Spark Foundry is one of four global media agency brands within Publicis Media. The force of acceleration, or the speed of change is so strong today that it has the potential to leave industries including our own behind. So, at Spark Foundry we are working towards driving positive change. For ourselves, our clients and society in general! We are an Acceleration Agency.

At Spark Foundry acceleration applies to every layer of our business. It refers to how we relish change, seek ever more innovative partners, embrace the increasing unknowns and continually learn, unlearn and learn everything again – all over again. We will continually live and work as if we are in beta (nerdy way for saying nothing is ever completed), in order to boost brand relevance for clients, drive brand value and grow their business and ours – today and in to the future. Our pursuit of what’s next will be relentless

The Associate Editorial Director's key function is to lead and oversee the production of digital / social content for one of our clients who are a leading retail conglomerate in the MENA. We are looking for a creative and passionate individual to research, plan, develop and implement our digital & social editorial content. This includes developing styling guidelines, determining content strategy, reviewing content, contributing to editorial pieces, and managing day-to-day operations for the Corporate as well up to seven C-Suite profiles of the client.

Main Tasks:

Core Vertical:

• Pitch and brainstorm story ideas that reflect the diversity of client's B2B and B2C consumers Managing high-profile projects that span several disciplines & functions within the team.
• Formulate and define editorial strategy for client / C-suites that are culturally relevant, socially aware and platform up.
• Ideate and conceptualize content that speaks to a diverse and highly engaged audience .
•  Research and write articles that are focused, clear, and compelling  Build audiences for the brand by partnering with paid, owned and earned teams to drive audience growth and engagement.
• Drive an audience-first strategy throughout the process.
•  Making final decisions about which stories, articles and photographs to publish
• Ensuring all copy has proper voice, context, balance and clarity and is in line with the editorial strategy.
• Evaluate content and making decisions on appropriateness for publication, taking into account client fit and cultural sensitivity.
•  Act as a representative for the client at events.
• Keep abreast with new trends in social and digital media.
• Work with the creative / multi-media team on art & design needs for articles.
• Produce high quality journalism on schedule.
• Serve as primary editor for initiatives written by other team members / the assistant editor.
• Find options for freelance writers when needed.
• Work with Assistant Editor on story angles and sourcing.
• Edit articles, making sure pieces are clear, accurate, reflect the client's style and are engaging.

CEO Specifics:

• Developing the content strategy for each CEO.
•  Mining / identifying and drafting relevant article share posts. 
• Weekly long-form post themed to current issue or topic of interest to the client or CEOs (based on their key pillars).
• Captions and posts for live events including IG Stories, Carousels, responses to late breaking events and requests.
•  Input and captions to support the CEO's Instagram.
•  Monitoring CEO's monthly AMAs (Ask Me Anything), including suggesting questions and snippets from video that we can produce into short pieces.
•  Work with the team to populate CEO's calendar, including supporting with providing relevant social media tags and handles.
• CEO's Community Queries - occasional replies that need to be drafted on behalf of the CEO to various messages / escalations (complaints) he receives from the community.

Corporate Specifics:

• Sharing select client news and updates.
• Write Newsers based on industry insights linking to the client’s initiatives.
• Identifying relevant pull quotes from client's key stakeholders / representatives that add to the corporate narrative/
• Scripting snackable infographics that can also inspire the design team to visualize.
•  Help devising content calendars and writing captions (B2B & B2C) where needed.
• Monitor media (online and social) for happenings related to the client & its Business Units that the client can capitalize as content.

Process:

• Execute these editorial strategies with a clearly defined process to deliver content through all channels.
• Oversee the day-to-day development, production and distribution of digital content.
•  Responsible for the planning and execution of large-scale multi-media editorial projects.
•  Develop workflows that enable stories on the optimal platform at the optimal time.
• Ensure all information in articles and stories has been properly fact checked
• Regularly check and track content.
• Proofread and edit material.
•  Adhere to SEO rules.
• Adhere to copyright and privacy standards and company policies.
• Determine and track important KPIs.
• Track and analyse engagement.
• Produce and present reports.

People:

• Work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team with professionals such as multi-media designers, community managers and photographers to improve content strategy.
•  Identify opportunities to knowledge share and cross-skill within the team.
•  Develop and upskill other members of the team in writing and editing.
•  Contribute to the recruiting and hiring process.
• Encourage collaboration and overcome creative challenges while simultaneously meeting business objectives.
• Establish and maintain a strong culture and high morale among members of the team.
•  Provide regular feedback and build a trusted relationship with the Assistant Editor.
•  Manage appraisals and all Talent related areas for your team.
• Prioritize the workload and manage tasks to achieve deadlines, ensuring the team supporting you do the same.

• 5-7 years’ in marketing, journalism or related field and 2+ years with content marketing responsibilities.
•  BA/BS in marketing, journalism or related field.
•  Solid experience in leading editorial teams.
• Experience in writing for C-Suite profiles.
• Excellent proofreading, editing and copywriting skills.
• Forensic attention to detail to ensure accuracy of content including text, graphics and pictures.
•  An interest in and aptitude for digital storytelling in all its forms.
•  Critical thinker and problem-solving skills.
•  Proven experience writing presentations, creative content briefs, summaries of industry news and/or POVs.
•  Creative ability with fantastic interpersonal skills who enjoy challenging and fast-paced work.
•  Entrepreneurial approach to finding and securing new opportunities.
•  Analytical ability - capable of using data / metrics to develop sound insights and recommendations.
• Extremely motivated and having strong leadership skills.
• Exceptionally organized and able to prioritize effectively.
•  Comfortable working to tight deadlines.
• Strong client relationship skills and ability to strategically think from a client’s perspective.
•  Excellent communication skills (written and verbal). Strong editing and proofreading skills.
•  Passion / curiosity for content / market trends, pop culture and entertainment.
•  Ability to think conceptually and to translate concepts into actionable plans to drive clients’ businesses forward.
• Project management experience, wearing multiple hats, working across multiple work streams that may be at different phases of development at a given time.