Editorial

**About Nesta**

We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest problems. Our three missions are to give every child a fair start, help people live healthy lives, and create a sustainable future where the economy works for both people and the planet.

For over 20 years, we have worked to support, encourage and inspire innovation. We work in three roles: as an innovation partner working with frontline organisations to design and test new solutions, as a venture builder supporting new and early stage businesses, and as a system shaper creating the conditions for innovation.
Harnessing the rigour of science and the creativity of design, we work relentlessly to change millions of lives for the better. Find out more at nesta.org.uk.

**Editorial (Comment and Opinion) Manager**

The Editorial (Comment and Opinion) Manager will work across both Nesta and The Behavioural Insights Team. In the last year we’ve grown our output in terms of comment and opinion. In the coming years we want to dramatically increase our profile in the mainstream news media and among specialist outlets that are important to our work.

This is a high pace, high impact role - you’ll be capable of managing a pipeline of planned work as well as quick turnaround reactive opportunities. We’re open minded about your core discipline. You might already be working on comment or opinion in a communications team or you might be a policy communications specialist.

What’s vital is that you are comfortable working at the intersection of policy and news. It goes without saying you’ll be a brilliant writer. You’ll also be comfortable working at all levels of the organisation, right up to the most senior leaders - and you’ll work directly with opinion and comment editors across a wide range of outlets.

You’ll join a dynamic, friendly and impact focused team of communications specialists and you’ll have the autonomy and creative opportunity to work on some of the UK’s most pressing policy challenges.

**About the role**
- Lead our comment and opinion writing programme across three mission areas and other priority policy areas
- Work flexibly and at pace to connect our people, research and ideas to the news agenda, raising our profile with a steady stream of comment and analysis in the opinion pages of major national titles and specialist media
- Build relationships and efficient ways of working with researchers, policy specialists, data scientists and senior leaders to draw out compelling comment and opinion drafts that connect us to the news cycle and live policy debates
- Build relationships with comment and opinion editors across a range of high impact national outlets and among specialist media
- Lead an internal comment and opinion training programme and provide regular coaching on how to write compelling comment and opinion
- Work closely and in partnership with other communications colleagues, to produce integrated outputs on stories, projects and data releases
- Develop non-media editorial such as thought leadership, narrative for event series etc (approx 20% of the role)

**The person**
- Strong news judgement and demonstrated experience of converting ideas, research and policy into media friendly outputs
- Proven ability to master complex briefs in a fast-paced environment: quickly grasping content across our our missions and policy areas
- Proven ability to work with and write on behalf of policy specialists, researchers and senior leaders across a range of issues
- Outstanding writer with a track record of published content
- Proven track record of pitching and placing pieces across range of media outlets
- Ability, confidence and diplomacy to write and edit engaging content on behalf of senior colleagues
- Outstanding editing and proofing skills along with the ability to make consistent, confident judgments about content, including political considerations
- Demonstrable experience working as part of an in-house communications team
- [Desirable] Proven interest and experience of writing on policy issues related to sustainability, health and/or the early years

As with all members of Nesta’s communications team, the postholder will also:

- Be an adept and nimble multitasker who relishes being busy, keeping multiple plates spinning, is highly organised and can manage conflicting demands
- Have strong networking and relationship building skills
- Have a positive and can do attitude, able to adapt to changing circumstances with flexibility and good humour, demonstrating a positive, problem solving, proactive attitude when frustrations and challenges crop up
- Take responsibility for building positive relationships with colleagues, sharing skills and experiences openly and generously, and for sharing information and ideas with colleagues
- Maintain a positive and proactive professional demeanour at all times, appreciating that we all have a duty to create