Our award-winning local journalism at The Lead has been turning heads and gaining thousands of subscribers - as we drop into inboxes every Wednesday and Sunday.
We’re expanding our team to help build on the work undertaken since 2024 as we’ve launched local newsletters and publications across the North of England and ensure our journalism is making an even bigger impact and being more widely read than ever before.
This isn’t about writing more stories, we already dig deep and tell stories the communities and towns we serve need telling - it’s about ensuring these stories are getting their fair space in the timelines of how people now consume their news.
Role #1: Story Distribution Editor
The Lead is looking for a creative and proactive Story Distribution Editor to help get our original local journalism in front of more people.
This role is all about finding new ways to share our stories, reaching the communities they matter to and making sure our journalism has an impact beyond our own website and channels.
You’ll take our written journalism and find opportunities to share it across social media, online communities and other media outlets.
We’re looking for someone who understands how different online communities work, knows what makes people stop scrolling and is excited about helping independent local journalism reach a wider audience.
This is a hybrid role, combining home working with time at Society1 co-working hub in Preston alongside other members of The Lead Local team.
Key info
Salary: £28,000-£33,600 per annum dependant on experience
Location: Hybrid: Home-based (North West of England) and co-working in Society1 in Preston
Contract: This is a fixed-term role until end of March 2027, this is a full-time role of 37.5 hours per week although there is flexibility around working hours
Key responsibilities
Story distribution and audience engagement
Find creative ways to share The Lead’s journalism across a wide range of online platforms and communities.
Work to promote stories through our owned and operated channels, including The Lead’s social media channels, as well as third-party platforms such as Reddit.
Identify relevant online communities and conversations where our journalism could add value, and build relationships with those audiences.
Adapt how stories are presented to suit different platforms and audiences, while maintaining the accuracy and integrity of our journalism.
Monitor how content performs and use audience engagement and other insights to identify what works well and work with The Lead Local’s team to understand how correspondents can input into our distribution strategy
Media outreach and partnerships
Identify opportunities for The Lead’s stories to be picked up, shared or featured by other media outlets, organisations and relevant online platforms.
Build relationships with journalists, publishers, community groups and other organisations that could help amplify our work.
Proactively pitch relevant stories to external outlets and look for opportunities to extend their reach and impact.
Learning and development
Track the reach and engagement of distributed stories and use these insights to improve future activity.
Share ideas and learning with the wider team to help strengthen The Lead’s distribution strategy.
Experiment with new approaches to reach different communities and audiences.
About you
You’ll ideally have:
Experience creating, distributing or promoting content across social media and other online platforms.
A good understanding of how online communities work and how to engage with them in an authentic and thoughtful way.
The ability to spot opportunities to get stories in front of new audiences.
Experience creating visual content for social media, or the confidence and willingness to develop these skills.
Strong written communication skills and an eye for what makes a story engaging.
A proactive approach, with the confidence to try new ideas and learn from what works and what doesn’t.
Good organisational skills and the ability to manage your own workload.
An interest in local journalism, community issues and the role independent media plays in society.
What you’ll bring
You’ll be someone who thinks beyond simply posting a link and waiting for people to read it. You’ll understand that different audiences discover and engage with stories in different ways, and you’ll enjoy finding the right approach for each platform and community.
You’ll be comfortable working independently, bringing ideas to the table and working collaboratively with the editorial team to make sure The Lead’s journalism reaches as many relevant people as possible.
How to apply: Send a copy of your CV and a covering letter of no more than 250 words to ed@thelead.uk by 5pm on Tue 27 October. We hope to shortlist and interview in late October/early November.
Role #2: Visual Storytelling Editor
The Lead is looking for someone to take our predominantly written output and help bring our award-winning, agenda-setting journalism to life in visual formats.
How people consume their media is changing rapidly, from podcasts, to reels, to swipe-through visual graphics, to watching YouTube clips.
We need someone to help upskill both our editors, correspondents and our stories to be fit for how people engage with news in 2026 and beyond.
This is a hybrid role, combining home working with time at Society1 co-working hub in Preston alongside other members of The Lead Local team and also working on location with our correspondents across The Lead Local network in the North of England (Southport, Blackpool, Lancashire, Teesside, Stoke-on-Trent and Calderdale and other North of England locations as ).
Key info
Salary: £28,000-£33,600 per annum dependant on experience
Location: Hybrid: Home-based (North West of England) and co-working in Society1 in Preston, as well as various locations in N.West England as the role demands
Contract: This is a fixed-term role until end of March 2027, this may be one full-time role of 37.5 hours per week or we may offer a number of casual-working freelance contracts depending on the needs of the role.
Note: You must possess a full, clean, driving licence and access to vehicle to apply for this role. Mileage and expenses will be paid if undertaking travel.
Key responsibilities
Visual content and social media
Turn The Lead’s original journalism into engaging visual content for platforms such as Instagram and TikTok and work with the team to identify opportunities for doing this consistently
Create social media assets, including swipe-through posts, graphics, illustrations, data-driven graphics and other formats that help bring stories to life.
Find new and creative ways to present local journalism to audiences who may not otherwise come across it.
Keep up to date with emerging platforms, social media trends and new ways of reaching audiences, identifying which are relevant to The Lead.
About you
You’ll ideally have:
Experience creating, distributing or promoting content across social media and other online platforms - especially video-based content and stories
Able to demonstrate an ability to train individuals in social media storytelling techniques and strategies
A good understanding of how online communities work and how to engage with them in an authentic and thoughtful way.
The ability to spot opportunities to get stories in front of new audiences.
Strong written and graphic skills and an eye for what makes a story engaging.
A proactive approach, with the confidence to try new ideas and learn from what works and what doesn’t.
Good organisational skills and the ability to manage your own workload.
An interest in local journalism, community issues and the role independent media plays in society.
A full-clean driving licence and access to a vehicle
What you’ll bring
You’ll be someone with a creative mind, who is underpinned by a sound knowledge of how to tell a story and the fundamentals of what makes a great local news story. You’ll have the technical confidence and competence to create compelling stories for the audience of 2026 and beyond, and also inspire and encourage our team to also do so.
You’ll be comfortable working independently, bringing ideas to the table and working collaboratively with the editorial team to make sure The Lead’s journalism reaches as many relevant people as possible and not afraid to tell stories in new and different ways.
How to apply: Send a copy of your CV and a covering letter of no more than 250 words to ed@thelead.uk by 5pm on Tue 27 October. We hope to shortlist and interview in late October/early November.