Head of Digital at the British Academy (London)

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Head of Digital at the British Academy, Central London

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Client:

Ellwood Atfield

Location:

Central London, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

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EU work permit required:

Yes

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Job Reference:

7bddcd5be131

Job Views:

7

Posted:

22.06.2025

Expiry Date:

06.08.2025

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Job Description:

The British Academy is a voice that champions humanities and social sciences. As a national body they support the study of people, cultures and societies, past, present and future.
Their purpose is: to be an independent Fellowship of world-leading scholars and researchers; a Funding Body that supports new research (nationally and internationally); and a Forum for debate and engagement.

The opportunity:

This is a pivotal role in the organisation as the British Academy is currently reviewing and re‐shaping all aspects of the organisation’s communications activity, with a particular focus on how they use digital channels to communicate with their diverse audience. This newly created Head of Digital position will be a central role in a communications transformation project placing digital at the heart of the organisation’s strategy.
You will own the entire digital department and develop and implement a new strategy, including formatting existing channels and introducing new ones. As part of the Communications Management Team, you will manage and develop a digitally forward-facing team of staff, as well as contributing to the Communications Strategy. This will also include working collaboratively with other managers across the disciplines, and developing a community of editors.

Main responsibilities include:

Digital Communications

• Act as the Digital Communications Champion for the organisation, promoting a digital‐first approach
• Provide leadership of the Academy’s websites and other digital channels, with particular focus on UX and IA
• Develop a roadmap of digital priorities
• Manage the production of rich media, including the budget for the external commissioning of content
• Develop the Academy’s social media strategy, ensuring channels and content aligns with the brand
• Produce and commission research to ensure the effectiveness of our communications
• Provide editorial management of the Academy website
• Advocate for the user, ensuring excellent User Experience across all platforms
• Keep up to date with new developments in digital and feed opportunities into the Academy’s Digital Roadmap
• Develop a range of processes and systems to support the management of our digital channels
• Use analytics to regularly review the performance of the site
• Enhance the Academy’s SEO, through active management of content
• Project manage the development of new channels
• Develop a community of Content Editors, providing active training and support to ensure high standards
• Support colleagues to modernise their communications

Leadership and management

• Lead and manage a team of two assistants
• Deputise for the Director of Communications in her absence
• Play an active role in the Communications Directorate Management Team, contributing to cross‐team development
• Play an active role in the wider Team Leaders network, contributing to organisational efficiency and effectiveness
• Oversee a significant budget

Required skills and experience include:

• Demonstrable record of achievement in delivering significant results for an organisation from digital communications
• Demonstrable experience of leading digital transformation for an organisation
• Extensive experience of developing multi‐channelled digital communications strategies
• Experience of managing digital transformation projects, with associated budgets and staffing
• Educated to degree level or equivalent, ideally in a humanities or social sciences discipline
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire and lead a team – experience in people management is beneficial
• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to communicate effectively with people at all levels
• Ability to engage and motivate non‐specialists to create change
• Ability to gather and interpret research and insight to make user‐focused decisions
• Political judgement and the ability to make sound business decisions
• Ability to persuade and negotiate with internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to manage completing demands and prioritise and delegate accordingly

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