UK & World News Editor

Company Description

Are you passionate about delivering breaking news and setting the editorial agenda? Do you have a solid understanding of what UK news audiences want to see? We're seeking an UK & World News Editor to ensure the highest standard of coverage and editorial continuity for our UK newsrooms during overnight hours. This is an exciting opportunity to join us as we expand our Overnight team.

Based in Australia, you'll take the reins during the day while the UK team is offline—overseeing news gathering, story selection, editing, and digital publication for national and regional brands. Your leadership will be vital in ensuring our UK audience wakes up to timely, accurate, and engaging news coverage. If you have outstanding editorial judgment, thrive under pressure, and have a good working knowledge of the UK, we want to hear from you

This role is home based and we are only looking for candidates currently based in Australia. You must have the right to work in Australia as we cannot provide sponsorship.

About us

Hello, we're Reach. Every day, our trusted news, stories and content connect with millions of people where they live - whether that's on their social feed or at their neighbourhood newsstand; through their local community or their take on the hot topic of the day.

We're home to more than 120 trusted brands - from household names like the Mirror, Express, Daily Star and Daily Record, to local titles like MyLondon, BelfastLive, and the Manchester Evening News, and brands making a splash in the US like the Irish Star.

It's our ability to understand people and the things that matter to them that makes us the UK and Ireland's largest commercial news publisher. We reach 70% of the UK's online population and speak to over 100 million social followers around the world. And we're just getting started…

Your story, with Reach

As a modern media organisation, we're much more than just news. And it takes a wide range of people and skills to serve diverse audiences, customers and communities like we do.

We know everyone has their own story to tell, so we've built an environment where every background is respected and every day is a day to explore.

We'll help you build a career that works with your life, while giving you the space to create and grow.

About this role

What will the role involve?

You will lead a team of overnight reporters, delegating assignments and providing guidance to maintain high journalistic standards. You will exercise strong news judgement, rapidly assessing breaking stories, allocating resources and directing coverage from across the UK and beyond. Meticulously editing and proofreading news copy for accuracy, grammar, clarity, and style before publication, collaborating with other editors and the daytime team to ensure seamless news transitions and a consistent editorial voice.

Identifying emerging stories from social media and other sources, you will alert the daytime team, and manage ongoing coverage. You will enforce strict deadlines to ensure timely and accurate publication, upholding our commitment to timely journalism.

You will promote the use of AI tools, in line with company policies, to optimise content creation and improve efficiency. You will create engaging affiliate content that drives traffic and revenue by researching products and understanding target audiences that encourages click-through and conversions.

You will tailor content for off-platform channels to boost audience engagement, distributing it as approved by senior editors while considering audio and video elements for each story, capturing or curating basic footage to enhance audience engagement.

Finally, you will manage and develop a high-performing, inclusive team by fostering a culture of trust, wellbeing, and accountability. You will ensure fair application of our people policies and support growth, acting as a role model by championing diversity, recognising achievements, driving engagement, and spearheading change to align with our strategic goals. This role involves working day shifts on a varying rota basis, including some weekends to cover the UK overnight, therefore a flexible approach is required.

Who are we looking for?

You are a highly skilled and experienced journalist and editor with proven experience in a digital newsroom environment at an editorial level. You have a robust understanding of journalistic principles and strong editing skills. You have a solid understanding of what UK news audiences respond to and want to see, as well as a good geographical knowledge of the UK.

You have demonstrable experience managing and mentoring teams, fostering a collaborative and supportive newsroom environment. You are familiar with social media monitoring, news aggregation tools, and content management systems, allowing you to manage content distribution and audience engagement across multiple platforms.

You are adaptable and professional, able to thrive in a changing news cycle and work collaboratively within a team. You have excellent communication, time management, and organisational skills, with the ability to delegate, coach others, and solve problems calmly under pressure.

How we'll look after you

We take good care of our people - and that means more than just a pay packet. Whatever your role, you'll get a range of benefits, including:

• Superannuation
• Life & Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD)
• Long Term Disability (known as Salary Continuance or Income Protection)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

This is a full-time role, hired through our Employer of Record (EOR) partner, as we do not currently have a legal entity in Australia. You'll enjoy all statutory benefits and protections as per local labor laws.

Additional Information

Reach plc believes diversity brings benefits for our customers, our business and our people. This is why we are committed to being an inclusive employer and encourage applications from all suitable applicants irrespective of background, circumstances, age, disability, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or belief and sexual orientation.