British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful has announced he will be stepping down from his role at the top of the fashion magazine after six years.

The 51-year-old will take up a newly created role beginning next year as editorial advisor at British Vogue and global creator and cultural advisor to Vogue – aimed at growing the brand globally.

The new role was created by Enninful, US Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintour and Roger Lynch, chief executive of Conde Nast, the PA news agency has been told.

Enninful told staff in a memo that he had been in discussions with Dame Anna and Mr Lynch about how he can play a “broader role in enhancing Vogue globally”.

The memo read: “I am excited to share that from next year I will be stepping into the newly appointed position of Editorial Advisor at British Vogue and Global Creative and Cultural Advisor, Vogue, where I will continue to contribute to the creative and cultural success of the Vogue brand globally whilst having the freedom to take on broader creative projects.

“To optimise my increased global responsibilities, and to give British Vogue the new focus it will deserve, we saw the opportunity to hire, in concert with our global editorial structure, a Head of Editorial Content for British Vogue.

“The position will partner very closely with you all and Anna, and will initially report to me until we have onboarded them.

“For now everything remains the same, and I’m so excited about what the future holds for us. I would like to thank Roger and Anna for their continued support.”

Ghanaian-British Enninful took over as editor-in-chief in August 2017, as the first black man to hold the top job at the British fashion magazine, and in December 2020 was promoted to European editorial director of Vogue.

During his six years at the top of the fashion magazine, he has continued to break boundaries and been a champion for greater inclusivity in the industry.

Enninful recently described the May issue of the publication, which focused on inclusivity and featured five disabled people on its cover, as “one of the proudest moments of my career”.

Inside, 19 disabled people from the worlds of fashion, sport, culture and activism were featured through interviews and a personal essay.

The issue was made available in a physical braille edition as well as a recorded audio description for the first time in the magazine’s history.