Join Epigram's Senior Team for 2025/26!

By Annie McNamee, Co-Editor-in-Chief

The time has come again.

Somehow, my time as editor of Epigram is coming to an end, and it's time for this year's senior team (me, Amaan, Sofia, and Will) to pass on the baton. This is bittersweet – I'd love to cling onto this paper forever, but I'm very excited to see what lies ahead for it. If you're thinking of applying for next year's senior team, just do it. If you're anything like me, by the end of the year you won't really be able to imagine how you would've filled your days without it.

Being a part of Epigram is more than just good fun, though. It's an excellent addition to your CV, and it's a great way to learn new skills and develop your writing. We have a pretty good reputation for turning out skilled, successful journalists, PR executives, and even Prime Minister's speech writers (our second ever editor worked directly for Tony Blair!). This year we even won Best Publication at the Student Publication Awards. Have we convinced you yet?

You can apply through this link.

If you're worried that you're not qualified, don't be. All successful candidates will be given full training for their positions, and our handover process will give you the chance to ask any and all questions you may have. We are, above all, here to provide opportunities, and part of that is giving people the chance to grow.

We'll be considering all applicants for all positions, but feel free to tailor your application to your first choice. More information on the application process can be found underneath the roles below. Interviews will be held on May 3 and 4. If you aren't successful please don't be too disheartened; our executive team (committee) applications will open on May 6 and a good president can make or break the year for us, so we'll be looking for some top notch candidates for that too.

Editor-in-Chief (8-12 hours a week)

If you've been involved with Epigram you probably already have a general sense of what the Editor does. You might have asked for some help writing or editing an article, or maybe you met us at a social, WiM event, or at a meeting. This role is rewarding, but, demanding. You are in charge of the overall vision of the newspaper, as well as managing a large team of up to 50 people.

Your main duties will include:

• Overseeing all aspects of the production and running of Epigram, including ensuring that both print and digital content has a consistent voice and aligns with the editorial remit you have set out.
• Liaising with the University Press Office, Bristol SU and other external organisations. Maintaining good relationships with the University and SU is essential.
• Overseeing the editorial team’s creation of the print newspaper ensuring that all editors have had the training they need to produce quality pages. 
• Working with the Business Team to ensure the smooth running of all of Epigram’s operations. 
• Training writers and editors. Part of what makes Epigram so great is our emphasis on producing great journalists, and this requires an EiC who is willing to help newcomers learn the ropes.
• Ensuring that digital content (on the website and social media pages) comes out frequently and at a high standard of quality.
• Hosting regular meetings to ensure that everyone knows what is going on across the paper
• Maintaining our reputation as a campaigning paper. This could mean continuing the Break the Mould campaign, or creating an entirely new campaign based on an issue that matters to the student body.

Sound like fun? It is, we promise. The right candidate will have, or be looking to develop, the following skills:

• Leadership. You'll be working with a lot of different people with a lot of different skills and interests, and it's your job to bring out the best in everyone.
• Timekeeping. Particularly if you are a final year student, you'll need to become an expert at compartmentalising your time.
• Copy and editing. You should have a good grasp of English grammar, and have a general sense of what makes for engaging copy.
• Communication. A lot of this job is meeting people, telling people about the paper, explaining how to do things to writers. You need to be able to express yourself in friendly, simple terms.

You don't need any specific experience, except for having worked with Epigram previously. We're more interested in good ideas than anything else.

Deputy Editor (2-4 hours a week)

This year, we're planning on hiring only one deputy editor. This job is primarily supporting the EiC's in their ideas for the paper, but there is plenty of scope to pursue your own projects as well. For instance, this year one of our deputy editors (Sofia Webster) set up a partnership between Epigram and the Watershed cinema. Basically, you'll be a professional all-rounder.

Your main duties will include:

• Helping the paper go out each month and supporting the print editor with subbing and proofreading.
• Assuming editorial duties if the EiCs are on holiday or unwell.
• Helping train the editorial team and being a point of contact for editors who have questions about things like Ghost or InDesign.
• Generate, maintain, and manage partnerships between Epigram and local businesses or other societies.
• Keep in contact with the business team and act as a point of contact between the editorial and business teams.
• Organising and planning in-person distribution each month.

The skills you'll need are largely the same as EiC, except with a huge emphasis on communication.

Senior Print Editor (4-6 hours a week)

Everyone loves seeing their name in print. Our physical newspaper is a lot of work to put together, but it's part of what makes Epigram special, so this year we're hiring someone whose job it is to oversee the print production process. This is a new role, so you will be helping define it in real time. This role is not about design, but primarily organising the editorial teams so that everyone knows exactly when print deadlines are, and overseeing the proofreading/subbing process.

Your main duties will include:

• Working with designers and senior team to create deadlines for print each month, and communicating those deadlines well in advance.
• Leaving enough time in between the editor's deadline and the day you send to the printers to allow for design edits and proofreading.
• Communicating with sections ahead of time to ensure that no article appears in two print sections in the same paper. For instance, if an article was tagged as 'News' and as 'Music', both sections might put it in their layup. You'll ultimately get the decision as to which section the article fits better in.
• Overseeing proofreading each month. This is essential to the quality of the paper.
• Sending the newspaper to print each month.

You do not need any InDesign experience, but strong attention to detail and timekeeping skills are ideal. Additionally, it is preferable that you will have been in some way involved with the print paper this year, even if this was just laying up your section, or proofreading.

Senior Digital Editor (4-6 hours a week)

Epigram's digital output has always been ahead of its time, and we're sure that having a specific digital editor will continue this legacy. Your job will be to ensure that all articles on our website adhere to our Ghost style guide, as well as overseeing a social media team to create good-looking, user-friendly posts for all of our social media sites including Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok. You'll work alongside the rest of the senior team to commission photographers and illustrators so that our digital presence looks as good as it reads.

Your main duties will include:

• Communicating with section editors to make sure that they can request posts to be created for social media, and either making or tasking someone with the creation of those posts.
• Planning and scheduling when posts will be made and when they will go up.
• Overseeing the overall direction of our social media presence for the year. Maybe you'll focus more on video, or create a better way to publish breaking news. Whatever your focus, make sure it's communicated with your team.
• Training editors on how to use Ghost and acting as a point of contact for anyone with questions about the platform.

A working knowledge of Ghost is desirable. A basic understanding of SEO is a bonus, but not a requirement.

How do I apply?

Applications are open NOW and will close on Monday April 28 at 23:59. We will ask you to fill out a Google form with basic information, and attach a single document with answers to the following questions:

• Please outline what experience you have that would make you good for the role.
• Why do you want to be in the Epigram senior team (instead of just, say, leading a section)?
• What is one thing we did wrong this year that you would like to improve?
• What are your biggest ideas for Epigram in 2025/26? (This can be just one bigger idea or several smaller ones)
• Who is one person you worked under or alongside this year (not in the senior team) that you admire and why?

Please keep your answers to 300 words per question. Remember, more words does not always equal better. If you can say what you need to in 50 words, do it! Please don't spend too long on your application – it doesn't need to be perfect. We just want a sense of you and your ideas.

You can apply through this link.

Good luck!

Will you be applying to join Epigram this year?