SKILLS REQUIRED:

• Either previous experience of community moderation, whether gained through a previous role or through unpaid work or journalism skills gained through experience or training (essential).
• Demonstrable understanding of the role of community moderation in online debate (essential).
• Solid knowledge of media law as it applies to comment moderation (e.g. defamation, contempt, privacy) or the ability to learn this quickly (essential).
• A strong level of general knowledge and a keen appreciation of the breadth of the Telegraph’s journalism, particularly in key content areas such as news, politics, and lifestyle (essential).
• Ability to build strong working relationships, accommodating requests from others while making your own case assertively and persuasively (essential).
• Strong writing and editing skills and the ability to write according to Telegraph style (desirable).
• Demonstrable ability to use analytics tools and data reports to inform editorial decisions (desirable).
• Working knowledge of communication and workflow applications such as Trello and Slack and experience of using a CMS (desirable).

ABOUT THE ROLE:

As Community Moderator, you will be part of a team responsible for cultivating The Telegraph’s commenting community. You will work closely with journalists around the newsroom to improve the quality of below the line interactions, ensuring readers’ comments are constructive and respectful, while defending the principle of free speech.
This is an ideal role for an early-career journalist or community manager who wishes to develop their editorial and community skills within a supportive, collaborative environment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Moderate all flagged comments and user generated content (UGC), ensuring that approved content does not breach the Telegraph’s Community Guidelines.
• Maintain a high level of engagement on Telegraph platforms and take positive steps to nurture an environment conducive to constructive debate and discussion.
• Monitor user activity and when terms of use are breached, issue suspensions to offending users.
• Develop a deep familiarity with the Telegraph’s commenters, understand the range of views they share, spot the issues and stories that generate discussion and regularly share these insights with colleagues.
• Use your growing understanding of commenters’ views to contribute to Telegraph journalism - including writing reader-led articles under your byline - and further develop your editorial skills.
• Identify and escalate where necessary any legal issues, problematic trends or irregular activity in our comments section and on other platforms as appropriate.
• Help shape and improve The Telegraph’s commenting strategy, policies and processes, working closely with the Head of Community Moderation, Legal, external service providers and others as appropriate.
• Manage all email contact received, using approved templates and adhering to agreed service levels and quality standards.
• The desk will be covered from 7am-10pm seven days a week, so you will work on a rota basis which reflects these hours.