The Head of the Editorial Lab is chief researcher and innovator for the WSJ newsroom, leading a small group of developers and journalists who will experiment with new, “blue-sky” digital storytelling technologies, tools and techniques, establish best-practices, and disseminate the methods to the rest of the newsroom.
Tasks/Responsibilities
- Keep a finger on the pulse of global storytelling trends, technologies and platforms, continuously identifying and evaluating the usefulness of these developments to WSJ audiences. Share knowledge and educate stakeholder inside and outside the newsroom.
- Work closely with the DJ Innovation team and WSJ Product team to set up the Editorial Lab, with infrastructure and journalist/developer personnel for research, testing and experimentation.
- Identify and work with newsroom leaders to borrow key personnel from other desks, departments or bureaus to work on specific projects.
- Identify new methods, technologies or tools worth exploring for WSJ audiences, determine the processes and techniques by which we could use them. Work with DJ Innovation and the Tech & Product team to create minimal viable products, and then design and conduct market tests together with the Analytics & Audience team.
- If a product is deemed successful with our audience during testing, work with the Product team and the corporate Sales and Marketing teams to build the business case for a larger implementation and, eventually, hand the product off to the proper group in the newsroom for day-to-day management.
- Create a program to educate newsroom stakeholders about innovation in journalism and storytelling.
- Identify, build and manage relationships with other media and non-media organizations around the globe to create new opportunities and synergies
Leadership
- Inspire the Editorial Lab team and our other journalists to produce their best work on all platforms.
- Contribute by attitude, example and encouragement to a culture of creativity, enthusiasm, motivation, ownership and professionalism.
- Manage, motivate and develop staff to consistently produce high-quality work.
- Set clear objectives for direct reports, cascading effectively down.
- Set agenda and make and articulate clear decisions.
- Set standards for individual and team performance – ongoing and in regular performance reviews.
- Contribute to the shaping and management of staff-development programs.
- Identify high-potential members of the team and ensure they are effectively developed.
Key Attributes/Knowledge/Experience
- Deeply customer- and market- driven (internal customer, audience), and familiar with how these priorities affect product-development processes
- Innovative and entrepreneurial thinker and leader.
- Deep understanding of digital media and digital journalism
- Analytical, structured and pragmatic way when tackling business challenges
- Has a profound understanding of media technologies and consumer technologies related to media and journalism
- Expertise in project management and strategy-development skills
- Strong skills in concept visualisation, strong communication, facilitation and presentation skills
- Experienced in working with executive teams across different organizational areas and disciplines
- Strong modern product development skills, such as design thinking
To apply, go here.
