Project Lead, FT Schools - 12 Month Fixed Term Contract

at  Financial Times

ABOUT US

The FT has an uncompromising mission: delivering independent, quality information, news and services to individuals and companies around the globe. It’s the cornerstone of our reputation and the heart of our ambitions for the future. But for our people, the FT offers so much more than what we do. FT people come from all kinds of backgrounds and work across a huge range of disciplines and locations, and find an empowering, warm and welcoming culture that values curiosity and rewards smart, ambitious thinking. Those who are willing to unite around our mission and live our values will find plenty to challenge, inspire and interest them. Like the audiences we serve, no two FT people are the same; but together we help our audience be better informed and understand the world around them. It’s a job that’s never mattered more, and a career that can take you anywhere you want to go.

OVERVIEW

The Financial Times is looking for a Project Lead to run its successful FT Schools programme. FT Schools provides students between the ages of 16 and 19 years old in full time education with free access to FT.com. The aim of this flagship programme is to help students and educators with their studies through FT content and make better decisions about their future.
We are looking for an experienced, purposeful Project Lead to work alongside Editorial and Commercial colleagues, particularly FT Pro on the operations side - to promote and grow FT Schools’ registrations and engagement around the world. The successful candidate will have a strong understanding of curriculum requirements for 16-19 year olds, strong contacts with educators and excellent administrative skills. Classroom experience and an understanding of how best to turn financial news content into thematic learning materials are essential; so too is the ability to identify growth targets (in key markets like India and the US), mobilise resources to meet them and monitor progress accurately.
The role sits within FT’s Strategic Partnerships team in London but requires the ability to work independently with high motivation for clear goal achievement and problem solving across the programme. It will be critical for the candidate to be able to strategize ways for FT Schools to accelerate its growth beyond 5,000 schools and 50,000 active users. The successful candidate will also lead communication and idea generation with the programme’s external partner.
A strong understanding of the importance of financial literacy, FT content, the opportunities presented by AI and the value of accurate, trustworthy news for our reader base is critical. This is a highly collaborative global role that requires daily work with multiple stakeholders and, importantly, a clear understanding of in what formats young people consume information.

REQUIRED SKILLS / EXPERIENCE

• Attention to Detail – Is careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
• Collaborates with peers and networks globally (D) – Share knowledge and skills easily with others; Actively collaborate with others towards achieving shared, common goals; Demonstrate respect for the opinion of others; understands the benefits of networking.
• Flexibility and Agility (D) – Effectively copes with and adapts to change; Sees it as an opportunity; Appreciates the value of creating strategic plans.
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems – Analysing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Managing people – Ability to plan, distribute, coordinate and monitor work assignments of others; Evaluate work performance and provide feedback to others on their performance; Ensure that staff are appropriately selected, utilised, and developed, and that they are treated in a fair and equitable manner.
• Effective Communication – Ability to convey clear and convincing oral and written communication to individuals or groups effectively taking into account the audience and nature of information being presented

• Working closely with Editorial & Commercial FT colleagues to grow school registration numbers and engagement as well as engaging with other parts of company where required - for example FT Professional, Marketing and Communications
• Meet agreed targets, constantly monitor a metrics dashboard and ensure management of day-to-day operational running of FT Schools with the FT’s Global Education Editor
• Be a strong, vocal, active advocate for FT Schools internally and externally. Proactively promote FT Schools. Regularly visit schools across the UK to assess their needs.
• Lead the engagement with FT Schools’ sponsor. Oversee associated deliverables like special reports, webinars and social media campaigns. Secure future funding from this sponsor and alternative sources.
• Maintain and improve engagement with registered schools
• Work closely with Customer Care to ensure the school registration process works efficiently & troubleshoot any challenges.
• Strategise ways for FT Schools to grow in target international markets, like South Africa
• Manage the student advocate/mentor programme
• Manage all social media, and develop marketing content
• Build a database of users to gather relevant information and produce useful datasets to support sustainability, usability and growth