Manager, Content Insights & Planning

Job Purpose:

To lead the planning and operational alignment of QF’s Newsroom by translating strategic communication objectives into actionable editorial plans, streamlining workflows, and fostering seamless collaboration across entities. The Manager, Content Insights & Planning combines strong organizational skills with audience and performance insight to deliver high-impact content

Key Result Areas:

• Lead the development and management of the newsroom’s editorial calendar, aligning annual, quarterly and monthly content plans aligned with the CCO’s Divisions and QF’s strategic priorities.
• Collaborate with leadership to define annual content themes, editorial pillars and priority campaigns.
• Anticipate trends and integrate forward-looking coverage opportunities into planning cycles (e.g., national, regional, global events).
• Collaborate with leadership to set annual newsroom content themes, editorial pillars, and messaging priorities.
• Support editors and creators by interpreting content performance data and audience engagement insights to inform editorial judgement and strengthen creative decisions.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with divisions and entity focal points to ensure proactive integration of campaigns and initiatives.
• Own and continuously improve newsroom planning frameworks, tools, and systems (e.g., editorial calendars, event schedules, workflow trackers) to ensure visibility and accountability.
• Streamline workflows, identifying redundancies and resolving bottlenecks to ensure efficient resource allocation.
• Interpret content performance data and audience insights to guide editorial judgement and strengthen decisions.
• Lead the newsroom’s KPI tracking, operational dashboards, and performance reporting for leadership.
• Develop workload forecasting models and implement mitigation plans for scheduling conflicts or missed opportunities.
• Draft and enforce SOPs, workflows, and editorial governance standards, ensuring compliance with brand and policy frameworks.
• Research, adopt and embed global best practices and innovative planning technologies (e.g., AI-assisted tools).
• Mentor Newsroom staff, support task delegation, identify training needs, and foster a collaborative, high-performance culture.
• Other reasonable tasks as assigned by supervisor

Minimum Knowledge, Skills & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, Journalism, Media, Public Relations, or related field (Master’s degree preferred).
• 8–10 years of full-time experience in newsroom planning, editorial/content operations, or integrated communications within large, complex organizations, 3+ years of which at a supervisory or leadership role, with experience in managing external agencies and cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning, KPI-driven performance management, and workflow optimization.
• Proven ability to translate strategic directives into detailed operational plans with measurable outcomes.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and cross-functional coordination skills to align multiple divisions and entities.
• Strong analytical mindset with ability to interpret trends, identify risks, and propose data-backed solutions.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and time management.
• Ability to work in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments while maintaining accuracy and composure.
• Innovation-oriented mindset, staying updated on global newsroom best practices and adopting emerging tools and techniques.
• Excellent writing skills, with the ability to draft and edit a variety of written communications, and to articulate ideas clearly and concisely; proficiency in Arabic is an advantage
• Proficiency in MS Office applications, Sprinklr and other relevant software