About the Position

GDN is looking for a dynamic and self-driven professional with experience in project management, partnership management and online editorial processes, to take its successful blogging platform on research for development, GlobalDev into its next phase of development. The Blog Manager will coordinate the operations of GlobalDev from GDN’s hub in Clermont-Ferrand, interacting (both in-person and remotely) with a committed and truly global team. Most importantly, you will:

1. Be the first point of contact for authors from across the globe, who are writing on a wide range of topics pertaining to development.
2. Contribute to curating a strategy for securing a steady flow of content through partnerships and collaborations (internal and external to GDN programmes).
3. Be ultimately responsible for managing and expanding the publication calendar and output level of the blog.

While ensuring the day-to-day operations of GlobalDev, you will collaborate daily with several colleagues working part-time on the blog, including the founding editors, the senior editors (English, Spanish and French), GlobalDev’s social media manager, translators and proofreaders, and with colleagues across all GDN units, to ensure seamless project integration and success.

Background

The year 2023 marked GlobalDev’s fifth year anniversary and it has been two years of exciting changes! We went through a whole website revamp and a new visual identity, that contributed to dynamising our image. We expanded the team and successfully started accepting articles in all the publication languages: English, French and Spanish. We also started organising communication trainings to help southern researchers spread their voice more effectively and more widely. In parallel to these new activities, publication continued on GlobalDev. The uniqueness of the blog remains its hands-on editorial process that accompanies authors in discussing policy challenges (instead of research publications). In 2024, we have had over 5000 readers and 10,000 page views a month, from over 200 countries, with a large majority from the global South.

About GDN

The Global Development Network (GDN) is a public international organisation that supports high quality, policy-oriented, social science research in Low- and Middle- Income Countries, to promote better lives. We help connect researchers and research institutions to financial resources, global networking, research management support, access to information, training, peer review and mentoring. Founded in 1999, GDN is currently headquartered in New Delhi, with an office in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

The position is based in GDN’s Clermont-Ferrand office, in France, and is open to EU nationals or individuals who are eligible to obtain a work visa for France (with GDN’s sponsorship).

Job responsibilities

• Management of the Editorial Process:
  • Lead the end-to-end management of content received by the blog, ensuring editorial processes and timelines are aligned with GlobalDev’s publication calendar, with an objective of doubling the output (from one blog post per week, to two) by the end of 2025.
  • In close coordination with the rest of the team, revise and improve (regularly) the editorial process and flow, optimising interactions and collaboration between team members and consultants who intervene at different points of the editorial process, from screening of applications to social media outreach.
  • Manage the publication calendar, and keep team members abreast of recurring deadlines, trends and projections regarding the volume of content in the editorial pipeline.
  • Organise and chair regular editorial meetings with the GlobalDev team, keeping them informed about external trends and presenting data-driven analysis of GlobalDev’s operations.
  • Manage the roster of language professionals, recruit external consultants (IT, website development, translators and proofreaders) when needed and manage their contracts.
• Platform Management
  • Operate GlobalDev’s WordPress platform, posting content directly across all three language interfaces, as well as the editorial inbox and the online author information submission form.
  • Ensure GlobalDev platforms work across all language-specific interfaces, at all times, and collaborate closely with GDN IT colleagues to prevent, identify and solve issues as they arise, with specific attention to reader access and the formal quality of the blog interface.
• Stakeholder/Partnership Management:
  • Contribute to updating regularly the outreach and partnership strategy of GlobalDev, with a view to ensuring a steady flow of content and at least weekly publications. In close collaboration with colleagues at GlobalDev and GDN, lead on the definition of a team strategy to increase GlobalDev’s outreach among Southern authors, to match its Southern readership, with particular attention to young researchers and their voices.
  • Manage directly external content partnerships, including joint Special Debates, and if needed propose to the editorial team new and innovative formats for content and partnerships, considering your interactions with external stakeholders.
  • Support conferences, trainings or events organised by GlobalDev and GDN with partners, fostering collaboration and the visibility of GlobalDev. Work with cross-functional teams to integrate events into the overall blog development strategy, leveraging them for stakeholder engagement and programme development.
  • ‘Be the face’ of GlobalDev at GDN and external events, managing dedicated booths, curating material, leading in-person outreach among other things – traveling when required (up to 15% of your time).
• Programme Development:
  • Lead, in close coordination with the GlobalDev team, the strategy for developing GlobalDev into a recognised platform for research communication in the international development space, bringing together global South and global North perspectives.
  • Manage the blog’s ‘special projects’ fund in support of the blog development.
  • Coordinate funding proposals, including budget creation, concept notes, and technical specifications related to GlobalDev, as opportunities arise.
  • Actively monitor the funding landscape for research communication platforms and services and identify development opportunities for discussion by the broader team.
  • Coordinate submission of proposals within donor deadlines.
• Documentation and evaluation:
  • Manage, and if needed further develop, GlobalDev’s monitoring framework, with the goal of providing the editorial team with data-driven insights into GlobalDev operations, authorship, readership, and visibility.
  • Occasionally, manage external evaluations of the blog.
  • Curate and keep up to date the monitoring database of GlobalDev, integrating data from the editorial process and from outreach, using platforms such as Google Analytics.
• Resource Management:
  • Manage the budget of the blog, across multiple funding sources when needed. Support programme leads and the finance department in ensuring that expenditure is properly monitored and that it is consistent with the overall blog budget.
  • Track the allocation and management of blog resources, including contracts with language professionals, editorial consultants, outreach budget, personnel costs, and indirect costs.
  • Utilise data-driven insights to optimise resource use and enhance project efficiency.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration and Continuous Improvement:
  • Work closely with other departments and programmes at GDN, in particular the GDN Communications Unit and the Programme and Research teams, and champion a culture of collaboration, learning, and innovation across the organisation.
  • Drive continuous improvement by incorporating feedback and lessons learned into future planning.

This is a full-time role and might require international travel up to 15% of your time.

Duration of Assignment

The initial appointment is for 24 months, renewable, conditional to a six-month probation period. The renewal is conditional on the availability of adequate financial resources and on the successful expansion of the initiative.