It was with a heavy heart that we received the news that jingkids managing editor Mina Yan will be leaving Beijing within the next few months.

Mina has been with True Run Media — jingkids‘ parent company — for over three years now, but she was well-acquainted with the company and its staff even before then. She had attended pretty much every one of the Beijinger‘s events, from Spicy Fest to Burger Fest and more, and followed BeijingKids (as it was known back then) as her trusty news source. So when former managing editor Kipp Whittaker left his post, Mina happily jumped into the role.

It was in the last year and a half, after she gave birth to her lovely daughter, that Mina really came to understand the significance of the work jingkids does for the expat parenting community in Beijing. As an international-minded parent navigating this city, she became well aware that the English blog and magazine truly serves a unique and important mission — to help expat families maximize their stay, however short or long, in the heart of China.

Mina has been living in China, mostly Beijing, for the last decade since she graduated from university in Switzerland. She had grown up in Orange County, California where her life pretty much looked like the hit TV series “The OC”.

She will soon embark on a new adventure with her family, but before she leaves, we will get to pick her brain and find out what it takes to manage one of the most critical expat publications and blogs for the English-speaking community here, and what the working culture at True Run Media is really like.

Grab a glass of wine and join us in our livestream interview with Mina Yan on Thursday, May 26 at 8pm as she answers your questions about being managing editor for jingkids and more, and we also bid her a fond farewell!

KEEP READING: Hello! Meet the Jingkids Editors

Images: Mina Yan, True Run Media, Uni You

We’re excited to announce the birth of the newest member of our family! Welcome to the True Run Media family, Jingkids Shenzhen!

Jingkids Shenzhen has been in the works for a long time, and we’re so excited to finally be able to announce its arrival! Jingkids Shenzhen is a Chinese-language platform that will publish articles on international education and parenting.

As the latest brainchild of True Run Media, our newest sister brand is sure to quickly become Shenzhen’s go-to source for all your family needs.

True Run Media is a media, lifestyle, advertising, and events company that was founded in 2001. Our company’s mission is to help the international community get the most out of their lives in China. Since 2001, we’ve grown to include seven unique brands – the Beijinger, Jingkids International, Jingkids Beijing Chinese, the Beijinger Chinese, Jingkids Shanghai, and now Jingkids Shenzhen!

Around Beijing you’ll most likely have heard of a few legendary food festivals – Burger Fest, Pizza Fest, and Spicy Fest – all of which are hosted throughout the year by our sister brand the Beijinger. Great job, Big Sis!

And on the family-friendly side, Jingkids International’s annual Jingkids International School Choice Expo has been helping families find the right school for their kids for years, and our latest Jingkids Summer Fling was a successful, fun-packed day of events that also connected parents with numerous options for summer camps for their kids.

With the arrival of Jingkids Shenzhen, True Run Media will be present in three of China’s most bustling cities doing what we do best: bridging the international and local communities.

Each True Run Media account has a unique voice and publishes original content on a daily basis. To follow all of our accounts on WeChat, scan the QR codes below:

The Beijinger

The Beijinger Chinese

Jingkids International

Jingkids Chinese Beijing

Jingkids Chinese Shanghai

Jingkids Chinese Shenzhen

Images: Pexels

We are currently seeking a passionate and talented Brand Manager to take the lead in our kids brands’ niche audience – families and the education sector. If have experience in branding and/or doing events, preferably in the kids/family and education industry (or even in social media), we’d like to hear from you.
我们正在招聘一位富有激情且优秀的品牌经理来引领我们的亲子品牌——涉及家庭和教育方面。如果你在品牌管理或举办活动方面有丰富的经验，更棒的是一直深耕于育儿/亲子和教育行业（甚至是社交媒体类），那么你应该就是我们要找的人。

Responsibilities你的职责将会是：
– Plan and set goals for innovative branding campaigns for events, social media, and strategic partnerships.策划富有创意的品牌活动、社交媒体推广计划及战略合作计划并设定目标。
– Set up a social media strategy with Editorial and Sales (including monitoring competitor presence/perception).与编辑部及销售部合作，制定社交媒体发展策略（包括对竞品的行为表现进行监控及分析）
– Manage the planning, organization and execution of the kids branded events (such as JISE, Halloween, talks/salons, etc) in collaboration with the Key Events Manager. 与大型活动经理合作，从策划、组织到执行层面对该品牌的所有活动进行管理（例如择校博览会、万圣节活动、讲座/沙龙等等）
– Maintain the kids brands’ presence to continue ensuring influence and brand awareness with the community (and hence overall saleability of our products and services).维持该品牌的露出率，提高品牌的知名度及影响力（从而提升我们产品和服务的议价能力）
– Seek out event sponsorships in line with the brands’ identities.根据品牌特性寻求符合条件的活动赞助商进行合作。
– Develop the kids brands’ identities including overseeing events and in-house ads designs.从活动到美术设计等方面提升品牌形象。
– Represent the kids brands, and TRM in general, in community events and gatherings.代表该品牌及母公司参加各类相关活动和聚会。

Your profile我们希望你是:
– Currently live in Beijing (and willing to travel to Shanghai occasionally)现在生活在北京（并愿意偶尔去上海出差）
– Reliable and consistent靠谱且坚持初心
– Great teamwork and at the same time leadership skills优秀的团队合作及领导能力
– Highly creative富有创意

Minimum requirements你还需要满足:
– Bachelor’s degree (preferably in marketing or related field)本科以上学历（市场营销及相关专业优先考虑）
– Minimum one year experience doing marketing, branding, social media and/or events拥有至少1年以上从事市场、品牌、社交媒体或组织活动的工作经验
– Minimum two (2) years of related work experience (for foreigner applicants)至少2年以上与市场相关的工作经验（如果你是外国国籍）
– Fluent English skills and can work comfortably in Chinese (or vice versa)流利的中英双语交流能力

Bonus points if you这些将成为你的加分项:
– Have previous experience working in media, publishing and/or advertising曾在媒体、报刊杂志或广告公司工作
– Have previous experience working with kids, families and/or the education sector曾做过与育儿、亲子或教育相关的工作
– Are a parent家有萌娃
– Have proven connections and/or affiliation to the community与此类领域里的受众群体有密切的接触和联系及并掌握有效资源
– Have worked for one of our competitors previously曾在竞品公司从事类似工作

Interested applicants, please send your updated resume and a cover letter on why you’re the right person to: employment@truerun.com. Due to the volume of applications that we receive, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
感兴趣的小伙伴，请将你的最新版简历及自荐信发送至邮箱：employment@truerun.com。如果你足够优秀，我们将会第一时间联系你。

Opportunities in Beijing are abundant, but not many can compare to that of being able to fully immerse yourself in the diverse communities of expats and locals that exist here through working at beijingkids.

In addition to gaining invaluable work experience with a vibrant company focused on print and digital media, events hosting, and education, beijingkids will provide you with plenty of networking opportunities to get out there and find your tribe.

We are currently seeking a Senior Editor / Deputy Managing Editor (depending on experience) to join the beijingkids team. This position helps with the planning and production of the beijingkids magazine, website, and social media by planning, writing, collecting, and editing assignments, actively participating on social media, and working as a checkpoint to ensure that the production flow runs according to schedule. He/She also represents beijingkids and True Run Media at external events, and liaises with community partners and clients to obtain relevant information and documents to support the brand’s strategic direction. Finally, he/she serves as a back-up when the Managing Editor is away.

Responsibilities

– Participates in editorial planning and execution by sending out and receiving all articles, and giving them an initial polish and formatting.
– Researches and writes content for the magazine (including regular columns such as Indulge, New Arrivals, Blank Canvas, The Circuit, and others).
– Writes at least one feature per month.
– Proofreads editorial content (web and print) when necessary, formats them, and saves them for final copy editing by the Managing Editor.
– Assists the Managing Editor in delegating writing assignments.
– Fills in for the Managing Editor at board meetings, managers’ huddles, and other meetings when necessary.
– Helps the Managing Editor onboard and train interns.
– Communicates with schools to recruit models for photo shoots.
– Attends events on behalf of the brand and the company.

Minimum Requirements

– Two (2) years of related work experience (for foreigner applicants).
– Bachelor’s degree (preferably in journalism, communications, etc).
– Commitment to and passion for the city and community of Beijing.
– Ability to produce under deadline.
– An unparalleled creative streak.
– Outgoing and has a people-person attitude.

Bonus points if you

– Are a parent
– Are comfortable working in both English and Chinese
– Have previous experience working in media, publishing and/or advertising
– Have previous managerial experience

Interested applicants, please send your updated resume and 3 writing samples (or a link to them) to employment@beijing-kids.com. Due to the volume of applications that we receive, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

True Run Media is a proud equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin or disability.

Photo: Lareina Yang

This Saturday between 9am and 4pm, True Run Media (the parent company of the Beijinger, beijingkids, and JingKids) will be attending the 2014 Job Fair for Foreigners at Swissotel to in order to meet prospective employees (both locals and expats) and explain to the community a little more about our goals and what we would like to achieve in the future.

Every time people learn that I work for True Run Media, I tend to get any one of these three reactions: “Wow, that must be so cool!” “I love <insert brand name here>!” or, “I hate your property listings.” And for all of these, I have a standard reply, “Thank you!”

When I start telling them exactly what I do for the company, I almost always get one reaction: “I would love to do your job!” I’m a cheerleader. Well, at least that’s how everyone refers to me in the company. Why? Because I’m the chief shepherd of company culture, overall coordinator of company activities, and a vocal advocate of the company’s mission, vision and values. In other words, I’m everyone’s friend! You could say I’m the counterpart of McDonald’s Chief Happiness Officer! (Yes, that position does exist.)

This is your opportunity to learn more about life as a True Runner – from hiring to orientation sessions, happy hours to ski trips, and parties and events – a life that many are envious of. You will also get a chance to take home some of the freebies we provide our staff, graciously given to us by our friends from venues such as Suzie Wong’s, Q-Mex Bar & Grill, IDC Dental, Alfa, EAST Hotel Beijing, Parlor Bar, O’le Climbing, and palms L.A. kitchen & bar.

At True Run Media, we celebrate diversity, equality, and fun in a multi-cultural environment. We are part of the community we serve and do our best to go the extra mile in everything we do as well as maintaining our competitive streak.

For details of the 2014 Job Fair on Saturday, see the event listing here. We look forward to seeing you there!

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on November 12, 2014

Photo: The Beijinger

True Run Media is a 12-year-old international media company dedicated to helping people in Beijing live their lives to the fullest. Our three magazine titles – 《thebeijinger》, 《beijingkids》 and 《jingkids》（《菁kids》） – and their associated digital entities – cater to the distinct needs of people living in Beijing.

We’re looking for enthusiastic individuals who are interested in joining our fun-loving and dynamic team. Listed below are some of the jobs available at True Run Media:

Junior php / Drupal Developer at True Run Media
the Beijinger is looking for an IT professional to be part of Beijing’s top provider of information about living, working and having fun in the internationally-minded community centered in China’s capital city. We have an aggressive digital growth agenda that requires an accomplished, smart Drupal and PHP developer talent to lead our development team in building Drupal based sites and applications in a high-paced, customer focused environment. Send your c.v. to badrbenjelloun@truerun.com with “DEV” as the subject line. Read more

Web Editor for the Beijinger
the Beijinger seeking a Web Editor to join our team. The Web Editor ensures the timely uploading of content, administration of events and directories and moderation of classifieds for theBeijinger.com website. The Web Editor also provides blogs inspired by the Chinese blogosphere, produces the weekly newsletter, and researches and represents True Run Media at events. Send us links to your work and a resume to info@thebeijinger.com. Read more

Dining Assistant at the Beijinger
the Beijinger and its associated website (www.thebeijinger.com) is seeking a Dining Assistant to join our team who will work with our Dining Editor in gathering, collating and processing all there is to know about Beijing’s vibrant dining scene. Interested? Let us know by sending us your resume — or better yet, your published writing samples or blog / social media posts on food in Beijing to info@thebeijinger.com. Read more

Join the beijingkids Writing Staff
beijingkids, Beijing’s essential international family resource, is seeking an additional staff writer to join its growing magazine and website. The staff writer contributes regularly to the magazine and website, and stays in close contact with international schools, hospitals, play centers and other important organizations in the community to ensure that beijingkids is always the first to know about community happenings. All interested parties should contact us at employment@truerun.com and provide us with their CV along with relevant writing samples. Read more

Intern at the Beijinger
The Beijinger is seeking editorial interns to participate in the planning, research and writing of articles, blog posts and all the other things that go into both the Beijinger magazine and website. Are you living in Beijing and excited to be here, experienced in writing but eager to learn more, hungry for knowledge, versatile and quick to learn, and responsible and hard-working? Then impress us with your CV, links to your blog or online articles, and some recent writing samples. Email us at employment@truerun.com.

Finance Manager at True Run Media
The Finance Manager undertakes the difficult task of ensuring that the company’s cash flow remains positive. The Finance Manager uses long-range financial planning, statistical analysis, profit and loss statements and financial models to evaluate the health of the company and to determine the best path forward to ensure profitability. To apply please send your cover letter, resume and salary expectations to employment@truerun.com. Read more

Jingkids Brand Manager at True Run Media
The Brand Manager is responsible for developing and growing Jingkids’ brand and market presence, managing social media activity and planning and executing events and strategic partnerships. As part of their job, the Brand Manager plans the social media campaigns, distribution and events for Jingkids and set goals with the manager, executes that plan, and also designs all branded gifts for the events. Finally, the Brand Manager works as a point-person who collects ideas for in-house brands, collates them, and works with Production to see them executed. Read more

To read all the jobs available at True Run Media, click here.

This post first appeared on thebijinger.com on March 16, 2014

Photo: True Run Media

Who says being money-driven is a vice? You want to get paid, we need to grow our business – it’s as simple as that.

If you’re outgoing, goal-driven and ambitious and are looking to join forces with Beijing’s most dynamic and well-known English media organization, we’re looking for new Account Executives to expand existing territories, build and maintaining close relationships with key contacts and boldly go where no sales executive has gone before.

Please note that advanced proficiency in Chinese AND English is required. Click here for more information and apply by sending a cover letter, resume and salary expectations to employment@truerun.com.

Do you live to blog and obsess over all things digital? Are you well-connected in Beijing’s international family and education scenes and motivated to be a part of a dynamic team devoted to producing Beijing’s essential expat family resource? 

We’re looking for a full-time Web Editor to help keep this site growing and improving. The ideal candidate should be experienced in blogging, reporting and writing and have professional web and social experience. Chinese speaking and reading skills are a huge plus and parents are especially encouraged to apply.

We’re also looking for a full time School Editor who loves to write and network. If you’re interested in either position or any other editorial opportunities at True Run Media send your cv and at least three writing samples to jerrychan@truerun.com.