Editor

The Early Years Alliance is the largest early years membership organisation and voluntary sector provider of quality affordable childcare and education in England. An educational charity, the Alliance represents the interests of over 14,000 member settings who deliver care and learning to over 800,000 families every year. We are looking to recruit an experienced journalist to manage all aspects of content development and production of the Charity’s membership magazine, Under 5, in both print and digital format.\\

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Benefits

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• 26 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays, pro rata for part‑time employees
• Enhanced sickness pay
• Employer and employee contribution pension scheme
• Birthday leave so you can have a day off for your birthday dedicated to you and your well‑being
• Paid bereavement leave
• Regular access to internal and external learning and development opportunities
• Recruitment Referral Payment Scheme – an introductory payment of up to £300 if someone you refer takes up a role in the charity
• Access to the Employee Assistant Programme (EAP) which includes 24/7 helpline access, a dedicated manager’s helpline, confidential counselling sessions delivered by accredited specialists, legal, debt and life‑management advice, discounts, and wellbeing content and resources
• Savings of up to 25% on an O2 Refresh Airtime Plan for new phones or tablets
• Dedicated mental health First Aider to support your mental well‑being

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Main Duties

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• Identify and research themes for each issue, sourcing and managing contributors to ensure the magazine has a clear, consistent, relevant and interesting voice for the readership.
• Lead on planning, sourcing contributors, writing and managing the content of Under 5 magazine (10 issues produced every year).
• Liaise with Communications and External Affairs colleagues to ensure that corporate partnership publicity, advertorials, editorial and competition deals are delivered to meet terms of commission deals in relevant issues.
• Write, edit and upload regular online news stories for selected digital communication, including the fortnightly Under 5 e‑newsletter.

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Essential Criteria

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• Proven experience of working on a magazine in an editorial role with the ability to lead on commissioning, writing, sub‑editing and proofing professional copy.
• Excellent journalistic writing skills, with the ability to write concise and accurate news copy.
• Clear understanding and practical experience of managing magazine print and production processes.
• Strong interpersonal skills with direct experience of managing internal and external suppliers, journalists, production staff, advertisers and contributors.
• Strong creative and written skills with the ability to produce clear, accurate and interesting copy tailored for different audiences.

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Hours per week: 35

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Weeks per year: 52

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Location: London, United Kingdom (Hybrid – two days a week in the London office)

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Please note our virtual interviews take place via Microsoft Teams. You may need to download this prior to your interview.

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Recruiter: Please provide an additional statement with your application explaining how you meet the essential criteria in the person specification.

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Equal Opportunities

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The charity is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and equal opportunities in employment.