The Guardian plans to create around 55 new jobs in the UK, US and Australia over the next year.
The 55 new permanent roles will be across editorial, product development, analytics and commercial.
The jobs are part of a multi-million pound investment designed to build a sustainable long-term future for The Guardian by making it “more visual, digital, global and experimental”.
Editor-in-chief Katharine Viner first revealed in an interview with Press Gazette last year that The Guardian had secured funding for a multi-year transformation programme known internally as Project Berger from owners the Scott Trust board.
The Scott Trust holds an endowment fund for The Guardian which stood at £1.25bn last year.
Guardian advertising director James Fleetham has been appointed as commercial director for Project Berger.
New jobs coming in Guardian video and audio
The newsbrand is aiming to reach audiences in new ways globally, especially via more audio and video journalism.
The Guardian made seven external hires for the audio and video journalism team in October including two roles around social video for podcasts and someone to help create a new video podcast in the US.
Some of the new positions this year will also support The Guardian’s growing focus on video in areas like opinion, features and sport.
A new US video team to create visual investigations, data visualisations and social video is being hired.
More new roles will be at Guardian Studios, the newly-created hub for video-first, personality-led journalism. Leah Green, who previously worked on Guardian podcasts Today in Focus and Comfort Eating with Grace Dent but had spent a decade away from the newsbrand, has returned to lead the studios.
Speaking at the WAN-IFRA World News Media Congress in Marseille in May, Viner said the proportion of text versus other types of content published by The Guardian “isn’t right at the moment.
“We currently publish every 24 hours two novels’ worth of words. That’s a lot of words, and I pride myself on being on top of everything we publish, but, you know, two novels every 24 hours is quite tough.
“So I think the proportion is definitely out of whack, and I think particularly perhaps our social media presence – we’re really, really strong in audio, we’re pretty strong in video, but I think we could do a lot more aimed at younger audiences or audiences who want something a bit different.”
The Guardian said its Australia newsroom will lead the way on how the newsbrand should work with talent on social media.
Although all three of The Guardian’s offices produce social-first journalism, Australia is currently the only one with dedicated social hosts such as Matilda Boseley (off-platform host and reporter) and reporter Rafqa Touma.
The Australian team has already run training for reporters in the UK and US to develop social media presenting skills.
Viner told the Marseille Congress that it was “really important not to be too snobby” about influencers and what The Guardian could learn from them.
“Obviously some of them are not based in fact, and some of them you can’t trust what they tell you, but what they have done is do things that I think some news organisations have not, which is build close relationships with their audiences, they really understand the platforms they work on, and actually what I think we should be doing is bringing our journalistic values together with that understanding.
“So what we’re looking to do is think more about what is a Guardian news influencer, what would that look like, where you really could trust the information, but it was appropriate to the platform.”
In the 2024/25 financial year the average number of Guardian employees was 913 in editorial and 758 non-editorial, making a total of 1,671. If these numbers are the same today, the addition of 55 jobs would mean a 3% increase in headcount.
‘Next transformative steps’ for The Guardian
Viner said in a statement on Tuesday: “Being innovative is crucial to The Guardian’s future. Our ongoing investments are about taking the next transformative steps, combining our global reputation for the very best and most impactful reporting with journalism that is more visual, digital, global and experimental.
“At a time when people are confronted by increasing misinformation and divisive technology, journalism is a crucial part of the fightback. These new positions will help the Guardian do this, serving communities and audiences with real global impact.”
Viner revealed last month that more than 80% of Guardian revenue coming from outside the UK did not exist ten years ago. And she said that in the year to 31 March 2026, digital reader revenue from people who pay regularly as “recurring supporters” and one-off donations was up 17% to £125m.
Chief executive Anna Bateson said: “As the Guardian’s business becomes ever more digital and more global, we are intent on making further investments to maximise the reach and impact of Guardian journalism, and to ensure the Guardian remains financially sustainable for the long term.
“As well as investing in world-class editorial positions, we will also invest in product, engineering, commercial and other teams, to help ensure we serve new audiences and keep the Guardian financially sustainable for the long term.”
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