraces change
• Self motivated and self reliant
• Flexible and adaptable
• Attentive to the big and long term picture
• Intelligent
• Enthusiastic
• Supportive and co-operative
• Proactive. Tactful and diplomatic
Pearson is committed to equality of opportunity. We are determined to create a diverse group at all levels of our company -- and we welcome all members of the community we serve to apply for openings with us.