Vacancy: BGS Digital Media Editor

Are you an avid tweeter and/or blogger with an interest in improving healthcare for older people? Do you believe there is value in further growing our online community of healthcare professionals, keen to share best practice and the latest research related to ageing and geriatric medicine? 

If you are a BGS member interested in shaping the Society’s digital strategy and improving our online impact in line with our Strategic Plan 2020-2023, the honorary position of Digital Media Editor may be the perfect role for you! 

Outline of role:

The Digital Media Editor (DME) takes clinical responsibility for the content of the BGS blog, Twitter accounts and other digital media streams.  S/he supports and collaborates with relevant staff members (predominantly the Communications, PR & Media Manager and Editorial Manager of Age and Ageing, but with other input, as required, from other staff) with regard to their social media activities.

At a practical level this involves:

• Reading and editing blog content prior to posting
• Acting as a chief ‘authoriser’ for digital content to go live, available to staff for discussion of any issues arising
• Actively commissioning new content for the blog, which is in line with BGS strategy, interests and values
• Following the @gerisoc and @Age_and_Ageing Twitter accounts, which are managed by the BGS staff.  Advising of any inappropriate content or other issues arising
• Continuing to build the network of “BGS twitterati” and supporting social media engagement at BGS conferences
• Attending either the BGS Spring or Autumn Meeting, guiding and working with the Communications, PR & Media Manager to optimise the worldwide digital impact of the meetings (the DME receives free registration to these meetings if other sources of funding are unavailable) 
• Acting as a member of the BGS Policy and Communications Committee, and guiding the committee on digital issues. (The Committee meets four times a year)
• Acting as a member of the Age and Ageing Editorial Board, which meets in March and September each year
• Feeding into BGS strategy development with respect to digital communications
• Contributing to discussions regarding the continuous improvement of the new BGS website.

Support for the role:

The DME is supported by two Deputy Digital Media Editors, one primarily responsible for Age and Ageing’s digital media presence and Twitter, the other primarily responsible for the BGS Blog. Once the Deputy has found her/his feet, the intention is that s/he will share the work burden of the responsibilities with the Deputy Editors mentioned above. BGS’s Communications, PR & Media Manager (Marina Mello) and Age and Ageing Editorial Manager (Katy Ladbrook) work closely with both the Digital Media Editor and the Deputies on the day-to-day running of the media. Given that there are three digital media posts, the BGS is happy to be flexible about the distribution of tasks between them, according to skills and interests

This is an honorary (unpaid) position, but all reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed by the BGS. The DME receives free registration for BGS bi-annual Conferences if other sources of funding are unavailable. Please note, you must be a current paid member of the BGS to be eligible for this role. You can join the BGS here.

If you are keen to help strengthen the Society’s digital presence and impact, we’d love to hear from you. Please email a short expression of interest and your covering CV to m [dot] mello [at] bgs [dot] org [dot] uk, BGS Communications, PR and Media Manager. If you have any questions please call 0207 608 8572 for more information. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 7 February 2020.

Background:

• The BGS blog, (established in 2013, and moved from Wordpress to the new website in 2019), has seen a huge increase in readership over the last few years and now has over 2,000 subscribers receiving ‘BGS Blog Alert’ emails. On average 13 BGS Blogs are published each month and 4 Age and Ageing blogs. It posts up to three times per week and presents a variety of content, ranging from personal reflections on clinical practice, to medical education resources, policy documents and summaries of important articles from Age and Ageing. It now represents an important cornerstone of the BGS’s media strategy and is involved in roll-out of any new initiative, strategy or guideline.  The blog responds rapidly to emerging issues but we have also been able to build-up a bank of 2 months’ worth of time non-critical articles, so that a steady stream of media is maintained.
• The BGS has also increased its Twitter profile massively, with over 20,000 followers for @gerisoc and over 14,000 followers for @age_and_ageing and these accounts having Kred social authority scores of 870/1000 and 782/1000 respectively. At the BGS Autumn 2019 Meeting, we received 46 million ‘impressions’ (potential audience reach of all Tweets) via #BGSconf.

Person specification: