Group Content Director

Please apply at: https://www.newscareers.co.uk/vacancies/3549/group-content-director.html

We are Wireless Ireland: Our radio station network includes Dublin’s Q102 & FM104, Cork’s 96FM & C103, Live 95 in Limerick, LMFM in Louth/Meath and U105 in Belfast. We create great audio and digital products. Our live radio and podcasts, along with our web and social pages, play a massive part in our listener's lives. We engage, we inform and we entertain with our market-leading products. In Ireland, we own or represent stations in all main urban centres, and we create award-winning solutions for our commercial partners. We are also part of News Broadcasting with radio stations like Virgin Radio, talkSPORT, Times Radio and Talk which are redefining speech broadcasting on digital audio platforms and beyond. Wireless Ireland is wholly owned by News Corp.

Your role: You will lead and be responsible for overseeing the development and execution of our content strategy across our group of radio stations, delivering growth in audience and engagement. You will ensure that all content is aligned with the company's brand values, and audience expectations and will assume responsibility for regulatory compliance across all output.

Day to day you will:

Content Strategy and Planning:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive content strategy for all radio stations within the group.
• Ensure content is innovative, engaging, and aligns with company goals and audience preferences.
• Monitor industry trends and competitor activity to keep content fresh and relevant.

 Programming Oversight

• Oversee the scheduling and programming of content across all stations.
• Collaborate with station managers, local content controllers and producers to ensure a cohesive and dynamic schedule.
• Ensure compliance with broadcasting regulations and standards.

 Team Leadership

• Lead and inspire the content team, including local controllers, producers, presenters, and other content staff.
• Foster a collaborative and creative working environment.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and provide constructive feedback.

Quality Control

• Ensure all content meets high standards of quality and consistency.
• Implement processes for regular review and improvement of content.
• Address any content-related issues promptly and effectively.

 Audience Engagement:

• Analyse audience feedback and industry JNLR ratings to inform content decisions.
• Develop strategies to increase listener engagement and loyalty across FM and digital platforms.
• Work closely with the marketing team to promote content and drive audience growth.
• Work closely with the digital team to create relevant and engaging digital content

Partnerships and Collaborations:

• Develop a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with the commercial team to deliver creative campaigns in line with brand values and partner expectations
• Identify and establish partnerships with external content providers and other stakeholders.
• Identify potential new broadcasting talent
• Develop relationships with key members of the media and radio community.
• Negotiate contracts and agreements related to content creation and distribution.

Compliance and Regulatory

• Act as the Group contact for interactions with regulator Coimisiún na Meán.
• Formulate responses to regulatory consultations as required.
• Act as Compliance Officer for the Group in terms of contractual commitments.
• Represent the Group on such industry bodies as may be required

What we’re looking for from you:

• Extensive experience in radio content creation and management.
• Extensive experience in leading radio stations in major markets, radio content creation, music programming and talent management.
• Proven track record of developing and executing successful content strategies across FM and digital channels.
• Extensive research experience in both design and interpretation, including music testing.
• Strong leadership and team management skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.
• In-depth knowledge of Irish broadcasting regulations and standards.
• Creative mindset with a passion for radio and audience engagement.

News UK & Ireland is a phenomenal company full of talented, dedicated, and creative people. We are an ambitious and ever-growing organisation with a real passion for quality content and storytelling.  Our newspapers and digital products include some of the most powerful media brands in the world, reaching over 30 million people each week. News UK is also home to News Broadcasting, a leading UK  media company boasting independent national radio stations including talkSPORT, VirginRadio, Talk and TimesRadio.

Life at News: At News UK & Ireland our people are our heartbeat - they are the driving force behind our brands and we want to enable people to thrive.  Some of us work flexibly, in many different ways. We encourage you to talk to us about the flexibility you would like.  Many of us work in a hybrid way between one of the News UK & Ireland offices and remotely.

We champion diversity and inclusion, we strive to maximise and encourage every individual’s potential and ensure everyone feels valued. We support this through our Diversity Board, D&I  strategy & training, creating more diverse content and our intern and apprenticeship programmes.  We also have 11 employee-led networks.

We take pride in looking after our amazing talent at News UK supporting the Health and Wellbeing of our staff. Some of what we offer include:

In addition we also offer:

•  25 days holiday per year
•  Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary & paternity leave up to 2 weeks
• Access to contributory pension scheme
• ‘Bikes for Work’ scheme
•  Wide range of training available, plus full LinkedIn Learning access

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 careers@news.co.uk