Senior Educational Content Lead (maternity cover)

Reports to: Director of Programmes

Hours: Full time with flexible hours. Core hours are 10am to 4pm

Location: Hybrid. London (Embankment) on Wednesdays and Thursdays and remote

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Salary: £44,748 p.a.

Contract: 12-month maternity contract

Benefits:

• 25 days annual leave, UK bank holidays and one volunteering day a year, one day for moving home

• A highly competitive pension (up to 11% employer contribution for 5% employee contribution)

• Private health insurance, eye tests and medical checks

• Flexible working: core hours from 10am to 4pm with a minimum of two days spent in the office in London each week (currently Wednesdays and Thursdays)

• 24/7 access to counselling and wellbeing resources through our Employee Assistance Programme

• Income protection insurance and life assurance

• Cycle to work scheme, season ticket loan and gym membership loan

• Free access to The Economist content, including an online subscription, our range of apps, podcasts and more

ABOUT US

The Economist Educational Foundation is a fast-growing charity on a mission to ensure that every child is empowered to think critically and communicate effectively about the world’s most complex current issues.

In 2025-6 our core programme, Topical Talk, more than doubled its reach to over 1 million young people in 99 countries. We are at a time of great opportunity, in England and internationally, and have ambitious plans to keep growing and deepen our impact further.

Topical Talk helps children join inspiring discussions about the news by providing:

• Topical Talk Headlines – award-winning weekly lessons for classroom discussions about global news stories

• Leadership for Change Prize – child-led solutions to complex global issues

• Community partnerships – support and training for teachers via partnerships with Multi-Academy Trusts in the UK and School Districts in America

Our programme has received international recognition, including from HundrED as one of the top 100 education initiatives, from UNESCO as a winner of the Global Media and Information Literacy Awards 2022 and from the Money And Inclusion Awards (MAIA) for best content in 2025.

THE ROLE

We are seeking a visionary educational content writer and high-impact Senior Lead to maintain the quality of our world-class educational programmes. This is a unique role for a creative thinker with a deep pedagogical background and a relentless passion for bringing global current affairs to the heart of the classroom. Working in collaboration with our programmes team, and leveraging the journalistic excellence of The Economist Group, you will define the standard for global news education.

In this fixed-term role, you won't just create lessons; you will engineer innovative, nuanced, discussion-based frameworks that challenge children to master complex global topics and build essential critical-thinking and communication skills. As a Senior Lead, you will drive the development of our Headlines programme, aligned with our ambitious strategic goals, bringing flair and originality to our globally-relevant resources.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Design world-class classroom resources

• Research, pitch and execute sophisticated lesson plans that distill the world's biggest issues into diverse, nuanced and rich learning experiences

• Set the benchmark for quality by writing, editing and proofreading high-impact teaching resources

• Collaborate with our Graphic Designer to ensure our content is as visually compelling as it is intellectually rigorous

• Apply our house style, pedagogical approach and editorial voice consistently across all content

Programme leadership and innovation

• Proactively analyse shifts in global curricula and educational trends to ensure our products remain the market leader

• Craft high-level website copy and teacher-facing materials that articulate the unique value of our programmes

• Conduct school visits to observe, evaluate and occasionally model the delivery of Topical Talk lessons

• Partner with the Director of Programmes to implement rigorous monitoring and evaluation frameworks which track and scale programme success

Workshop delivery

• End-to-end execution of student workshops and events, from the idea-generation stage to writing, proofreading, delivery and evaluation

• Deliver expert-led training that empowers teachers to maximise the impact of our resources

Strategic relationship management

• Work at the highest level with The Economist’s journalists to translate complex global issues into engaging educational content

• Identify and interview world-leading topic experts to enrich our work with unique insights

• Manage complex timelines and stakeholder expectations with precision to ensure all milestones are met

This role will involve some travel. It also involves working with young people, so you will need to have an enhanced DBS check (which The Foundation will organise).

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS

Whether you are a top-performing teacher, a seasoned journalist, or a leader in the content-writing sector, you possess the following:

• A passion for the news and global current affairs

• An unwavering commitment to empowering the next generation through a deep understanding of the news

• A track record of creative "outside-the-box" lesson design that develops critical thinking and oracy

• The ability to quickly break down, not dumb down, complex current issues to make them accessible to children, whilst commanding the respect of subject-matter experts

• The power to quickly engage a classroom of new students and bring your lessons to life

• The expertise to approach complex topics with balance and political neutrality – you are able to share a variety of views to enrich learning

• A self-starting mindset. You operate independently to maintain a relentless standard of excellence

• Exceptional attention to detail combined with superior project and time-management skills

• A collaborative nature. You thrive in a team-based environment to achieve collective goals

EXPERIENCE

You have…

• Qualified Teacher Status (or equivalent): at least two years of high-impact experience teaching 10-18-year olds backed by up-to-date knowledge of educational research and developments

• Experience in journalism, international relations, politics, or proven success in using current affairs as stimuli for classroom engagement

• A portfolio of inspiring, high-quality classroom resources developed both independently and through collaboration

• Demonstrated experience in designing, testing and scaling initiatives with measurable impact

You might have…

• Proficiency in creating and editing video or digital content

• Experience in educational content creation within diverse environments outside the traditional classroom

We're particularly keen for you to apply if you are from a community under-represented in the charity sector or have lived experience of facing extra barriers because of your background.