Group Head, Branded Content Solutions

About us

The Independent is an online news publisher that was established in 1986 as a national newspaper independent of party political affiliations or proprietorial influence. In 2016, The Independent became a fully digital publisher, moving away from print in pursuit of sustainability, and to safeguard its values and journalism for the future.

The Independent has always thrived through innovation and change. It was the first British newspaper to add a Saturday magazine; the first to give photography the same prestige as a news copy; the first to challenge the Westminster lobby system of closed briefings; the first broadsheet to move to the more compact ‘tabloid’ format; the first to launch a concise quality compact paper; and the first – and only – major newspaper to pull off a successful transformation to fully digital publishing.

Through The Independent, Independent TV, eCommerce, indy100, subscriptions and other ‘reader revenues’, The Independent plans to continue the work of many decades, bringing much-needed independent journalism to over 100 million unique global visitors a month, make its voice ever louder and more insistent the world over.

We have an international editorial team with our main offices in London and New York.

The role

We are looking for an experienced creative sales lead to join our branded content team, Independent Ignite. You will be responsible for driving our business with a targeted group of key clients and their agencies. You join us at an exciting time as we continue to expand our full-service solutions offering. As the newest commercial content team in the market, we are looking for an individual with creative flair, proven agency and client relationships, natural leadership skills, a deep understanding of how to engage audiences, commercial nous, and a commitment to deliver results for our clients and The Independent.

The Independent Commercial Content Team

Tasked with representing The Independent across client, partnership and planning teams. The objective is to maximise digital revenues via all non-standard display formats. Members of this team are the first point of call for The Independent’s creative solutions and partnerships offering.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

• We champion diversity in our teams and in our reporting. As a growing and global brand, we must have a workforce that’s more representative of our readers, viewers, clients and partners, and a workplace that creates a sense of belonging for everyone
• We are committed to hiring and developing a diverse workforce regardless of background, and we support our people to thrive in their careers here.

The Independent is an equal opportunities employer, if you require any reasonable adjustments to complete your application, please do not hesitate to advise us accordingly.

About you

You will have strong knowledge and experience of digital advertising, sponsorship, branded content and creative production and delivery.

Professional Competencies:

• Rounded thought leader with proven experience of driving advertising revenues.
• Proven track record in branded content ideation
• Strong pitch writing and delivery skills
• Experience in managing branded content campaigns.
• Innovative in outlook to use future trends to define our approach to briefs.
• Results focused – both short and medium term.
• You will have strong relationships with key agencies to maximize nonstandard display revenue growth.

Communication Requirements:

• Demonstrate gravitas and the ability to influence planners, partnership teams, clients and other teams.
• Ensure the ongoing flow of communication with internal teams.
• Support a collegiate culture with editorial. It is essential that our editorial team is completely on board with our solutions strategy.
• Demonstrate a clear eye for detail and instill this across the team.
• Champion the value of news brands within the agency and where appropriate be a spokesperson for The Independent in the wider marketplace.

Key responsibilities

• Secure and develop the best in market relationships with strategic agency and client partners.
• Represent The Independent, bringing new innovations and ideas to market proactively.
• Respond to briefs with ideas that deliver results for clients.
• Ensure all partnerships are deliverable and profitable.
• Create robust agency and client development plans and targets.

Our values – you will deliver across all our values

Inclusive: We champion diversity in our teams and in our reporting. Working as a team, we put transparency and effective communication at the heart of everything we do.

Innovative: From the very beginning, The Independent has been breaking the mould. We take risks and are always looking to try new ideas in pursuit of excellence.

Independent: Nobody tells us what to think; we make up our own minds and aren’t afraid to do things differently. Like our readers, we value honesty and integrity above outside influences.