Work with us

Authority Media publishes Local Authority and the Kent Current, two independent publications producing original local journalism across Kent and Medway.

We are a small organisation, which means the people we work with have a real influence on what we do. There are no layers of management and little appetite for elaborate presentations that lead nowhere. We value people who can understand a problem, propose a sensible response, and help put it into practice.

We have built both publications from scratch, supported by readers and local organisations that believe their communities deserve serious, independent journalism. We now want to make that work more sustainable and are bringing in specialist expertise to help us do it.

Our current freelance opportunities are below:

Freelance Audience and Subscription Growth Consultant

Fee: £12,000 plus VAT if applicable, paid in two instalments
Basis: Fixed freelance project
Project period: October 2026 to March 2027
Location: Mainly remote, with regular Zoom calls and occasional meetings in Medway
Working with: Editor

Authority Media is the independent publisher of Local Authority and the Kent Current. Both titles have established free and paying audiences, but have grown with limited marketing expenditure.

We now want to understand which audiences, channels, messages, and subscription offers can produce sustainable growth.

We are appointing a freelance Audience and Subscription Growth Specialist to help us improve the complete reader journey, from someone first encountering our journalism to registering for free and becoming a paying supporter.

This is a practical delivery role, not a commission for a standalone strategy. You will lead the audit, test design, measurement, and optimisation while working with Authority Media on implementation. You will not be expected to produce every creative asset or undertake routine campaign administration alone.

You do not need to be a developer or data analyst. We are looking for someone who is comfortable using campaign and subscription data to make decisions, identify what needs measuring, and work with us on proportionate implementation.

We have scoped the project based on around 30 days’ work during the project period. The precise working pattern is flexible, and we will agree on deliverables that can reasonably be completed within that level of commitment.

Review: Examine our existing audience information, campaigns, landing pages, registration routes, and subscription journeys. Identify gaps and agree on a proportionate way to measure results.
Testing roadmap: Develop a prioritised programme of acquisition and conversion experiments, identifying what should be tested, in what order, and how decisions will be made.
Campaign testing: Plan and oversee controlled tests of different audiences, channels, messages, creative approaches, and offers.
Subscriber journeys: Review registration, onboarding, upgrade, payment, and early retention journeys, identifying practical opportunities to improve conversion.
Reporting: Create a simple scorecard that lets us compare campaigns, registrations, paid conversions, and acquisition costs without an elaborate analytics system.
Audience insight: Contribute to audience research and targeted outreach, using the findings to improve messaging, offers, and distribution.
Creative coordination: Brief and work with a separately appointed creative supplier on landing pages and reusable campaign materials.
Handover: Maintain a clear record of tests and results, train our editor, and leave us with recommendations and a practical plan for continuing successful activity.

We are looking for someone who:

Has relevant experience in audience development, paid digital acquisition, subscription growth, membership, or conversion
Can connect advertising expenditure to confirmed registrations and paid subscriptions rather than clicks alone
Combines strategic judgement with practical implementation
Can build proportionate systems for a small publisher
Will transfer their knowledge rather than create an ongoing dependency
Strong campaign strategy, creative, audience development, or subscription experience. You should be comfortable interpreting results, but advanced technical expertise is not required.

Experience in independent media would be valuable, but it is not essential if you can demonstrate relevant work with another subscription, membership, or audience-supported organisation.

We have outlined the principal work we expect the position to cover, but we are open to sensible proposals about how the available time should be prioritised to achieve the strongest result.

Please email hello@authoritymedia.news by 5pm on Wednesday 14 October 2026, using the subject line Freelance Audience Growth Consultant.

Tell us briefly about your relevant experience, availability, and why the position interests you. A CV, LinkedIn profile, website, or examples of previous work are welcome but not essential.

This is a freelance position, not an employment role.

Authority Media welcomes expressions of interest from people of all backgrounds. Please tell us if you need a reasonable adjustment. We will use the information provided only to assess expressions of interest and administer the appointment.

Basis: Fixed freelance project
Project period: October 2026 to March 2027
Location: Mainly remote, with regular Zoom calls and occasional meetings in Medway
Working with: Editor

Freelance Sponsorship and Advertising Sales Consultant

Fee: £7,200 plus VAT if applicable, paid in two instalments
Basis: Fixed freelance project
Project period: October 2026 to March 2027
Location: Mainly remote, with regular Zoom calls and occasional meetings in Medway
Working with: Commercial Lead

Authority Media is the independent publisher of Local Authority and the Kent Current, producing original local journalism across Kent and Medway.

Local Authority currently publishes a quarterly print edition and is expected to move to monthly publication. Its early editions have attracted a promising group of local sponsors and advertisers, including repeat supporters.

We have shown there is demand, but our commercial operation remains relatively informal. We want to improve our sponsorship and advertising packages, pricing, prospecting, pipeline management, and partner retention.

We are appointing a freelance Sponsorship and Advertising Sales Specialist to work alongside our Commercial Lead.

This is not an outsourced sales role. We want someone who can improve our commercial offer, test it through selected live activity, and leave us with a manageable system. The specialist will not be expected to assume permanent ownership of our commercial relationships.

We have scoped the project based on around 18 days’ work during the project period. The precise working pattern is flexible, and we will agree on deliverables that can reasonably be completed within that level of commitment.

Commercial audit: Review our existing sponsors and advertisers, media pack, packages, pricing, inventory, and sales activity.
Products and pricing: Develop clearer print, newsletter, website, sponsorship, advertising, and combined packages, supported by a practical pricing and discounting structure.
Partner segmentation: Identify priority sponsor and advertiser types, likely prospects, and the strongest reasons for each group to work with us.
Sales materials: Improve the media pack and produce usable email templates, call structures, sales scripts, and responses to common objections.
Pipeline and forecasting: Establish a straightforward prospect pipeline, reporting method, and sales calendar aligned with more frequent print publication.
Live testing: Work alongside our Commercial Lead on selected prospecting and sales tests, review the results, and improve the approach.
Retention: Examine why sponsors and advertisers buy, renew, or decide not to continue, and develop practical follow-up and renewal processes.
Handover: Leave us with documented packages, processes, templates, recommendations, and the skills to continue using them.

We are looking for someone who:

Has relevant experience in media sponsorship, advertising sales, commercial partnerships, publishing, or a comparable field
Understands sponsorship and advertising packages, pricing, prospecting, pipeline development, and retention
Can combine commercial strategy with practical sales activity
Is comfortable working alongside the person who owns the existing commercial relationships
Can build an effective system appropriate for a small publisher

Experience in local or independent media would be particularly useful, although we are open to relevant experience from other sectors.

We have outlined the principal work we expect the position to cover, but we are open to sensible proposals about how the available time should be prioritised to achieve the strongest result.

Please email hello@authoritymedia.news by 5pm on Wednesday 14 October 2026, using the subject line Freelance Sponsorship and Advertising Consultant.

Tell us briefly about your relevant experience, availability, and why the position interests you. A CV, LinkedIn profile, website, or examples of previous work are welcome but not essential.

This is a freelance position, not an employment role. Authority Media intends to appoint an independent supplier under a written contract for services, with the final contractual and tax treatment reflecting the actual working arrangements.