Head Of Content

Salary:  £45,000 - £55,000 (dependent on experience), plus generous pension scheme and flexible working culture     

Contract: Permanent, subject to a six-month probation period  

Hours: 35 per week full-time. Applications for job shares, part-time and flexible working will also be considered.  

Location: London/Hybrid. In person attendance for certain meetings is required (including all staff/team meetings and governance/committee meetings that take place in person). Limited travel within the UK and internationally may be required.  

About the RSS and this role: 

The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is one of the world’s leading organisations advocating for the importance of statistics and data - and statistics and data have never been more vital. We’re looking for an exceptional, experienced writer, editor and communicator to deliver and lead our range of key platforms and publications.  

Working with staff and members across the RSS, you will oversee and support projects that advance the science of statistics, bring data scientists together to share real-world problems and solutions, and make statistical tools, methods and applications understandable to journalists, policymakers and the wider public.  

Head of Content is a new role for the RSS and is designed to enable a more strategic approach to the editorial work we deliver. You will coordinate content across the Society, ensuring outputs and derivative products are tailored and targeted to meet the different needs and interest levels of different audiences. Our membership and wider audiences are expanding, and the Head of Content will develop a content strategy that sets a framework for content that is aligned with RSS policy objectives and strategic goals, and targeted at and adapted for different audiences to ensure the widest possible reach. 

The post will require a mix of hands-on content creation and editorial leadership. One of your first tasks will be to transition Real World Data Science, our publication for data science practitioners, to new editorial arrangements to ensure its continued growth as a platform for knowledge sharing across academia, industry and the public sector. This will also provide you the opportunity to work alongside key members and stakeholders who are leading our response to the challenges and opportunities posed by recent developments in artificial intelligence. 

This is an especially exciting time to work at the RSS as we embark on a new five-year strategy. Our vision is of a world where data is at the heart of understanding and decision-making. Join us and help make this a reality. 

Our Head of Content will: 

• Work with wider RSS staff to develop our understanding of the preferences and needs of key internal and external audiences to better align content to those preferences and needs. 
• Lead the creation and delivery of a fully-costed plan for content development, maintenance and review that aligns with key strategic goals and activities. 
• Create or commission accurate, engaging, up-to-date and challenging content that fulfils particular editorial briefs, establishing and liaising with editorial boards to ensure technical integrity of published content. 
• Identify relevant experts within the RSS membership and engage them in content creation initiatives, formalising a network of contributors and providing editorial support and advice. 
• Liaise with third-party organisations and funders to identify topics/areas of mutual interest to provide additional sources of support/funding for new content initiatives. 
• Convene and lead a cross-RSS content group to share and review content plans and outputs and identify opportunities for synergy and collaboration.  

Your skills and experience will include: 

• Significant experience working with different forms of Content at a strategic and operational level. 
• Experience of editing publications and leading and managing staff and contractors. 
• Excellent organisation and planning skills – ability to identify and respond to changing priorities. 
• Strong interpersonal skills; ability to persuade, inspire, influence, and achieve results through others. 
• Demonstrable ability to innovate and think creatively. 
• Ability to lead a small team with great flexibility and imagination to achieve short-term and long-term business objectives. 
• Ability to work on own initiative within corporate and RSS guidelines/directives. 
• Knowledge of current website practices, industry trends, and editorial opportunities. 
• Excellent skills in written English (writing, editing, sub-editing and proofreading) and excellent oral communication skills in English 

Full job description and person specification is available to download at https://rss.org.uk/jobs-careers/opportunities-at-the-rss/. 

How to apply  

Please submit your CV with a supporting statement/letter to h.obrien@rss.org.uk telling us about: 

• Why you should be considered for the role 
• How your skills and experience align with the responsibilities and person specification 
• How this role fits with your career plan  

To arrange an informal discussion regarding the post, please contact Holly O’Brien at h.obrien@rss.org.uk