Head of Showbiz – Mirror & Magazines (London)

We are looking for a highly accomplished journalist, editor and Showbiz expert to join us as our new Head of Showbiz. This is a fantastic opportunity to play a pivotal role in spearheading our showbiz content for The Mirror and all Reach magazine titles including OK!, New, S magazine, Notebook and Love Sunday.

You will play a crucial role in driving our editorial team to new heights, focusing on expanding our digital audience while maintaining a strong print presence. We’re looking for fresh ideas and new perspectives from people from a wide range of backgrounds so we can continue to diversify our content.

This role is home and hub based linked to our Canary Wharf hub. Therefore we are looking for candidates based in and around London.

What will the role involve?

Reporting directly to the Executive Editor (Advanced Content), you will lead and manage a talented team of Celebrity and Entertainment and TV Writers and Editors, selecting top stories for reporters to cover with speed and accuracy while collaborating closely with picture desk, Digital Publishing team and Social team to ensure top-quality content coverage.

You will strategically grow our digital audience by developing engaging content tailored for online platforms, whilst overseeing and pushing your team to continue to publish captivating showbiz print content across the Mirror and Magazine brands. You will maintain and prioritise a rolling list of stories, ensuring continuous content flow and managing full departmental coverage through effective rota management and forward planning.

You will mentor and coach junior team members, fostering their professional growth and continuously inspiring the Showbiz team to reach new heights in our coverage. You will build and enhance relationships between the Showbiz team and the Content Hub and Studio  to maximise story impact across our brands and their platforms. This role involves shift working, including unsociable hours for events, evenings and weekends on a rota basis, so a flexible approach is required.

Who are we looking for?

You are a highly accomplished, qualified journalist and editor with a proven track record of managing large showbiz teams in a similar fast paced newsroom or magazine environment. You are a skilled and supportive people manager who can guide and inspire your team to continuously improve our showbiz content. You have proven experience working across both print and digital and demonstrable experience growing digital audiences.

Whether it is celebrity exposes and interviews, pregnancy announcements or break ups, you stay up to date on the latest showbiz news from around the globe, with a particular focus on celebrity news. You thrive under pressure, deftly multitasking and prioritising to turn tight deadlines into opportunities for success. You have an extensive network of contacts with PR agencies and key players within the celebrity world to help you and your team consistently deliver outstanding content, breaking exclusives that keep readers on the edge of their seats.

What can we offer you?

We are offering a competitive salary and benefits including;

• Help saving for your retirement – join our pension scheme and we’ll match contributions up to 6%
• 25 days’ holiday per year when you join. After three, five and ten years’ service with Reach, you’ll accrue one additional day of annual leave. We also have a Holiday Purchase Scheme
• Giving back day – an additional day’s leave each year to support a cause close to your heart
• Enhanced family leave – including maternity, paternity and adoption – and you’ll be eligible after just six months’ employment
• Private Healthcare Cash Plan – free health cash plan so you can claim back cash for a range of medical expenses
• As one of the UK’s top 50 Inclusive Employers everyone’s invited to join our events, programmes and networks to celebrate diversity and build an environment where all our people can thrive
• Wellbeing support – including a 24/7 employee assistance programme (EAP) for you and your nearest and dearest
• Awesome career opportunities – you’ll have support from your line manager and a range of learning & development programmes
• We are also a member of the 30% Club, a global campaign aimed at increasing gender diversity at board and senior management levels

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.