Head of Content

THE ROLE
 

The Head of Content is a key role within Walpole, the UK’s trade body for luxury. Walpole’s Head of Content is responsible for creating and delivering content across all platforms, including our website, daily Luxury Digest newsletter, social media and our coffee table Yearbook. Your mission is to communicate the news, activities, events and initiatives of Walpole and its 270+ members and partners. You’ll understand the power of exceptional content and the importance of telling compelling stories that appeal to audiences, and the role this plays in significantly growing Walpole’s influence and impact, and in enhancing its reputation as the collective voice of British luxury.

Key to the role is the creation and delivery of a daily newsletter – the Walpole Daily Luxury Digest. This delivers our interviews with British luxury leaders, insight pieces, member news, and stories about Walpole’s initiatives and events straight to our subscribers’ inboxes. You’ll also be responsible for devising and managing a content calendar and Walpole’s website, as well as Walpole’s social media channels, whilst ensuring that all content has a consistent ‘Walpole’ tone of voice.

You’re a confident, engaging content editor with a strong understanding of the business of luxury. You can write engaging copy, commission Walpole’s luxury contributors, and work collaboratively with team members and with member brands. You have great communication and storytelling skills whilst also being highly organised and comfortable working to tight deadlines.

RESPONSIBILITIES

With the objective of increasing/reinforcing Walpole members’ engagement with the organisation and creating insightful, authoritative content that reinforces Walpole’s status as the voice of luxury for the wider, ‘luxury interested’ audience, you will... 

• Set the strategy and create/edit all content that is uploaded on the website, shared on the Daily Digest, and promoted on Social.
• Devise, manage, grow, and evolve Walpole’s content on all channels - digital (website and newsletter), social and print, e.g., interviews with luxury leaders from member brands; member news; partner research/insights; weekly Walpole editorial; Walpole event programme, sustainability, CEO and public affairs updates 

Digital Content and Daily Digest

• Ensure website is frequently updated from both a UX and content perspective, including key words, links and tagging to ensure optimum SEO, as well as keeping the homepage fresh and relevant, working closely with our digital agency.
• Create features and stories to promote Walpole members, and the work of Walpole.
• Commission writers, designers, photographers and videographers to ensure Walpole’s content and messaging is of consistently high quality and works hard to maximise audience engagement, particularly from members.
• Work closely with the Membership & Development team to ensure the Digest and website reflects member stories and interests and acts as an effective showcase for Walpole’s membership, and for the work of its members.
• Work closely with the Corporate Affairs team on key stories affecting the luxury sector and supports their aims, including writing or editing content that informs members and wider stakeholders of what Walpole is doing on behalf of the British luxury sector.
• Work closely with the Events team to ensure that our events are promoted to the membership, and that post-event coverage and social content is produced in a timely and engaging manner.
• Create digital content campaigns (inc. paid where relevant) for Walpole’s events, programmes, and initiatives, pre-during and post event to ensure the success of the activity and to increase Walpole’s visibility both with members and externally.
• Produce and deliver engaging native digital campaigns for Members and Partners to generate visibility for them across our channels and externally.
• Ensure that the Daily Digest is delivered to subscribers’ inboxes on time and to plan.
• Maintain and organically grow all social channels, focusing on Instagram, Linked-In, Twitter and YouTube.
• Ensure that the look, feel and tone of voice of all digital, social, and print content is consistent with the brand guidelines.

Yearbook & Printed Reports/Brochures
Work with the CEO, the Membership and Development team and our external agencies and partners to produce Walpole’s annual coffee table book.

• Help commission features from contributors and manage the copy. 
• Work with our design agency on the look and feel of the features, including on pictures and illustrations.
• Work with the freelance sub-editor to ensure all features, Walpole articles and member advertorials and native content are to the standard set.
• Work with Walpole’s design agency and production partners to ensure the materials, printing and delivery are on brief, on budget, and on time for Yearbook and all other reports or brochures, e.g. Summit brochure, Brands of Tomorrow booklet.
• Ensure the digital version of the Yearbook and other reports/brochures are produced and uploaded to website.
• Manage the budgets for Walpole’s print products and ensure contributor and partner invoices are processed in a timely manner. 

Other

• Ensure all sponsor/partner guarantees e.g. branded content, brand association, logos etc are included according to the partner agreements/contracts and brand guidelines.
• Manage the Content budget and ensure all records of expenditure are kept up to date and that contributor invoices are processed appropriately.
• Provide regular reports for team to update on performance and analytics.
• Work with the Marketing and Events Executive to produce the ‘digest’ element of the Daily Digest.
• Oversee Marketing and Events Executive in creation of social assets.

ABOUT YOU

• Experienced in a content or editorial role in a busy, multi-faceted environment (circa 8 years), you will be creative and imaginative with a nose for a good story and an eye for a new angle.
• You will have demonstrably strong writing and editing skills, primarily in a multi-digital channel environment.
• You’ll be highly organised with a keen attention to detail, and the resilience and ability to work to tight deadlines.
• An excellent standard of written and spoken English, and expertise in digital and social media are essential.
• Ideally you will have experience of the luxury sector, but at the very least you’ll be able to show an interest in, and knowledge of, the business of luxury.
• You should have experience of PowerPoint, MailChimp or similar and working with CMS systems.
• You will be well-presented and bring a calm, confident, capable demeanour to this role, with a clear emphasis on clear communication and collegiate working with a small, friendly and highly motivated team. You enjoy working in a creative and entrepreneurial environment and will take pride in supporting a purpose driven organisation move confidently into its next chapter of growth.

At Walpole, we are committed to actively building a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcomed, valued and heard, and is treated with dignity and respect.

The role is based in London and is currently office-based 3 days per week.

Walpole has a lively events programme that will involve out of work hours in the evening.

ABOUT WALPOLE, THE OFFICIAL SECTOR BODY FOR BRITISH LUXURY

Walpole is the UK’s only business group for luxury brands. Effective and influential, it speaks on behalf of more than 250 of Britain’s finest and most famous brands across a wide range of sectors, collectively worth £48 billion to the UK economy, contributing 2.4% of the UK’s GDP.  A not-for-profit organisation, Walpole members include Burberry, Claridge’s, Glenfiddich, Harrods, McLaren and Wedgwood and is recognised in both Westminster and Brussels.

With a mission to protect, promote and develop the business of luxury in the UK, Walpole brings its members together to collaborate and connect both online and in-person. Key events include the annual Future of British Luxury Summit and the Walpole British Luxury Awards. It also provides a collective voice for luxury on key topics, commissions industry-leading research and works with government on issues affecting the sector. In addition, Walpole runs the flagship ‘Brands of Tomorrow’ programme to develop new British luxury brands – alumni include Orlebar Brown, Nyetimber, Bremont and Emilia Wickstead.

Walpole also spearheads the British Luxury Sustainability Manifesto, with the vision of making British luxury the global benchmark for luxury sustainability.