Website Editor

<p><strong>Location: </strong>Westminster, London </p>
<p><strong>Salary:</strong> Competitive </p>
<p><strong>Reporting to:</strong> Executive Editor </p>
<p> </p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>The Role</strong></p>
<p>Reform UK is seeking an outstanding Website Editor to lead its new, enlarged digital newsroom from the party's Westminster headquarters. This is a senior editorial role with responsibility for building the website into a significant national publishing operation in the build-up to the next general election and beyond.</p>
<p>The Website Editor will own the daily website agenda, homepage, newsroom standards and audience performance, leading a seven-day team producing breaking news, original reporting, explainers, policy and profile coverage, video-led stories and authoritative evergreen content. The role combines strong editorial judgement with native digital skills, operational discipline and a relentless focus on measurable growth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>What you'll do</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Lead the newsroom and set the daily agenda</li>
<li>Lead, inspire and develop the News & Website team, setting clear priorities, standards, responsibilities and ambitious performance expectations.</li>
<li>Own the daily editorial agenda, homepage and publishing rhythm, ensuring Reform UK reacts quickly to breaking news while also originating distinctive journalism and useful evergreen content.</li>
<li>Run an effective seven-day rota with clear shift leadership, handovers, weekend planning and resilience around major political events and campaign periods.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Key Responsibilities</strong></p>
<p><strong>Build a serious national publishing operation</strong></p>
<p>Commission and publish a strong mix of breaking news, original reporting, interviews, explainers, policy coverage, profile pages, live/event packages and video-led stories.</p>
<p>Build named topic ownership across the newsroom so priority areas are covered with continuity, authority and speed rather than only through reactive posts.</p>
<p>Establish clear standards for sourcing, verification, headlines, corrections, bylines, embeds, transcripts, polls and live blogs.</p>
<p><strong>Grow audience, search visibility and authority</strong></p>
<p>Use advanced SEO expertise to expand non-branded discovery, improve search performance and build durable authority around Reform UK's priority topics, policies and public figures.</p>
<p>Develop the website as an authoritative destination rather than a static campaign site, with strong recirculation, internal linking, related content and reasons for users to return.</p>
<p>Stay ahead of search, AI-driven discovery, changing audience behaviour and CMS/product developments, turning relevant changes into practical editorial advantage.</p>
<p>Work with the Executive Editor, product and data colleagues to improve News, Watch and Email Updates journeys and convert more website attention into repeat audience relationships.</p>
<p><strong>Make performance part of everyday editorial decision-making</strong></p>
<p>Set ambitious but credible KPIs for output, reach, depth, search, repeat use and conversion, and hold the team accountable for them.</p>
<p>Use analytics, dashboards and real-time performance signals to adjust commissioning, headlines, homepage treatment, recirculation and resource allocation throughout the day.</p>
<p>Turn raw numbers into clear editorial insight: identify what is working, understand why, scale repeatable success and stop or change weak activity quickly.</p>
<p><strong>Connect the website to the wider digital operation</strong></p>
<p>Work closely with Video & Live and Brand Social Media so original journalism, interviews and events are planned as joined-up packages rather than separate channel outputs.</p>
<p>Ensure stories are prepared in ways that can feed email, ReformGo, social platforms and other direct audience journeys without weakening the quality of the core website product.</p>
<p>Build strong working relationships with Communications, Campaigns, Policy, Operations, Data and other internal stakeholders while protecting clear editorial ownership and efficient decision-making.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Performance and Leadership:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Recruit, coach and develop journalists and editors, setting clear expectations, giving useful feedback and creating opportunities for greater ownership.</li>
<li>Plan rotas, leave and shift cover so the website can operate reliably across seven days without lowering standards or depending on constant senior intervention.</li>
<li>Communicate priorities and performance clearly to the Executive Editor and senior stakeholders, surfacing risks early and taking responsibility for delivery.</li>
<li>Maintain a comprehensive understanding of media law, copyright, defamation, contempt, privacy, election-period requirements and relevant compliance processes, escalating appropriately when needed.</li>
<li>Ensure CMS access, publishing permissions and editorial workflows are organised, secure and documented, with clear ownership and recovery procedures.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>THE PERSON</strong></p>
<p>We are looking for a highly capable digital editor who combines national-level newsroom experience with strong leadership, native digital expertise and an unusually high level of comfort with data and performance.</p>
<p><strong>Essential experience and capabilities</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Substantial experience running or helping run a busy digital newsroom for a national publication, broadcaster, publisher or comparable high-output organisation.</li>
<li>Proven management experience, including developing staff, managing performance, building rotas and creating a positive, accountable team culture.</li>
<li>Excellent editorial judgement and news sense, with the ability to balance multiple priorities and make fast, proportionate decisions under pressure.</li>
<li>Strong native digital skills and extensive hands-on experience with modern CMS platforms, publishing workflows and digital newsroom tools.</li>
<li>Significant SEO expertise, including search demand, on-page optimisation, internal linking, evergreen authority and performance analysis.</li>
<li>Advanced understanding of analytics and data, with a proven ability to turn numbers into actionable editorial and audience-growth decisions.</li>
<li>Outstanding communication and stakeholder-management skills, including confidence dealing with senior colleagues, political figures, specialists and external partners.</li>
<li>Strong understanding of media law, editorial compliance, copyright, privacy and the legal risks associated with fast-moving political publishing.</li>
<li>Highly organised, flexible and capable of running a seven-day operation while maintaining standards, pace and team morale.</li>
<li>A proactive mindset: full of ideas, highly reactive to new opportunities and motivated by ambitious KPIs and measurable results.</li>
<li>A strong interest in British politics and current affairs, with the judgement and professionalism required to work effectively inside a mission-led political organisation.</li>
<li>Willingness to work full-time from Reform UK's Westminster HQ and flex around breaking news, major events and campaign periods, including early, late and weekend work where required. This is not a conventional 9-to-5 role.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Highly desirable</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Experience building, launching or significantly growing a website or digital publication at national scale.</li>
<li>Experience developing evergreen topic, policy or profile pages designed to build search and AI/discovery authority.</li>
<li>Strong understanding of audience journeys, email capture, recirculation, conversion and direct/owned audience development.</li>
<li>Experience working closely with video, social, product and data teams in an integrated newsroom or publishing operation.</li>
<li>Experience leading through organisational change, including new structures, systems, workflows or performance cultures.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Why join Reform UK?</strong></p>
<p>This is an opportunity to build a major national publishing operation from inside one of Britain's fastest-growing political organisations. The Website Editor will have real scope to shape the newsroom, standards, agenda, workflows and audience strategy rather than simply inherit an established system.</p>