Acting Foreign Editor

Acting Foreign Editor

Location:

London

Department

The Sun Online

Salary Range:

Not Specified

Advertising End Date:

10 Aug 2026

The Sun is the biggest news brand in the UK, publishing hundreds of stories a day and reaching over 170m unique users digitally every month. Its exclusives set the news agenda and its campaigns have changed the lives of many. Delivering news, entertainment, and sports coverage to millions of readers every day. With a rich history spanning decades, we are dedicated to providing accurate, insightful, and engaging content across print and digital platforms.

The Sun Online is seeking an Acting Foreign Editor (initially for 6 months) to lead our fast-paced and agenda-setting world news desk. You will be immersed in global affairs and spearhead a world-class team to deliver high-impact journalism that reaches millions. From breaking geopolitical upheavals to uncovering jaw-dropping exclusives and human interest stories, you will thrive in a high-pressure environment where speed, accuracy, and narrative power are paramount.

• Lead and inspire a high-performing team of editors and reporters, fostering a culture of excellence to produce world-beating content 24/7 for a global audience.
• Drive growth through data-led decision-making, utilising analytics to refine audience engagement strategies and dominate search and social platforms.
• Work with audience and homepage teams to ensure stories are optimised for every platform.
• Collaborate closely with our video team to bring video to the heart of our storytelling, both on-platform and on our You Tube and social channels.
• Fully utilise our brand new studio in the heart of the newsroom, ensuring our talent are sharing our exclusive journalism and fast-paced breaking news directly with viewers around the world.
• Work closely with our Sun Club team to bring the best of our journalism to a loyal and growing paying audience who have high expectations.
• Manage pressures of budgeting, rota, and audience appetite to commission and run foreign assignments.
• Nurture and grow our network of stringers to bring in agenda-setting scoops and exclusives that resonate with millions of readers around the world.
• Ensure staffing levels are well maintained across a 24/7 news operation, with the ability to scan the horizon for increased coverage pressures and to flexibly adjust the rota to meet demand.
• Meet line-manager responsibilities including providing career guidance, pastoral support and carrying out performance reviews of staff.

• Experience leading a foreign desk or news operation within a high-paced digital environment.
• Proven mastery of breaking news handling and crisis management, with the ability to maintain composure and strategic focus under pressure.
• A passion for - and in-depth knowledge of - news and current affairs around the world.
• Ability to independently ideate and execute top quality exclusives and original features and investigations.
• Exceptional leadership capabilities with a track record of mentoring and managing diverse, multi-disciplinary teams to hit aggressive performance targets.
• Advanced digital expertise, including deep knowledge of SEO, social trends, and algorithm-driven content strategies to maximize global reach.
• Ability to manage and mentor a large and diverse group of talented reporters and editors.

News UK is one of the leading media businesses in the UK and Ireland. Our news brands include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday and The TLS. Our national broadcast brands include talkSPORT, Times Radio and Virgin Radio UK, and we have market-leading local stations across Ireland. Our world-famous brands provide news, analysis, opinion and entertainment to almost 40 million people each month.

Spanning print and pixel, audio and video, events and experiences, our multi-format brands are home to a plurality of opinion, representing the diverse communities we serve. Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose, we exist to promote a fair society, freedom of speech and a little bit of fun. Rethinking continually the business of storytelling, we represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter.

At News UK, we embrace a hybrid work model, currently requiring a minimum of three days per week in the office. This approach fosters collaboration, innovation, and team spirit within our workspace. Certain roles may necessitate additional in-office days; please discuss this with your recruiter for specific requirements.

Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose. We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter. We inform our audiences so that they can make decisions based on trusted information.

We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter most. To ensure these stories resonate with as broad an audience as possible, it is essential that our organisation…