BREAKING INDUSTRY NEWS The Young Offenders season four coming to BBC One Break Out Pictures release official trailer for Ransom ‘79 Creative Europe Monthly Roundup - April Pierce Brosnan to star in The Thursday Murders Club adaptation Warner Brothers release official trailer for The Watchers Obituary secures first International sales including Netflix The Dry returns for its second series on RTÉ CONNECT WITH IFTN Facebook Page Twitter Feed E-Newsletter RSS Feed

About Virgin Media:

Virgin Media is the leading connected entertainment cable and broadcast business in Ireland. Every day we deliver connections that really matter for thousands of people, with multi award-winning services including superfast broadband, TV, mobile and home phone. The Virgin Media Business division provides the fastest broadband speeds and connectivity solutions for entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector.

Virgin Media Television, the broadcast division, is Ireland’s number one commercial public service broadcaster offering three free-to-air channels: Virgin Media One, Virgin Media Two, Virgin Media Three and Virgin Media Four, as well as the Virgin Media Player. They are a significant investor in home produced content, including news, current affairs and drama, as well as offering the best in international programming. Virgin Media More, a platform exclusive channel for Virgin TV customers, offers the very best of first look premium content, including ground-breaking Irish and International drama, documentaries & sport. Our advertising sales agency, Virgin Media Solutions, creates unique, innovative campaigns for our business and for third party clients across the UK and Ireland.

Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, one of the world’s leading converged video, broadband and communications companies with operations in seven European countries. Liberty Global is a founding member of the European Green Digital Coalition and is included in the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. Following the challenges brought about the global pandemic, the power of connectivity to deliver positive, meaningful change to people’s lives has never been clearer. Our inclusion in these prestigious indices for the ninth year running attests to our long-standing commitment to the importance of sustainability and ensuring that we are strong corporate citizens as well as responsible stewards of the environment across the markets in which we operate.

For further information please visit: www.virginmedia.ie 

About the Role:

Reporting to the Director of News and Sport, the Head of News is responsible for the continued growth and evolution of Virgin Media News bulletins, Social Media strategy, Newsroom Documentaries and Current Affairs output. The successful candidate will ensure the highest editorial quality of News while attracting new consumers of our content across all our platforms. This senior role involves leading the Newsroom and overseeing all Virgin Media News content and the Tonight Show nightly Current Affairs programme. The successful candidate will oversee the expansion of Virgin Media News’ digital offering with an emphasis on digital first newsgathering. There will be a strong emphasis on developing and growing the capability, performance and effectiveness of the team. The successful candidate will work closely with senior management to drive the strategic direction of our news content as well as help deliver the overall business strategy.

Principal Responsibilities:

• Have overall editorial responsibility for all News bulletins and the Tonight Show Current Affairs programme
• Work with the Director of News and Sport to continuously develop the strategic direction of News and Current Affairs output
• Grow and expand Virgin Media News’ digital output with an emphasis on digital first
• Line manage senior editorial staff within the Newsroom
• Output Produce when required
• Oversee a team of Producers, Journalists, Camera Crew and Editors to deliver compelling content
• Ensure that all Virgin Media News output is accurate, fair, balanced and impartial
• Work with Documentary Director/Producer to develop and oversee an increase in off-diary output, including documentaries and special programmes using our key talent.
• Support and mentor the production team to ensure that studio productions are broadcast to the highest standards.
• Deputise for Director of News and Sport on occasion
• Liaise with external stakeholders such as government departments and political parties
• Work collaboratively with other departments and senior staff across the business
• Manage budgets and resources effectively
• Monitor and analyse programme ratings to identify trends
• Mentor and develop staff within the Newsroom
• Drive the News department’s engagement strategy and ensure a consistent focus and commitment to ongoing People development
• Liaise with Operations & Technical leads on programming requirements.
• Ensure compliance with broadcasting regulations.
• The above list is not exhaustive. You will be expected to perform duties as necessitated by your changing role and the overall business objectives of the Company, as directed.

Skills & Expertise:

• A minimum of 10 years experience in News and Current Affairs, preferably in a news broadcast environment
• Strong editorial judgement
• Knowledge and expertise in digital news production tools, social media platforms and experience in digital content creation
• Experience in managing teams and a track record of developing talent
• Significant experience and knowledge of defamation law
• Experience in managing significant editorial budgets
• An in-depth understanding of the evolving news environment and changing industry trends

The Person:

• A highly motivated and energetic individual with the passion and ability to lead people
• Displays strong leadership qualities and high personal integrity
• Displays good relationship building, is collaborative and a team player
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and embrace change.
• Explores opportunities by being resourceful and self-motivating.
• An excellent communicator with the ability to manage multiple stakeholders and competing priorities
• Ability to work on own initiative and identify opportunities
• Has the ability to make decisions under significant deadline pressure

Join and you’ll be part of the Virgin Media family. You can trust us to do the right thing by you. We’re a great place to work and we offer impressive benefits too. Get ready for a generous holiday allowance, birthday day off, contributory pension, healthcare and discounts on our fantastic mobile broadband and cable.

Apply here.