Director of Editorial Strategy

We're Sky, a Global Entertainment brand and a proud subsidiary of the Comcast Group. We're uniquely placed in the industry thanks to our people, world-class shows, breaking news, innovative technology, and must-have products. Joining Sky means joining a global network where excellence in project execution meets opportunity.

We believe in better and we make it happen.

Better content. Better Products. And better careers.

Role: Director of Editorial Strategy & Planning

Base Location: Osterley

Reporting to: Executive Director Content Strategy & Performance

Department Overview

Sky Entertainment Group are responsible for commissioning, acquiring and curating unmissable TV for our customers across Sky and NOW. The Content Strategy team operates symbiotically with the Genre and Production teams, creating and managing the content story for Sky, ensuring a continuous and ever-evolving offering for our customers that meets all business KPIs.

The Role

This role will evolve the Sky Entertainment Group content rollout across multiple platforms including Sky, NOW, FTA, and FAST, designing and creating a content portfolio that can attract and engage every Sky and NOW customer.

The person will lead the greenlight commissioning process, devising a cross-genre framework that ensures every content decision is aligned to the overall vision for the Sky Entertainment Group portfolio, and is supported with best-in-class customer and market insight, and robust financial framework.

A seamless thought leader, this person will devise and execute a release strategy for all content across every platform, making tight judgement calls, and communicating decision making to all stakeholders within Sky Entertainment Group. This role will be able to blend competing priorities, ensuring with every decision that the content, the platform, and the customer are all front of mind. An audience and content expert, this person will understand competitors inside out, having the ability to lead on key partner planning relationships, extracting and predicting planning patterns where required.

This role will be co-responsible for performance of Sky Entertainment Group's Content across all platforms. Understanding and influencing industry and viewing trends across Sky Platforms, this role will influence Merchandising strategy for Sky Content and work hand in glove with the data, strategy, and genre teams to decipher insights and drive content and planning decisions.

What you'll do:

• Own the Sky Release plan across Basic Entertainment, Sky Cinema, Sky Kids, and FTA
• Lead the commissioning greenlight process
• Lead on customer discovery thinking from within the Sky Entertainment Group, work tirelessly with the Merchandising team to evolve best practise for Sky Content
• Plan and design strategies around new customers and engaging existing customers. Create plans that attract all key audience segments, new DTC customers and can increase customer usage
• Own all commercial content commitments from a planning perspective
• Work hand in glove with Acquisitions to recommend third-party acquired content to leadership, advise on innovative licensing requirements
• Continuously brief in insight requests to ensure latest viewing trends are applied to every decision
• Seek out opportunities to improve the planning process, including the application of AI
• Lead a diverse team of planning experts, continuously evolving skillsets to ensure best practice is achieved.

What you'll bring:

Experience & Expertise:

• Proven leadership experience within a content-led organisation
• Recognised thought leader in content strategy, with hands-on experience in both planning and commissioning environments
• Strong background in D2C content merchandising and large-scale production planning
• Demonstrated success in shaping content release strategies that drive audience growth and engagement
• Skilled in using complex data to inform commissioning frameworks and evolve content strategy
• Experience in presenting performance insights and strategic recommendations to C-suite stakeholders.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to assess long-term content opportunities and risks, aligned to global and local market trends
• Deep understanding of the UK content landscape, including YouTube, FAST, and FTA
• Analytical mindset with a focus on maximising content value across its lifecycle
• Embraces AI and applies it effectively for content discovery and strategic planning.

Strategic Leadership & Influence:

• Ability to ensure that senior leadership is aligned with Sky Entertainment's vision and strategy, enabling informed decision-making on high-impact issues
• Bring a broad, cross-functional perspective spanning innovation, outsourcing, financial structuring, international expansion, and M&A
• Ability to influence across the organisation, fostering alignment and driving complex change initiatives
• Bring clarity, discipline, and focus to strategic decision-making, challenging groupthink and legacy thinking
• Can communicate strategy in a compelling, accessible way that drives buy-in and sustained organisational change.

The Rewards:

There's a reason people can't stop talking about #LifeAtSky. Our great range of rewards really are something special, here are just a few:

• Hybrid and Flexible working
• Sky Q, for the TV you love all in one place
• The magic of Sky Glass at an exclusive rate
• A generous pension package
• Private healthcare
• Discounted mobile and broadband
• Access a wide range of exclusive Sky VIP rewards and experiences.

How you'll work:

We know the world has changed, and we want to offer our employees the chance to collaborate at our unique office spaces, whilst enjoying the convenience of working from home.

We've adopted a hybrid working approach to give more flexibility on where and how we work. You'll find out more about what this means for this role during the recruitment process.

Inclusion:

At Sky we don't just look at your CV. We're more focused on who you are and your potential. We also know that everyone has a life outside work, so we're happy to discuss flexible working.

We are a Disability Confident Accredited Employer, and welcome and encourage applications from all candidates. We will look to ensure a fair and consistent experience for all, and will make reasonable adjustments to support you where appropriate. Please flag any adjustments you need to your recruiter as early as you can.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Why wait?

Apply now to build an amazing career and be part of a brilliant team. We can't wait to hear from you.

To find out more about working with us, search on social media. A job you love to talk about.

Just so you know: if your application is successful, we'll ask you to complete a criminal record check. And depending on the role you have applied for and the nature of any convictions you may have, we might have to withdraw the offer.