Deputy Head of Audience

The Times and The Sunday Times represent a combined 400 years of covering news and providing comment and analysis on the UK and the world. We are authoritative, credible, responsible, trusted and a part of the nation’s cultural heritage.

Your role: The Times and The Sunday Times are seeking a dynamic and data-driven Deputy Head of Audience to support the growth, engagement and retention of our readership across the UK, US and beyond. This senior role sits at the heart of the newsroom and plays a key part in shaping how our journalism reaches audiences on and off platform. You will support the Head of Audience in delivering audience strategy and you will oversee the day-to-day operations of the audience editors. You will work closely with senior editors, desks and specialist teams — including SEO, social, newsletters and community — to ensure our journalism is optimised, discoverable and meaningfully connects with readers.

Day to day you will:

• Support the Head of Audience in defining and executing the overarching audience strategy across all platforms, ensuring alignment with the business’s key objectives.
• Direct and execute strategies to accelerate audience growth and deep engagement, with a primary focus on scaling both the UK and US markets.
• Champion the use of sophisticated newsroom analytics to identify strategic opportunities, influence core editorial coverage, and drive high-level business outcomes.
• Articulate complex audience insights and strategic recommendations to senior leadership with authority, including at news conferences and executive forums.
• Serve as a core advocate and driver for audience-centric and digital-first best practices, setting the standard for the entire newsroom operation.
• Direct and integrate collaborative efforts with SEO, newsletters, social and community teams to maximise content discovery and deep reader connection.
• Cultivate a high-performing team by providing guidance, coaching and professional development to the audience editors.
• Establish and maintain partnerships with consumer marketing and commercial divisions to ensure unified strategies and the achievement of shared KPIs.
• Act as a critical partner to technology and product teams, translating audience needs into impactful digital experiences that meet and exceed reader expectations.
• Assume full leadership and accountability for the audience team in the absence of the Head of Audience, maintaining operational continuity and momentum.

What we’re looking for from you:

• A minimum of 7 years’ leadership experience in audience development within a major newsroom or publishing environment.
• Exceptional data literacy, demonstrated ability to leverage complex analytics tools, and a track record of translating sophisticated data into actionable business strategy.
• Superior communication and presentation skills, with proven ability to influence and engage at the most senior editorial levels.
• Comprehensive and strategic mastery of SEO, social platform dynamics, newsletter ecosystems, and sophisticated reader engagement methodologies.
• A compelling track record of mentoring, motivating and successfully leading collaborative teams within a demanding, high-pace news environment.

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, Talk 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. We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter most. To ensure these stories resonate with as broad an audience as possible, it is essential that our organisation reflects the diversity of the people we reach. Whether through age, gender, ethnicity, disability, social class or sexuality, we are committed to representing the rich variety of voices that make up our society. And we champion a culture where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and thrive as we continue to innovate and drive long term sustainable growth.

This is done through our Diversity Strategy. At News UK, we take pride in our exceptional employee‑led networks that bring together individuals with shared interests and create a vibrant sense of community. We believe our networks play a vital role in fostering a collaborative and supportive work culture at News UK. Groups that we support include the African & Caribbean Network, Parents and Carers, and LGBTQ+ group News Is Out, and the Apprentice Society.

Some of our benefits:

• Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary & paternity leave up to 2 weeks
• Wide range of training available, plus full LinkedIn Learning access
• Private medical insurance including coverage for pre‑existing conditions
• Discounted gym memberships, free ClassPass at Home, weekly virtual yoga classes
• Bikes for Work and Electric Car scheme
• Up to 60% discount on Harper Collins books
• 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
• Access to wellbeing benefits such as EAP, physio/massage and counselling
• A generous scheme with employer contributions of up to 5%
• 30 days holiday, plus bank holidays and up to 4 volunteering days per year

We want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to perform to their best when applying for a role. If you would like to receive any information in a different way or for us to do anything differently to support you apply for any of our roles please contact us on support@newscomms.co.uk.