Executive Editor

Location: Westminster, London 

Salary: Competitive 

The Role

Reform UK is seeking an exceptional Executive Editor to lead its expanded editorial, broadcast and digital content operation from the party's Westminster headquarters. This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for building a high-quality, high-output media operation capable of delivering at national scale in the build-up to the next general election and beyond.

A central priority will be the development of Reform TV and Reform UK's wider broadcast and video output: creating distinctive programmes and formats, commissioning original content, maximising the Westminster studio and building the production capability required to deliver ambitious live and recorded output at speed.

The Executive Editor will lead across broadcast, video, website/news and social, ensuring they operate as one coherent editorial operation. The role combines the editorial judgement of a senior newsroom leader, the production experience of a senior broadcaster and the audience instincts of a modern media executive.

What you'll do

• Lead the editorial and production operation
• Lead Reform UK's expanded editorial team, setting clear priorities, delegated authority, standards and performance expectations across Broadcast & Video, News & Website and Brand Social Media.
• Set the overall editorial direction and daily content agenda, identifying the stories, political moments and ideas around which Reform UK should build its output.
• Establish a highly organised seven-day operation with effective commissioning, forward planning, rotas, handovers, escalation, weekend coverage and rapid-response capability.
• Recruit, coach and retain high-performing talent, and deploy budgets, studio capacity and production resources around the content most likely to generate impact.

Key Responsibilities

Build Reform TV into a major content operation

Shape the editorial and creative vision for Reform TV, developing it into a distinctive media proposition rather than simply a distribution channel for existing political content.

Develop and   commission a   compelling slate of   repeatable programmes   and formats,   including interviews,   debates, panel shows,   packages, explainers,   documentaries,   political analysis,   personality-led   programming and live   events.

Work closely   with the Head of   Video and senior   production staff from   concept through   delivery, balancing   ambitious planned   output with the   ability to react   rapidly to breaking   news and political   opportunities.

Build   recognisable formats,   presenters,   contributors and   franchises, while   identifying   opportunities for   major interviews,   exclusive access,   location shoots,   outside broadcasts   and special   programming.

Run   high-quality live and   studio production

• Maximise the use and   impact of Reform UK's   Westminster studio as   a reliable engine for   high-quality live and   recorded programming.
• Oversee editorial and production planning for live programmes, interviews, events, speeches, press conferences and breaking-news coverage.
• Ensure robust processes across research, scripts, guests, running orders, technical delivery, compliance, post-production and distribution.
• Set clear production standards, contingency plans and escalation routes so output can increase in speed and volume without compromising quality.

Own content, formats and distribution

Directly oversee the Website Editor, Head of Video and Head of Social, holding each team accountable for quality, reach, engagement and impact within one editorial strategy.

Ensure major stories, speeches, campaigns and political moments are commissioned as complete content packages rather than isolated posts or videos.

Decide where premium production adds value and where speed, immediacy and authenticity matter more.

Ensure strong broadcast and long-form content is intelligently repurposed into clips, explainers, articles, graphics, short-form video and social assets.

Encourage disciplined experimentation with programmes, presenters and treatments, scaling what works and stopping what does not.

Build audiences across every platform

Ensure content is conceived with distribution and audience behaviour in mind from the outset and adapted appropriately for each platform.

Oversee the website as an authoritative destination for news, video, policy and political content, encouraging audiences to watch, return, subscribe, register, join and participate.

Stay close to changing audience behaviour, platform trends and new forms of media consumption so Reform UK continues to reach audiences wherever they are moving.

Performance and Leadership:

• Establish clear   measures of success   across programmes,   video, website and   social, combining   editorial judgement   with evidence about   what audiences watch,   read, share and   return to.
• Use   audience data and   regular performance   reviews to inform   commissioning,   scheduling, formats,   staffing and resource   allocation.
• Build a   results-based culture   that learns quickly   from evidence, scales   successful formats   and changes or stops   activity that   consistently   underperforms.
• Work   closely with the Data   & Analytics function   to turn audience   insight into clear   recommendations for   senior editors,   producers and party   leadership.
• Build   strong relationships   across Operations,   Communications &   Media, Campaigns,   Press, Data,   Membership, Events   and the regional and   branch structure.
• Work effectively   with senior political   figures,   understanding their   priorities while   applying the   editorial judgement   required to turn   political objectives   into compelling   content.
• Improve   forward planning   through clear   editorial meetings,   commissioning   processes, shared   calendars and defined   ownership, ensuring   major initiatives and   events have an   effective content   plan.
• Manage   relevant production   companies,   freelancers,   agencies, platform   partners and   suppliers, ensuring   high standards, value   for money and clear   accountability.
• Represent   editorial, broadcast   and audience   priorities   confidently to senior   party leadership,   making clear   recommendations,   surfacing risks early   and taking   responsibility for   delivery.

THE PERSON

We are looking for an outstanding senior editorial and broadcast leader with the judgement, creativity, energy and operational discipline to build a modern, high-output media operation in a fast-moving political environment.

This is   not primarily a   technical production   role: the successful   candidate must   understand how   excellent television   and video are made,   lead senior editorial   and production teams   confidently, and be   equally comfortable   assessing the   political agenda and   digital audience   performance.

Essential experience and capabilities

• Substantial senior   leadership experience   in broadcast   television, video-led   news, current   affairs, journalism,   media production or   another high-pressure   editorial   environment.
• Significant   experience leading   editorial and   production teams,   including senior   editors, producers   and creative or   technical staff.
• Strong   understanding of the   complete television   and video production   process, with proven   experience   commissioning   high-quality   programmes and   overseeing live   output from   development through   delivery.
• Excellent   editorial judgement   and news sense, with   a strong creative   instinct for stories,   contributors,   treatments and   distinctive   repeatable formats.
• Strong   understanding of the   modern media   landscape, with   sufficient digital   and data fluency to   lead website, social   and audience teams   and distribute   broadcast-quality   content effectively   across platforms.
• Demonstrable   success growing reach   and engagement   through strong   editorial ideas,   formats,   personalities or   programming.
• Outstanding   stakeholder-management and communication   skills, including   confidence working   with senior political   figures, journalists,   producers,   operational leaders   and external   partners.
• Highly   organised,   politically aware and   resilient, with the   ability to manage   competing priorities,   budgets, major   projects and   rapid-response   demands in a highly   scrutinised   environment.
• Willingness to be   based at Reform UK's   Westminster HQ and   work flexibly around   breaking news, major   broadcasts, political   events and campaign   periods, including   evenings and weekends   when required.

Highly desirable

• Senior experience   within a national   broadcaster,   television newsroom,   major production   company or   substantial video-led   media organisation.
• Experience   launching or   substantially   developing a   television channel,   digital video   operation, programmes   or major new   broadcast   proposition.
• Experience   commissioning   long-form interviews,   documentaries, studio   programmes, debates,   current-affairs   formats or live   events.
• Experience   developing on-screen   talent and building   programmes or   franchises around   distinctive   personalities.

Why join Reform UK?

This is an   opportunity to build   a significant new   media operation   inside a national   political party at a   decisive point in its   development. The   successful candidate   will have unusual   scope to shape Reform   TV, its programmes   and formats, its   production operation,   editorial agenda and   wider digital content   strategy - and to see   the impact of that   work at national   scale.