Head of Commercial Content
Department: Creative Solutions
Location: London (Hybrid)
Reports to: Director, Creative Solutions
Creative Solutions at Time Out
Creative Solutions is Time Out’s branded content and partnerships team. We create best-in-class campaigns that connect brands to culture through storytelling, experience and editorial craft, spanning digital, social, video, events and more.
What sets us apart is more than just our cultural authority and editorial credibility, we’re a tight-knit, collaborative team with a shared sense of pride in what we do. Our cohesion, creativity and team spirit allow us to consistently punch above our weight and produce work that’s smart, joyful, and impactful.
From native content to multi-platform partnerships, we’ve delivered standout campaigns for brands like Uber Eats, TUI, P&O Cruises, Pepsi, Madri and more. We understand what makes city-based audiences tick and we help brands reach them in ways that feel natural, exciting and memorable.
Role Summary
The Head of Commercial Content is a pivotal leader within Time Out’s Creative Solutions team, sitting within the commercial team, this role is responsible for overseeing the creative delivery of our branded content campaigns. This role ensures our output is consistently on-brand, editorially sharp, culturally relevant and flawlessly executed.
Working in lockstep with Project Management, they are jointly responsible for delivering campaigns on time, on budget and to standard. Alongside managing a trusted freelance network, this person also manages our commercial designer. They will also collaborate with the wider department to help shape the future of Time Out’s branded content across social, video, events and beyond.
The ideal candidate is both a hands-on creative leader and a cultural thought leader confident in presenting to clients, speaking publicly and representing Time Out’s creative voice in the industry.
Key Responsibilities
- Due to the high volume of commercial content sold and produced, this role will involve managing a large network of trusted freelance writers, commissioning and editing their work. You will be responsible for overseeing this process, including managing rounds of feedback from clients
- Managing Time Out’s commercial designer and working closely alongside this person to develop the look and feel of commercial content campaigns.
- When required, commissioning other freelancers including picture researchers and sub-editors.
- Own the creative delivery of all branded content campaigns, including formats such as digital features, dedicated newsletters, social posts and video.
- Use the Time Out CMS to build feature pages, and occasionally post social content on Time Out’s Instagram.
- Work in close partnership with Project Management to ensure campaigns are delivered on time, on budget and to the highest standard.
- Uphold Time Out’s tone of voice and editorial standards across all commercial formats.
- Collaborate with Creative Strategy on responses to brief, ensuring creative feasibility and alignment with production capabilities.
- Act as final sign-off for all commercial content, providing clear, strategic creative feedback to writers, editors, videographers and designers.
- Work with the wider Creative Solutions team to evolve and elevate our branded content offering across social, video, events and new formats.
- Continuously refine creative processes, templates and systems to improve output and efficiency.
- Represent Time Out at client meetings, speaking engagements, presentations and industry events when required.
- Play an active role in evolving our commercial content offering, from developing new formats and creative approaches to identifying trends and opportunities for innovation.
- Support pitch development and delivery, contributing ideas and presenting work to clients confidently.
- Maintain strong relationships with internal teams, including Sales, Editorial, Design, Video and Social.
- Utilise insights and data from campaigns to analyse our performance, test and tweak creative strategy when required to optimise performance
Skills & Experience
- 5 years’ editorial experience preferably in branded content, commercial editorial or creative production roles.
- Proven track record of delivering high-quality content across various formats.
- Strong editorial instinct and a deep understanding of Time Out’s tone of voice, audience and cultural positioning.
- Experienced in commissioning and managing freelance writers and creatives.
- Skilled content ideator with experience across digital, video and social - experiential a bonus.
- Highly collaborative, with experience working hand-in-hand with Project Management and Strategy teams.
- Comfortable representing the brand externally, whether pitching to clients or speaking on stage.
- A confident communicator and natural team leader, able to give clear direction and constructive feedback.
- Calm under pressure, solutions-focused and able to manage multiple campaigns simultaneously.
- Familiarity with Trello project management software is a bonus
What Success Looks Like
- Branded content that’s editorially sharp, creatively distinctive and consistently delivers for clients.
- Projects run smoothly, efficiently, and profitably, in close coordination with Project Management.
- A high-performing in-house and freelance team delivering best-in-class content at scale.
- Strong collaboration with the wider team (including the editorial, social and video teams) to shape and evolve Time Out’s creative output across all platforms.
- Confident, compelling external representation of Time Out’s creative offering at client meetings and public events.
- A recognised voice in culture, aligned with Time Out’s values and energy.
About our culture
At Time Out Group we believe in diversity and equal opportunity for all people. We do not discriminate against external or internal candidates on the basis of age; disability; gender, gender reassignment; race; religion or belief; sexual orientation; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity. We believe that diversity develops creativity and enables personal and professional growth where we all learn from each other. We believe in an open culture where ideas are shared candidly and where there is no fear of failure, but rather an understanding that we must experiment and have the freedom to succeed. We believe that everyone has the right to express themselves as they are as this enriches us all. We believe in an open world, social justice, and the pursuit of happiness, after all, we are in the happiness business.
