Job Description
The head of pictures is responsible for delivering a world-class picture package across all platforms for The Times and The Sunday Times. They will bring stories to life with clean, clear and engaging imagery, find original picture-led stories and exclusive images, ensuring all output remains true to The Times and Sunday Times aesthetics. This is a fantastic opportunity for a photojournalist who is passionate about news and ready to lead one of the most important departments across both titles.
Responsibilities
1. Successfully manage a productive relationship with the editors and executives of The Times and The Sunday Times, as well as picture editors and researchers and journalists across the newsrooms
2. Become a vital and trusted part of a team of senior editors producing The Times and The Sunday Times on multiple platforms, presenting picture ideas at daily news conferences
3. Showcase our visual journalism to new audiences on digital platforms and bring ideas for new digital visual storytelling opportunities
4. Investigate news stories to source exclusive pictures, as well as producing stand-alone picture packages that engage our readers
5. Give picture-led story leads to the news desk and pitch creative and original picture ideas to enliven our journalism and provide inspiration to senior editors and journalists.
6. Have a clear understanding of the editorial and visual objectives of the news pages of The Times and The Sunday Times and an understanding of how pictures contribute to that
7. Use SEO, Pars.ly, Inca and Google Trends to help guide picture decisions
8. Manage relationships with photographers, agencies and other external contacts to source or commission original, distinctive images
9. Forward-plan, working with photographers and journalists on long-range picture projects and packages
10. Work collaboratively with all internal departments including commercial, marketing, production and distribution, finance and HR
11. Control costs to ensure the budget is managed as efficiently as possible to agreed objectives, ensuring all products are commercially viable
12. Lead and manage the Pictures team for news and features, developing talent and supporting progression
Skills and experience
13. A qualification or strong experience in photojournalism
14. Experience working in a senior position in the media, especially on a news desk or at a picture agency and experience managing a large team
15. Experience with image management and editing software and knowledge of FTP and transmission systems
16. Experience establishing strong working relationships and building credibility with senior managers
17. A proven track record of influencing editorial colleagues, leading thinking and generating ideas
18. Creative problem-solving
19. Highly organised and able to work in a fast-paced, changing environment
20. A collaborative, flexible working style with experience working in partnership with design and production teams
21. Strong understanding of usage rights, permissions and copyright
We are News UK : One of the leading media businesses in the UK and Ireland. Our newsbrands include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday and The TLS. Our national broadcast brands include talkSPORT, Times Radio, TalkTV and Virgin Radio UK, and we have market-leading local radio stations across Ireland. Our world-famous brands provide news, analysis, opinion and entertainment to almost 40 million people each month. Spanning print and pixel, audio and video, events and experiences, our multiplatform brands are home to a plurality of opinion, representing the diverse communities we serve. News UK is wholly owned by News Corp.
Life at News
Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose. We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter. We inform our audiences so that they can make decisions based on trusted information.
To do this, we believe our employees must represent different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences. We strive to maximise and encourage every individual’s potential and ensure everyone feels valued. We support this through our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy, which focuses on three main priorities - attracting talent from a wider, more representative pool, developing equity programmes to drive better representation in our leadership, and ensuring diversity and inclusivity in our workforce as well as the journalism and content we produce. We also currently have 12 employee led networks and groups that support our strategy and connect like minded employees socially.
Benefits
Some of our benefits include:
22. Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary & paternity leave up to 2 weeks
23. Wide range of training available, plus full LinkedIn Learning access
24. Private medical insurance including coverage for pre-existing conditions
25. Discounted gym memberships, free ClassPass at Home, weekly virtual yoga classes
26. ‘Bikes for Work’ and ‘Electric Car’ scheme
27. Up to 60% discount on Harper Collins books
28. Access to exclusive events and competitions with exciting brands such as talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK & The Times. Weekly virtual panel chats with top journalists and celebrities
29. Access to wellbeing benefits such as EAP, physio/massage and counselling
30. A generous pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 5%
31. 30 days holiday, plus bank holidays and up to 4 volunteering days per year
We want to ensure that everyone we meet has the opportunity to perform to their best when applying for a role. Please let us know, at any stage, whether you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, and we will do our best to accommodate.
About The Candidate About The Company