Managing Editor – EU Energy Policies

Position description

Launching a new chapter in European journalism motivates you? This is for you.

ABOUT US

Contexte is an independent media outlet (employee-owned with a subscription-only model). Our mission is to provide public affairs professionals with the most useful information to make decisions. Contexte establishes a new standard of quality information by delivering and curating the most factual, in-depth policy news and analysis.

This is why we

• Bring expertise that allows to navigate complexity;
• Offer deep, nuanced, and verified analysis to get as close as possible to the truth;
• Maintain independence from external influences through economic and editorial autonomy.

The company has been growing rapidly since its launch in 2013. Today, we are a team of 110, including 35 journalists in Paris and 17 in Brussels.

Our political news is delivered every morning to the inbox of 14,000 subscribers working in NGOs, private companies, public services and administrations, consulting and law firms.

We cover policies in the energy, transportation, agri-food, environmental, health, e-health, tech and media sectors. We also lift the hood on how government and administrations exercise political power and how lobbyists develop their influencing strategies.

Until now, we’ve delivered expert insights to policy professionals navigating legislation impacting France, whether made at national or EU level, through 9 FR verticals.

We’re now launching an ambitious new line of product focused on EU policies, designed to provide timely, actionable information for English-speaking professionals involved in EU politics, helping them stay ahead of developments and make informed decisions for their organizations.

POSITION OVERVIEW

We are seeking a Managing Editor to launch our first vertical on European energy policies, ready to grow with the role – starting with leading a team of two journalists, a translation editor with the opportunity to hire and manage a second team as we launch a second EU vertical in 2025.

This role is central to our integrated European newsroom approach. You will work closely with the editorial direction and report to the Editor-in-Chief based in Brussels.

As we are a growing newsroom, the ideal candidate will be comfortable working within a developing project, open to adapting responsibilities, coverage priorities, team dynamics, and workflows as we evolve. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys building and shaping an editorial approach to meet the needs of our audience.

We welcome candidates from varying level of management experience: seasoned Managing Editors eager to launch a project, lead a small team, and grow into a larger editorial leadership role – such as Editor-in-Chief – as the EU project expands; or journalists with limited management experience who are excited to learn, develop their leadership skills, and will excel in managing a small, dedicated team over the long term.

Our vision is to create a truly European newsroom, where French and English-speaking journalists work closely together to provide timely and relevant coverage of EU policies. Our newsroom is structured to foster cross-language collaboration for in-depth reporting.

Regarding this first EU vertical dedicated to energy policies coverage is structured to avoid duplication and maximize expertise between the FR and the EU product. Journalists are be assigned to topics based on audience relevance, focusing on either FR readers or EU-only focused professionals. When an energy topic is relevant to both, journalists work together to gather information, share insights, and discuss angles before creating content tailored to each audience.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Team Leadership and Cross-audience Collaboration

• You will lead a team of two English-speaking journalists and a translation editor, guiding the European coverage in English of energy issues for a Brussels-based audience;
• You will foster collaboration with the team in Brussels working for the product dedicated to our French audience (two journalists), ensuring that journalists collect information for both audience if necessary, share sources and ideas when issues overlap, while producing distinct content tailored to each audience.

Editorial Workflow

• You will oversee a streamlined editorial workflow, assigning coverage leads and facilitating information-sharing across desks;
• You will manage a shared editorial approach that emphasizes relevance and avoids duplication, while allowing for collaborative content collection and tailored final products for each language edition.

Management

• Our approach to management is based on responsibility and guidance, rather than traditional top-down management. To us, being a manager means fostering trust and encouraging growth within the team. You will play an active role in supporting team members’ growth by providing constructive feedback and helping each journalist realize their potential.

Strategy and growth

• Collaborate with the editorial direction to refine our editorial vision, expand our European offer, and recruit new team members as we grow to foster a multicultural European newsroom.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• You are native or fully fluent in English, with at least B2 or C1-level French to support collaboration in our European newsroom;
• You are good at managing and empowering journalists, fostering a collaborative and trust-based work environment;
• You are comfortable with an evolving project and are open to adjusting responsibilities, coverage priorities and team dynamics as required;
• You understand EU institutions and can translate complex policy issues for an informed professional audience;
• Familiarity with EU energy policy is a plus but not required;
• You are comfortable with making clear, sometimes difficult decisions that serve the team’s best interests, even if they are not universally popular.

Measures of success

• Timely production of high-quality, audience-relevant English-language content;
• Effective collaboration with the FR desk, resulting in complementary, well-coordinated coverage;
• A positive, supportive newsroom culture where team members thrive professionally and personally;
• Audience growth through consistent delivery of valuable, actionable insights into EU policies;
• A unified European newsroom that fosters collaboration while delivering tailored content for each audience.

What you will join

• A collaborative, mission-driven newsroom in Brussels, launching its first international product and embracing diverse cultures;
• The opportunity to play a foundational role in building a European newsroom focused on shared expertise, cross language collaboration and top journalistic standards;
• A commitment to work-life balance and team support.

Application instructions

Please send your application by applying below.

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