Digital Innovation Lead

The Local Storytelling Exchange (the Exchange) exists to change the conversation about the ‘green transition’ in the UK. We tell the human stories of how everyday people, communities, and places are building fairer, greener futures, especially where narratives around climate action are more contested. Our place-based storytellers use community insights, journalistic expertise, and creative storytelling to shift narratives and humanise the transition.

About the role

We are looking for a Digital Innovation Lead to position us at the cutting-edge of digital, locally based storytelling about the climate transition.

Part of this role will be overseeing our approach to social media. But more than that, the successful candidate will bring their know-how and entrepreneurial flair to help us reimagine our digital storytelling on the climate transition.

From TikTok to hyper-local Facebook groups, from AI-powered analysis to multimedia experimentation, you will help the Exchange build a digital game that’s contemporary, sector-leading, ethical and true to both our mission and our USP as locally rooted, authentic, people-led storytellers.

In depth technical expertise (for example, in the mechanics of video creation) is not essential. Knowing where to get it, how to use it - and what great looks like for an organisation like us - is.

The Digital Innovation Lead will deploy audience and platform insight, social listening, and restless creativity. They will ensure our digital storytelling has scale, reach and narrative-shaping impact in its own right, and as a complement and added dimension to our existing, sector-leading print, broadcast and online journalism.

We want someone who can work collaboratively to challenge our assumptions and try new things, while holding on to what makes the Exchange’s storytelling special: our authenticity and people-first approach.

Key responsibilities

• Shape and deliver a digital innovation strategy that harnesses the Exchange’s USP and place-based focus to impactfully engage audiences, share stories, and measurably influence local narratives.
• Working with the Executive Director and Head of Programmes, secure partnerships and funding to put the strategy into practice – ranging from partnering with local influencers and campaign groups, to national media platforms, data platforms, or creative tech collaborators, and more.
• Lead experimentation with emerging tools – including AI, community insights, social listening tools, multimedia storytelling and audience analytics
• Design systems for (digital) social listening and audience intelligence that build on our existing USP as a place-based, storyteller-led organisation.
• Build a roster of associate content creators so we can generate excellent content, quickly.
• Build digital confidence and capacity across the organisation and key external partners, mentoring colleagues and associates to use digital tools creatively and ethically.
• Ensure the Exchange uses technology ethically and responsibly in line with the Exchange’s mission.
• Balance working at pace under own initiative, with working collaboratively and supportively within a small, hybrid organisation.

About you

You are likely to be a creative digital communications and/or engagement specialist who combines vision and innovative spark with the determination to build networks, projects and partnerships to turn ideas into real world impact. You can bridge big picture strategic thinking and tracking the latest ideas, with practical application to prototype, test and learn fast.

You will have a strong instinct for what makes for brilliant content that has impact at scale, and how to get it seen. You will be audience, mission and impact-led, innovating around how best to reach people across platforms and wider engagement. You will have a strategic mind, up-to-the-minute understanding of today’s information and digital environment, and a rich network of intelligence and contacts. You'll understand how digital content can complement ‘traditional’ journalism and be excited to combine these approaches in new ways as part of shaping local narratives across the country.

Whatever your background, you’ll be excited to join a journalism, narrative shaping and storytelling organisation with a strong reputation for “traditional” media impact, which is evolving that to also excel in the digital world. You will be fascinated by how digital storytelling can be used brilliantly, within current and emerging information system and technological frontiers, to be a positive counter-force to misinformation and culture wars around climate action.