Content and SEO Coordinator of the Editorial Team [CLOSED]

My name is David and I founded a tech website called VPNOverview.com. We write about VPN software, but also about password managers, antivirus, online privacy, cybersecurity, geopolitics, streaming, downloading, censorship and online freedom in a broader sense. We’re active in 10 languages, so we’re striving for quite an international reach.

Currently, we’re looking to fill a key role within our organization: someone to further develop our in-depth English content and SEO strategy, who also coordinates, manages and mentors our English editorial team of remote freelancers, whilst working closely with our chief editor, design manager and CEO. You will be doing lots of research, strategy development, coordination and talking to people.

Our organization is small (a core of 6 in the Netherlands, and 15 to 20 people working remotely from around the globe). Currently, we’re going through some additional growth. We are restructuring and could use your help and expertise!

Main responsibilities and tasks:

• You develop a long-term content strategy for the English section of VPNOverview.com (evergreen content, news, software reviews) and keep this strategy up-to-date.
• You engage in keyword, competitor, and market research to identify trends and topics the editorial team should focus on.
• On a weekly or biweekly basis, you decide which new articles and updates the editorial team should focus on. You are responsible for preparing a concrete planning/calendar and briefing for each individual member of the English editorial team (about 8 people, and growing).
• Under your supervision, you and the editorial team come up with ideas for special news articles/studies/research, and you manage our editors and researchers to make sure great ideas are actually being executed.
• It’s your responsibility that the English news section covers relevant developments and events by maintaining a calendar for sports events and tasking editors to write about these subjects when they are about to take place.
• There will be meetings with the Translations Manager to determine which articles should be updated or written to prepare them for translation.
• You make sure English articles are being published in accordance with the content planning, and that they’re properly checked by the Chief Editor.
• Frequently there will be meetings with the Chief Editor, CEO, and Designer to make sure their input is considered when forming the content strategy and planning.
• You assist with the recruitment and onboarding of new editors occasionally.
• You keep in touch with the PR and social media team to plan the PR efforts for upcoming and existing articles.
• You keep an eye on the fact that English user comments on our website are being answered adequately by editors.
• And you make sure all editors know what to do, get the support they need, and are able to make their deadlines.

An example of what a week could look like:

• Monday: There’s a meeting at the start of the week with the Chief Editor, CEO, Designer and Translation Manager to discuss what the priorities for the next two to four weeks should be. After that, you communicate with the Chief Editor to see how the new editors are coming along and you check in with each editor individually to see if they need anything and to brief them on relevant developments. You also talk with the news editors to plan specific sports events, and you have a digital meeting with the PR and social media team to go through the planning for the coming weeks.
• Tuesday: You check if there are any new user comments on the website and ask one of the available editors to respond to these user comments. After that, you’ll be doing extensive research regarding new topics (keyword research and competitor analysis with SEO tools). You analyze our website to assess which articles are starting to be outdated and require an update. You decide which topics the team should focus on, determine a workload and task division, and you prepare a clear briefing for each individual editor (with the topic, important keywords, possibly convenient information sources, and a rough schedule on when the articles need to be finished or updated).
• Wednesday: You answer questions from an editor on how to tackle a certain sensitive topic in an article about government censorship, which could potentially pose legal difficulties. You have a call with the CEO to discuss the implications and report your findings to the editor. After that, you organize and host an extensive online meeting with one of our cybersecurity researchers and two of our editors to brainstorm about a new original research article for the website. After the call, you prepare a briefing for everyone that attended the meeting and set a new meeting where everyone will reconvene. You also inform the PR and social media team so they can start planning the outreach strategy for the original research piece you’re working on.
• Thursday: You go over the long-term content planning with the CEO and make sure the Chief Editor and Designer have enough capacity to take care of all the new content that is being created. After that, you check whether articles that were scheduled for publication this week have indeed been published as planned. You have a chat with an editor that seems to be behind on schedule, to see what’s up and to see if she needs help. After this, you analyze the news section to see if things are going smoothly and the productivity of our news writers is satisfactory. The CEO sends you some videos and articles with ideas for expanding our website. You make some notes and discuss these with a particular editor who is knowledgeable about the subject. You integrate it into the workload for the coming week.
• Friday: You have a thorough look at what the competition has been up to in terms of content creation, by simply browsing their websites and making notes. You get some interesting new topic ideas with quite a high priority, and consequently, you prepare briefings for two specific editors to update certain existing articles as well as write 3 new articles. You have a digital meeting with the Dutch Chief Editor and the Translation Manager to check how the publishing of articles in the different languages is coming along. After that, you check some SEO tools and website analytics to see how the site has been doing these past few weeks. You prepare an overview of the progress this week and make some concrete suggestions for the coming week.

You are really the COORDINATION MASTERMIND of the organization. Written content is our main asset. When it comes to the content on our website, your role is to make sure that everyone knows what to write about, how to do it properly, and when to do it. You will frequently be in touch with editors, the CEO, Chief Editor, Marketing Team and Designer. We have great writers, editors, and designers and they need you as their amazing coordinator/project manager.

Competencies:

• Experienced in keyword research and SEO: you’re familiar with some of the leading SEO tools and keyword tools, for instance Ahrefs, Majestic, Semrush, Google Trends, Google Ads Keyword planner, SurferSEO or similar.
• Strong coordination and organizational skills
• Profound experience with project management and online content strategies
• Able to handle a challenging workload and juggle several tasks
• Great English language proficiency
• Familiarity with WordPress and basic HTML is a plus
• Excellent people management and leadership skills
• Eye for detail
• A huge urge to be the best, build and manage an awesome editorial team and crush the competition with us

What can you expect from us?

We want to offer you a core position in our team of international professionals. Our team mainly consists of journalists, copywriters, translators, programmers, designers, cybersecurity experts, and SEO specialists. We want you to grow with us. You will be working remotely, but in the long term are also welcome to come work in our office in the Netherlands. We'll offer you a competitive salary, as we are truly looking for someone who wants to excel. You will get access to all the tools you need and we'll also grant you access to world-class courses and training materials for your personal development, so you can grow and optimize your skillset.

• Hours per week: 36 to 40
• Salary: Salary is around +- USD 1800 per month for a full-time engagement for an experienced project manager. It could even be higher if you bring a highly specialized skillset.

There will be a 3-month trial period for the role to check that we are a good match for each other (fully paid).

How to apply

Please share the link to your CV and a link to your letter of motivation for this position. Make sure to explain why you think you are the right person for the job!

Deadline: Sunday May 9th I will be evaluating all applications

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best regards, David