A new project has prompted a series of temporary senior promotions at a regional publisher.

Reach plc has confirmed interim appointments at editor and director level after Jacqui Merrington, pictured, was seconded to a “group-wide project” relating to search engine optimisation.

As a result, Jacqui’s usual role as Reach’s audience and content director for the South West has been assumed by Edd Moore, senior editor at its Plymouth Live website.

Pete Gavan, senior editor for Reach’s ‘Live’ network of regional news titles online, has also added interim responsibility for the Bristol Post’s Bristol Live sister site to his portfolio.

HTFP reported in November how the new senior editor role, which Pete is holding temporarily, had been created at Bristol Live following the launch of a ‘newsletters-first’ strategy by the company.

We also reported last month that Jacqui had been named as one of a number of senior editorial staff charged with helping to implement Reach’s Accelerated Personal Development scheme, which will include reporters being given minimum page view targets.

In a document announcing the project’s launch, the group said she had been given responsibility for examining any Google indexing issues that may affect search and trends writers working under the scheme.

However, Reach has stressed Jacqui’s secondment is not specifically related to the APD project.

Her official title for the duration of the secondment will be audience and content director (search).

A Reach spokeswoman said: “Jacqui Merrington is currently seconded for a group-wide project, hence a chain of moving ups for the time being.”