Job Purpose/ Key Responsibilities

Reporting to the Director of Sky Sports News, the Managing Editor is a new role and a key member of the Sky Sports News & Digital senior leadership team.

The Managing Editor will lead in four key areas across the SSN & D teams (TV Production, Newsgathering, Digital Media and Social Media):

• Leadership – specifically on-screen Presenter Talent, both contracted and freelancers
• Editorial discipline and output compliance
• People, culture and team development
• Financial

The role requires someone with significant editorial and leadership experience, an aptitude for running large projects and budgets, with the enthusiasm and ability to bring about change through good leadership and strong communication skills.

The successful candidate will have a deep understanding of news production across all platforms and a good grasp of contemporary sports news gathering, along with resilience and optimism.

In addition, this role requires the successful candidate to have a familiarity with OFCOM codes, other forms of compliance in publishing news content and the ability to liaise effectively with viewers, Sky’s complaints department and Sky Sports’ external partners/stakeholders.

The role will play a key role as a member of the SSN Leadership Team (with SSN Head of Channel, Head of Digital Content & Audio and Head of Social Media & Audience Development), working across all three areas, to maintain and develop an inclusive and best-in-class workplace culture and leading on recruitment protocols.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership is key to the role, managing a significant number of on-screen journalists, as well as providing broader leadership in key areas across all of SSN&D

Leadership

• Be a positive, engaged leader and member of the SSN leadership team
• Influence the behaviour of others by leading by example and demonstrating our Values and the Sky Leadership Behaviours
• Line managing on-screen talent whether FTCs/ freelance.  Ensuring our Presenter pool reflects our SSN Strategy and is subject to the high standards set within SSN.  As well as overseeing Presenter rotas, the role will be responsible for managing the Talent contracting process and will handle external relations with agents. In addition, the role will be connected with talent regularly and meaningfully focussing on on-screen talent development & support
• Working closely with other Sky Sports departments especially workforce operations, the live content teams and SPS
• Be a central point of contact and own relationships with a wide variety of Sky departments (e.g. Viewer Relations and Compliance, Property, Security, Sky Media, Press Office).  Through these relationships, lead on SSN-wide specific activities/events which impact the department e.g. Liaising with Building Services and Studios on projects or maintenance/emergencies, overseeing Tours in close conjunction with Security etc
• Drive an high-performing culture where people are treated with integrity and respect, people feel their loyalty and contribution is recognised and valued, and where flexibility & innovation is encouraged
• Be an ambassador for Sky Sports – and Sky - at all times

Editorial & Compliance

• Have sound editorial judgment with a proven track record of decision-making in a live news environment for national audiences
• Be prepared and capable of leading the newsroom (all platforms) in the event of a major breaking sports news story; being the executive editor in the moment as required
• Understand the demands of live crewing and newsgathering, with the ability to liaise with Sky Sports live OBs and Sky News on major stories
• Maintain newsroom discipline and editorial standards, overseeing the SSN Editorial Guidelines and ensuring all staff work to the SSN Code of Conduct and Sky Sports Social Media Guidelines
• Be a point of contact for external relations with clients, outside organisations and customers, including OFCOM, NCTJ, KIO and numerous inclusivity groups/bodies
• Answer significant viewer complaints as sent by Viewer Relations

People

• Be a champion for excellent People Management practices and approaches within SSN and embed Sky wide / Sky Sports wide initiatives.
• Maximise the engagement of your team by ensuring the People Survey scores are always cascaded, local action plans created and delivered.
• Manage internal staff recognition procedures (eg. Sky Stars and equivalents)
• Manage external recognition and awards entries
• Own the SSN&D ‘on-screen’ approval processes and Screen Testing 
• Support Director of SSN on overall team recruitment plans with focus on Diversity and Inclusion throughout the department  
• Supporting efforts to identify, recruit, train and retain the best journalistic talent throughout SSN & Digital
• Ensure the SSN team is aware of Sky’s overall direction and key current initiatives  

Financial Management

• Forecast and assist Heads of Department and the Snr Assignments & Logistics Manager for SSN in the production of the yearly operating budget.
• Work within financial limits and work with the Director of SSN to ensure Heads of Dept take responsibility for the budget issued.
• Leading on big projects across SSN&D and on broader business initiatives incl major events budget/coverage, efficiency challenges/change programmes and budget forecasting across all SSN&D teams

Candidate Specification:

• Strong communicator used to working with multi-disciplined rostered team working in 24 x 7 production environments 
• Experienced editorial leader; confident in taking newsroom decisions in a live environment 
• Confidence to challenge, disrupt and take calculated risks 
• Experience of working to tight deadlines in a fast-paced newsroom environment 

Specialist Knowledge

Essential:

• Excellent Journalistic Credentials 
• NCTJ Qualified (or equivalent) 
• Good awareness of up-and-coming digital innovations

Desirable: 

• Appreciation of Sky business and products 
• Relationships with leading social media platforms 

Industry Experience

Essential: 

• Demonstrable newsroom experience at senior level 
• Experience managing editorial and production teams. 

Expected Behaviours and Abilities 

Essential:

• Effective communicator (specifically around stakeholder relationships). 

Sky Sports News

We shape sports news, bringing fresh, creative and innovative ways of telling stories to our customers. Our multi-platform approach means we reach a diverse group of customers across a wide range of platforms.

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:

· Sky Q, for the TV you love all in one place

· A generous pension package

· Private healthcare

· Discounted mobile and broadband

· Access a wide range of best-in-class 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 outstanding 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.

Your Office Base:

Osterley

Our Osterley Campus is a 10-minute walk from Syon Lane train station. Or you can hop on one of our free shuttle buses that run to and from Osterley, Gunnersbury, Ealing Broadway and South Ealing tube stations. There’s also plenty of bike shelters and showers.

On campus, you’ll find 13 subsidised restaurants, cafes, and a Waitrose. You can keep in shape at our subsidised gym, catch the latest shows and movies at our cinema, get your car washed and even get pampered at our beauty salon.

Inclusion:

At Sky we don’t just look at your CV. We’re more passionate about 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.

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 #LifeAtSky on social media. 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.