Head of Social Strategy (Editorial)

The Times and The Sunday Times represent a combined 400 years of covering news and providing comment and analysis on the UK and the world. We are authoritative, credible, responsible, trusted and a part of the nation’s cultural heritage. 

Your role: This role leads the editorial execution of a video-first social media strategy, designed to grow reach, engagement, and revenue while staying true to our editorial values. Working closely with marketing  and newsroom leaders, it drives audience acquisition, maximises platform opportunities, and ensures brand consistency across channels. The position also manages and develops a team of social editors and video specialists, fostering a culture of creativity, experimentation, and accountability, underpinned by data-driven insights and clear performance goals.

Day to day you will:

• Lead the editorial execution of the social media strategy with video at its core, aligned with editorial values and business goals.

• Expand reach and engagement on key platforms, with an emphasis on video discovery and audience acquisition.

• Deliver on the business goals we share with our marketing team through close collaboration, sharing knowledge and devising efficient workstreams.

• Collaborate with the commercial team and director of video on maximising revenue opportunities on social platforms (e.g., Facebook monetisation, TikTok partnerships, branded content).

• Lead the creation of platform-appropriate video journalism that engages and informs, partnering with newsroom leaders.

• Ensure consistency of brand identity and editorial standards across all social channels.

• Foster a culture where experimentation is encouraged so we can constantly test and adapt our strategies.

• Set clear KPIs for growth, engagement, and revenue. Track performance, report impact, and use insights to inform strategy.

• Advocate for the best possible data-environment and its use throughout the team to support the social media strategy.

• Manage, inspire, and grow a new integrated team of social editors and video specialists, fostering a culture of creativity and accountability.

What we’re looking for from you:

• Leadership and people management skills, with experience building, mentoring, and inspiring high-performing editorial and social media teams.

• Change management: introduced new technologies or processes that improved efficiency, collaboration, and audience impact.

• Strong expertise in video strategy and editing, with a track record of creating platform-appropriate, engaging video journalism that drives reach and relevance.

• Strategic planning and execution skills, delivering social and video strategies aligned with editorial values and business goals.

• Ability to analyse and interpret social and video performance data, setting clear KPIs, tracking impact, and translating insights into actionable strategy.

• Skilled cross-functional collaborator, with experience working closely with marketing, commercial, and editorial leaders to deliver shared outcomes.

• Proven ability to uphold brand identity and editorial standards across diverse platforms while fostering innovation, experimentation, and creative risk-taking.

We are News UK : One of the leading media businesses in the UK and Ireland.  Our newsbrands include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday and The TLS. Our national broadcast brands include talkSPORT, Times Radio, Talk and Virgin Radio UK, and we have market-leading local radio stations across Ireland. Our world-famous brands provide news, analysis, opinion and entertainment to almost 40 million people each month. Spanning print and pixel, audio and video, events and experiences, our multiplatform brands are home to a plurality of opinion, representing the diverse communities we serve. News UK is wholly owned by News Corp.

Life at News

Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose. We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter. We inform our audiences so that they can make decisions based on trusted information.

To do this, we believe our employees must represent different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences. We strive to maximise and encourage every individual’s potential and ensure everyone feels valued. We support this through our Diversity Strategy , which focuses on three main priorities - attracting talent from a wider, more representative pool, developing equity programmes to drive better representation in our leadership, and ensuring diversity in our workforce as well as the journalism and content we produce. We also currently have 13 employee led networks and groups that support our strategy and connect like minded employees socially.

Benefits

Some of our benefits include:

• Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary & paternity leave up to 2 weeks

• Wide range of training available, plus full LinkedIn Learning access

• Private medical insurance including coverage for pre-existing conditions

• Discounted gym memberships , free ClassPass at Home, weekly virtual yoga classes

• ‘Bikes for Work’ and ‘Electric Car’ scheme

• Up to 60% discount on Harper Collins books

• Access to exclusive events and competitions with exciting brands such as talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK & The Times. Weekly virtual panel chats with top journalists and celebrities

• Access to wellbeing benefits such as EAP, physio/massage and counselling

• A generous pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 5%

• 30 days holiday , plus bank holidays and up to 4 volunteering days per year

We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. If you require reasonable adjustments due to a disability or health condition at any stage of your application or interview, please let us know. You can contact us at to discuss how we can support you to perform at your best.