Food Content Editor (8-month FTC) in London

Job Description:

Please note that this is an 8-month Fixed Term Contract role.

About the John Lewis Partnership

The Partnership is the UK’s largest employee-owned business and home to our two well-loved retail brands – John Lewis and Waitrose, as well as expanding into new areas beyond retail. We aren’t an ordinary business, though. The Partnership is different because everyone who works here isn’t just an employee. We are Partners, with a shared responsibility for our success, and we share the rewards when we’re successful.

Everything we do is powered by our unique Purpose: Working in Partnership for a happier world. Our Purpose inspires our principles, drives our decisions and acts as our guide, so that everything we do contributes to Happier People, Happier Business and a Happier World.

Critical purpose of the role

• Be a point of contact for food content in Waitrose.
• Skilled in crafting, writing and editing engaging content across multiple communication channels, including print and online (SEO).
• Responsible for commissioning and delivering food and drink news, features and franchises for omnichannel editorial and commercial Partnerships.
• An agile Food Content Producer who can adapt tone, style, and approach to suit different formats and platforms, producing high-quality content that resonates with passionate food lovers.
• Responsible for producing engaging multi-format, multi-channel content that translates business priorities into compelling storytelling, making weekly shopping a more exciting experience for passionate food lovers.
• Collaborate with food content creators to maximise reuse of recipe-led content in owned content marketing channels.

Primary Outcomes & Accountabilities

• Act in accordance with the Partnership’s purpose and democratic principles, constructively participating in co-ownership, and demonstrating to customers and each other that it is a better way of doing business.
• Share your knowledge, experiences, ideas and opinion to improve the Partnership, speaking honestly and frequently.
• Invest in your personal and professional development to achieve potential, by doing more, doing better, or doing different.
• Continuously engage with and actively contribute to your Profession.
• Take responsibility for actively engaging with change.
• Subject matter expert in food content, relevant for digital and printed application.
• Commission and produce compelling short and long form content across our content ecosystem, including food features, omnichannel franchises and news stories, ensuring alignment with editorial guidelines and brand voice.
• Support the planning, editing, commissioning, and delivery of a weekly trade-focused newspaper & supporting digital formats that enhance the shopping experience in-store and online.
• Create SEO-optimised content for recipe collection pages, individual recipe pages, and food guides, ensuring alignment with search intent and improving organic search visibility.
• Stay ahead of the latest Waitrose food trends, product development and releases, producers and suppliers, emerging ideas and brands, offering fresh, timely, and exciting content that speaks to our customer’s needs for discovery.
• Support the development of, establish and maintain the house style for recipe work and food content.
• Produce advertorials and commercial content that aligns with brand objectives while maintaining editorial integrity.
• Collaborate with Content Media teams to identify.

Measures of success

• Delivers programme of work to plan, on time, to budget and to agreed standards.
• Increase in content effectiveness.
• Accuracy of Food and Drink content including recipe content that meets nutritional and food safety policies.
• Integration of content across relevant channels.
• Delivery within budget and accurate reporting.
• Year on year efficiency gains.
• Audience reach, feedback and engagement metrics.
• Efficiencies in cost base.
• Growth in media revenue income.
• Effective stakeholder communication and coordination (internal and external).
• Ensure all written content is accurate, clear, and free from errors, upholding high editorial standards and adhering to legal and safety compliance standards upholding Waitrose brand guidelines and governance.
• Work with Customer service and legal teams on appropriate responses to Customer feedback and questions.
• Cost control and efficient budget management, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness of spend against targets.
• Measure and report on performance of content produced.
• Support events and experiences, creating content as required.
• Act as the spokesperson, public face and brand ambassador for Waitrose Food & Drink content, including hosting and participating in internal and external events as required.
• Embrace technology, adopting a digital first content approach.

Skills

• Food marketing: Food and beverage subject matter expert: deep understanding, knowledge, experience of all food and beverage related matters and connected and networked with experts and talent within the industry.
• Written Communication: Excellent writing, briefing, commissioning, proofreading and editing skills. In depth understanding and experience of end to end content marketing production and process management both on and offline.
• Stakeholder Management: Identifies who is impacted by or involved in your goals/objectives and therefore who is key to achieving the desired successful outcomes. Understands the motivations and priorities of these stakeholders and takes these into account.