Main purpose of the role

The audience engagement editor is the cheerleader-in-chief for News24's existing and future subscribers and readers. She/he actively engages with their reading, viewing and listening behaviours on all their chosen media platforms in an effort to grow and sustain our quality journalism business.

Duties and responsibilities

• Editorial lead for News24’s subscriber acquisition strategy.
• Oversees and manages News24's social media strategy and team.
• Manages News24's newsletter strategy and daily execution, to drive the right content to bespoke audiences.
• Work closely with the publishing, marketing and product team to ensure optimal content distribution.
• Influence marketing campaigns and publisher strategies from an editorial perspective.
• Liaise closely with the news desk to ensure our content selection and distribution strategy aligns with audience needs.
• Provide daily insights from our analytics tools to inform and guide the editorial team what does and doesn’t work and why.
• Carefully track competitor strategy and market share on a monthly basis.
• Respond to subscriber and reader feedback and complaints about user experience and accessibility.
• Oversee user comments strategy, policy and moderation.

Skills and competencies

• Passion for journalism, data and people.
• Strong communication skills.
• The ability to perform under pressure, with short turn-around times, as well as manage long-term, strategic projects.
• Firm command of analytics and data-informed decision-making in an editorial context.
• Ability to think strategically and to interpret audience trends.
• Knowledge of a CMS, newsletter publishing, social media management, and handling reader comments.
• Excellent attention to detail.

Qualification and experience

• A relevant tertiary qualification.
• At least 7-10 years of experience in the journalism industry.
• Experience in digital publishing and distribution and/or audience development strategies.
• Sound editorial knowledge, including proficiency as a writer with strong editing skills.
• In-depth knowledge of the News24 target market.
• Proficiency in relevant content management programs and analytical tools.

Given the employment equity policy of Media24, preference will be given to suitable candidates from the designated groups.