Website Editor

Westminster, England, United Kingdom·Posted today

Location: Westminster, London  Salary: Competitive  Reporting to: Executive Editor    <blockquote> The Role Reform UK is seeking an outstanding Website Editor to lead its new, enlarged digital newsroom from the party's Westminster headquarters. This is a senior editorial role with responsibility for building the website into a significant national publishing operation in the build-up to the next general election and beyond. The Website Editor will own the daily website agenda, homepage, newsroom standards and audience performance, leading a seven-day team producing breaking news, original reporting, explainers, policy and profile coverage, video-led stories and authoritative evergreen content. The role combines strong editorial judgement with native digital skills, operational discipline and a relentless focus on measurable growth. </blockquote>   What you'll do <ul> <li>Lead the newsroom and set the daily agenda</li> <li>Lead, inspire and develop the News & Website team, setting clear priorities, standards, responsibilities and ambitious performance expectations.</li> <li>Own the daily editorial agenda, homepage and publishing rhythm, ensuring Reform UK reacts quickly to breaking news while also originating distinctive journalism and useful evergreen content.</li> <li>Run an effective seven-day rota with clear shift leadership, handovers, weekend planning and resilience around major political events and campaign periods.</li> </ul>   Key Responsibilities Build a serious national publishing operation Commission and publish a strong mix of breaking news, original reporting, interviews, explainers, policy coverage, profile pages, live/event packages and video-led stories. Build named topic ownership across the newsroom so priority areas are covered with continuity, authority and speed rather than only through reactive posts. Establish clear standards for sourcing, verification, headlines, corrections, bylines, embeds, transcripts, polls and live blogs. Grow audience, search visibility and authority Use advanced SEO expertise to expand non-branded discovery, improve search performance and build durable authority around Reform UK's priority topics, policies and public figures. Develop the website as an authoritative destination rather than a static campaign site, with strong recirculation, internal linking, related content and reasons for users to return. Stay ahead of search, AI-driven discovery, changing audience behaviour and CMS/product developments, turning relevant changes into practical editorial advantage. Work with the Executive Editor, product and data colleagues to improve News, Watch and Email Updates journeys and convert more website attention into repeat audience relationships. Make performance part of everyday editorial decision-making Set ambitious but credible KPIs for output, reach, depth, search, repeat use and conversion, and hold the team accountable for them. Use analytics, dashboards and real-time performance signals to adjust commissioning, headlines, homepage treatment, recirculation and resource allocation throughout the day. Turn raw numbers into clear editorial insight: identify what is working, understand why, scale repeatable success and stop or change weak activity quickly. Connect the website to the wider digital operation Work closely with Video & Live and Brand Social Media so original journalism, interviews and events are planned as joined-up packages rather than separate channel outputs. Ensure stories are prepared in ways that can feed email, ReformGo, social platforms and other direct audience journeys without weakening the quality of the core website product. Build strong working relationships with Communications, Campaigns, Policy, Operations, Data and other internal stakeholders while protecting clear editorial ownership and efficient decision-making.   Performance and Leadership: <ul> <li>Recruit, coach and develop journalists and editors, setting clear expectations, giving useful feedback and creating opportunities for greater ownership.</li> <li>Plan rotas, leave and shift cover so the website can operate reliably across seven days without lowering standards or depending on constant senior intervention.</li> <li>Communicate priorities and performance clearly to the Executive Editor and senior stakeholders, surfacing risks early and taking responsibility for delivery.</li> <li>Maintain a comprehensive understanding of media law, copyright, defamation, contempt, privacy, election-period requirements and relevant compliance processes, escalating appropriately when needed.</li> <li>Ensure CMS access, publishing permissions and editorial workflows are organised, secure and documented, with clear ownership and recovery procedures.</li> </ul>   THE PERSON We are looking for a highly capable digital editor who combines national-level newsroom experience with strong leadership, native digital expertise and an unusually high level of comfort with data and performance. Essential experience and capabilities <ul> <li>Substantial experience running or helping run a busy digital newsroom for a national publication, broadcaster, publisher or comparable high-output organisation.</li> <li>Proven management experience, including developing staff, managing performance, building rotas and creating a positive, accountable team culture.</li> <li>Excellent editorial judgement and news sense, with the ability to balance multiple priorities and make fast, proportionate decisions under pressure.</li> <li>Strong native digital skills and extensive hands-on experience with modern CMS platforms, publishing workflows and digital newsroom tools.</li> <li>Significant SEO expertise, including search demand, on-page optimisation, internal linking, evergreen authority and performance analysis.</li> <li>Advanced understanding of analytics and data, with a proven ability to turn numbers into actionable editorial and audience-growth decisions.</li> <li>Outstanding communication and stakeholder-management skills, including confidence dealing with senior colleagues, political figures, specialists and external partners.</li> <li>Strong understanding of media law, editorial compliance, copyright, privacy and the legal risks associated with fast-moving political publishing.</li> <li>Highly organised, flexible and capable of running a seven-day operation while maintaining standards, pace and team morale.</li> <li>A proactive mindset: full of ideas, highly reactive to new opportunities and motivated by ambitious KPIs and measurable results.</li> <li>A strong interest in British politics and current affairs, with the judgement and professionalism required to work effectively inside a mission-led political organisation.</li> <li>Willingness to work full-time from Reform UK's Westminster HQ and flex around breaking news, major events and campaign periods, including early, late and weekend work where required. This is not a conventional 9-to-5 role.</li> </ul> Highly desirable <ul> <li>Experience building, launching or significantly growing a website or digital publication at national scale.</li> <li>Experience developing evergreen topic, policy or profile pages designed to build search and AI/discovery authority.</li> <li>Strong understanding of audience journeys, email capture, recirculation, conversion and direct/owned audience development.</li> <li>Experience working closely with video, social, product and data teams in an integrated newsroom or publishing operation.</li> <li>Experience leading through organisational change, including new structures, systems, workflows or performance cultures.</li> </ul> Why join Reform UK? This is an opportunity to build a major national publishing operation from inside one of Britain's fastest-growing political organisations. The Website Editor will have real scope to shape the newsroom, standards, agenda, workflows and audience strategy rather than simply inherit an established system.

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