Senior Environment Editor

Salary: Up to £45k DoE

Application deadline: 4 October 2023

The Conversation is looking for an experienced editor to oversee its environment desk. This is a great opportunity to shape the coverage of a fast-paced online news magazine and work with a team of fantastic journalists and some of the world’s leading academic experts.

Every day, The Conversation publishes articles written by experts from universities across the UK and Europe that explain and analyse the latest news, trends and research. Our stories are written for a non-expert audience with the aim of providing our millions of readers around the world with evidence-based information that can help them make better informed decisions.

The environment desk currently covers a broad range of topics including the impact of climate change on the natural and human worlds, the effects of pollution and ways to reduce it, the business and politics of energy and environmental action, and how individuals can live greener lives, all underpinned by academic research.

Who we are looking for

We are looking for someone with a strong interest in environmental journalism who can lead a small team to increase reader engagement with our environment content and attract an influential audience to ensure our work has a significant impact on the world.

Our preferred candidate will be full of ideas about how to generate research-driven but highly engaging and valuable stories, and an excellent editor who can promptly translate complicated ideas into accessible language for a non-expert audience under the high pressure of a daily deadline.

They will be a self-starter, able to work effectively and at speed without supervision. But they also need excellent people skills so they can work closely with colleagues on a remote basis and with academic authors with varying levels of experience writing for the public.

On a day-to-day basis, the role will involve planning coverage, developing ideas, identifying academics to commission, working with authors on their stories, and managing two experienced environment editors.

The role will also involve delivering a small number of regular training sessions to academics. For the right candidate, there will also be an opportunity to become a senior copy editor, checking articles from across our different desks.

We are a small company that encourages innovation and participation, and there will be opportunities to pitch ideas for long reads, new products, podcast items and to host online panel discussions.

How we work

Our HQ is in London but you do not have to be as we work largely remotely. Staff within reasonable distance are asked to come into the office at least fortnightly (more is encouraged), and for those who live further away it’s several times a year.

You will have the opportunity to shape your own hours, working around key meetings and deadlines throughout the day and week.

We value diversity and are keen to receive applications from people from ethnically diverse and under-represented backgrounds.

Applicants should supply a CV and a cover letter providing evidence for as many of the abilities described above as possible (although you don’t need to tick every box to apply), including suggestions for five articles that you could commission for our environment section.

Please send your CV, cover letter and five article suggestions to uk-jobs@theconversation.com