Audience and Trending Writer - Wales Online
* Full-time
* Contract Type: Permanent
* Division: Editorial
* Salary Currency: GBP Sterling
* Department: Regionals
We are looking for an Audience and Trending Writer to join us at WalesOnline.
This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who is seeking a fast‑paced, high‑impact role monitoring the topics and themes of most interest to readers of WalesOnline and North Wales Live to identify opportunities to create well‑pitched content tailored to the needs of readers. You will have a keen eye utilising speed, accuracy, and editorial instinct.
This role is a home and hub position linked to our Cardiff office, so you will need to be based in or around the Cardiff area.
About us
Hello, we’re Reach. Every day, our trusted news, stories and content connect with millions of people where they live - whether that’s on their social feed or at their neighbourhood newsstand; through their local community or their take on the hot topic of the day.
We're home to more than 120 trusted brands - from household names like the Mirror, Express, Daily Star and Daily Record, to local titles like MyLondon, BelfastLive, and the Manchester Evening News, and brands making a splash in the US like the Irish Star.
It's our ability to understand people and the things that matter to them that makes us the UK and Ireland's largest commercial news publisher. We reach 70% of the UK's online population and speak to over 100 million social followers around the world. And we’re just getting started…
Your story, with Reach
As a modern media organisation, we're much more than just news. And it takes a wide range of people and skills to serve diverse audiences, customers and communities like we do.
We know everyone has their own story to tell, so we’ve built an environment where every background is respected and every day is a day to explore.
We’ll help you build a career that works with your life, while giving you the space to create and grow
About this role
What will the role involve?
You’ll track what’s breaking and buzzing across search, social and real‑time dashboards, then localise it with a distinctly Welsh angle to produce accurate, engaging stories at pace. Expect to write sharp, SEO‑smart headlines and intros, package pieces with images, embeds and internal links, and work with audience editors on smart distribution across the homepage, newsletters, social posts and push alerts.
You’ll help “own the moment” on fast‑moving stories, contribute to live coverage, and refresh explainers and evergreen guides so they stay relevant and high‑performing. Multimedia will be part of your toolkit, quick video, social clips and simple edits always with rigorous attention to accuracy, legal and ethical standards. The role sits within a collaborative newsroom and includes participation in early, late and occasional weekend rotas.
Your work will be driven by data. Using GA4 and real‑time dashboards, you’ll decide what to write, how to headline it, when to publish and how to iterate after launch. Success will be defined by clear OKRs: winning the Welsh angle on trending topics; growing loyal, returning audiences; lifting visibility in search and social without resorting to clickbait; and strengthening trust through quality and compliance. We’ll track KPIs with your editor, including output, speed to publish, engagement, reach and growth.
Who are we looking for?
You’re a digital‑first journalist who lives and breathes the internet, curious, fast and accurate with a portfolio or track record of stories that travelled because they were genuinely useful, entertaining or distinctive. You have a sharp instinct for what will resonate with audiences in Wales right now, can craft compelling, search‑optimised headlines, and are comfortable using analytics to inform your choices. Calm and reliable under pressure, you show sound news judgement, a strong grasp of media law and impeccable attention to detail.
You’ll be socially savvy across platforms such as X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, with a feel for tone, formats and thumbnailing that drive clicks and meaningful engagement. You’re collaborative, open to feedback and happy to work a rota that includes early, late and occasional weekend shifts. A deep interest in Welsh life, politics, culture, communities and everyday issues is essential; Welsh language skills are a bonus, not a requirement. You’re confident in a CMS, can turn around quick video and simple edits, and you write clearly and inclusively, making complex topics accessible without losing nuance. Above all, you care about serving readers across Wales with accurate, representative and habit‑forming journalism.
How we’ll look after you
We take good care of our people - and that means more than just a pay packet. Whatever your role, you'll get a range of benefits. Here are our standard UK & ROI benefits - please check the specifics out for your role when you apply.
* 25 days's holiday (not including bank holidays), plus an extra day after you've been with us for three, five and ten years. We also have a scheme to help you buy extra holiday if you want to.
* An extra day's leave each year to volunteer for a cause that matters to you.
* Help saving for your retirement - we'll match your company pension contributions up to 6% and you can contribute through salary sacrifice.
* Wellbeing support - including a 24/7 assistance programme for you and your family.
* A healthcare cash plan - giving you money back for a range of medical expenses and fast access to doctor's appointments.
* Bonus scheme - you'll get a stake in our success and a chance to add to your annual earnings.
* Access to lots of discounts - including with Reach's very own online marketplace, Yimbly, where you can buy everything from homewares to beauty products.
* Supportive and progressive people policies - we’re proud to have a range of policies to support people in their lives in and outside work, including enhanced family leave and policies to promote flexibility, inclusion and progression. We believe you shouldn’t have to wait to join us to know what to expect from us, which is why we share this overview of the policies we have in place to support families and carers. If there's something you want to understand more about, just ask.
Reach plc believes diversity brings benefits for our customers, our business and our people. This is why we are committed to being an inclusive employer and encourage applications from all suitable applicants irrespective of background, circumstances, age, disability, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or belief and sexual orientation.
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