Current Vacancies

Visionary Web Manager

Company: Horsesmouth
Posted: 8th Oct 2007
Location: London W1
Salary: £30-40k
Contract Type: Permanent
Start Date: ASAP
Duration: Ongoing
Ref: Site Editor

Key Skills

To feel confident undertaking the day-to-day management of the Horse’s Mouth website and creating, generating and driving the topics, content and tools that will inspire, motivate and build the community.

Details

Horsesmouth is a start-up social enterprise that uses the power of Web 2.0 technology and online social networking for a “pro-social” purpose. Through search and profiling the site will allow people to find mentors and be mentored on a wide range of subjects and to talk one-to-one in a hosted online environment. Users can also publish content and conversations so the site will build a library of user generated content or “wisdom”. So, horsesmouth.co.uk aims to take the concept of social networking, widely used among kids, and put it in a more “grown up” and purposeful context for everyone. Or to put another way, if Ebay is about what’s locked up in your attic that might be valuable to others, horsesmouth is about what’s locked up in your head that’s made valuable by sharing.

The site is now live as a beta version at www.horsesmouth.co.uk, and will launch formally in the early summer after further development. It was created and founded by MT Rainey; a leading figure in the Advertising Industry. It is currently funded by Edge, a private foundation to promote education and v a publicly funded body that aims to encourage youth volunteering.

As Site Editor, you would be joining the team at an exciting time with a real opportunity to shape both the site and the development of the venture overall.

Job Purpose: To undertake the day-to-day management of the Horse’s Mouth website, to create, generate and drive the topics, content and tools that will inspire, motivate and build the community. The Site Editor will act as first point of contact between the user community and Horse’s Mouth.

Job Specification
Key Accountabilities and Duties
• Oversee the day to day running of the website
• Write and publish dynamic and informative site copy
• Respond to member queries
• Liaise with the moderators regarding site moderation and editorial policy
• Contribute to developing new ideas to further the development of the website to the management and technical & development teams
• Proactively develop topical content that will appeal to potential sponsors (drive revenue) and users (drive loyalty/audience retention)
• Undertake the collection of monthly data and information and produce a monthly report including member usage and web statistics; results from surveys and questionnaires; key comments from members, and from partnership agreements
• Undertake additional, specific market research to collect information about the website and produce research reports as required
• Act as the advocate of the user base
• Assist in defining the editorial process
• Build a sustainable editorial practice with a view to eventually growing a small team

Person Specification
Essential Experience
• Demonstrable experience in a similar role
• Formation and implementation of editorial policy
• Excellent writing and editing skills with in-depth experience of writing for online environments
• Knowledge of how to build a user generated site and how to work with, display, aggregate and enhance user-generated content
• Experience of moderating and maintaining online communities
• Ability to think independently and contribute to the generation of new ideas
• Aptitude for writing content with a broad appeal and developing the tone and voice of the site
• Knowledge and experience of web publishing, Content Management Systems, HTML and Photoshop
• Ability to collect and store data and information systematically and prepare monthly reports
• Proven experience of working with project management techniques
• Ability to prioritise and manage a demanding workload
• Strong communication skills with a high attention to detail
• Good team player with a flexible and adaptable attitude

Highly Desirable
• Clear interest in new developments in online media and social policy issues surrounding volunteering and engagement
• Experience of working with the youth sector online