Government advertises new “Twitter Tsar” role
Britain’s civil service is bucking the downturn by advertising a new job vacancy on its website - a “Twitter Tsar” which at £142k a year pays just a smidgen less than the Prime Minister’s salary.
The lucky candidate will bear the official title of Executive Director of Digital, in a role which will see the appointee tasked with ensuring that Government is clearly explained on the web, assuming the responsibilities of previous social media champion, Andrew Stott, for whom tweeting formed part of the 9-5 grind but also managing the Directgov consumer website.
Inevitably the news hasn’t been well received on Twitter with scorn being poured on the job specification, “Language skills: none” leaving many people to wonder if the successful applicant need apply in 140 characters or less.
A Cabinet Office official said however: “Twitter will be a tiny part of the job. To call this role a Twitter Tsar is like calling Richard Branson a flight steward.”
The coalition government has said it hopes to axe 75% of all governmental websites, corralling the remainder into one umbrella site - “alphagov.” It is believed such a move would trim annual web spending from £560m a year to £100m per year.