Job title: Reporter / Senior Reporter
Location: London
Salary: Negotiable and dependent on experience
Length of contract: Full-time, one-year contract with possibility of extension
Deadline: 5pm on Sunday September 1, but applications will be assessed on a rolling basis and we reserve the right to close the vacancy early.
Job details:
About LabourList and this role:
We are looking for a political journalist full of energy, enthusiasm and ideas to join LabourList at an exciting and important moment for us with Labour now in power.
LabourList is the leading dedicated media platform covering all things Labour, providing breaking news, insider analysis and robust party debate through our website, daily newsletter and events programme.
We are supportive but independent of Labour, with readers and writers from across the party and beyond, from many MPs and members to policy experts. Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has called us a “wonderful” resource for the labour movement – and columnist Polly Toynbee has said she “couldn’t do without LabourList’s information and analysis”.
You’ll be itching to report and share your take on the big Labour news stories everyone’s talking about, uncover and break the Labour stories no-one knows about, and commission and edit topical, punchy comment pieces.
You’ll have good political knowledge, an ease chatting to people, and the desire to make a mark and build our audience through original reporting and thoughtful analysis.
The role is likely to be based in Westminster several days a week and remotely the rest, with occasional working elsewhere such as during Labour conference or elections.
How to apply for this political journalist job:
To apply, please send your CV and a cover letter outlining how your skills and experiences match the job description and person specification (plus a few lines on why you want the role), to [email protected].
We are seeking applications from everyone, but would particularly encourage those from backgrounds under-represented in senior media or political roles to apply. If you have any questions please also contact us via the same email (and there’s no such thing as a stupid question).
What the job role is likely to involve:
- Find and write original and breaking stories and analysis on Labour news
- Curate wider Labour news and comment for our daily newsletter
- Live-tweet/blog political events
- Use online platforms to source, upload, promote and monitor performance of content
- Build and maintain wide-ranging contacts, from MPs to CLPs
- Edit content by contributors/colleagues
- Occasionally represent LabourList at events or on broadcast media
What we’re looking for in applicants:
Skills (essential)
- Turn wide-ranging material into lively, accurate news or analysis to short deadlines
- Generate original stories or analysis via contact-building, online tools or thinking creatively
- Approach and quickly build rapport with new people, from voters to MPs
- Work well in a team and on your own
- Learn and adapt quickly, from understanding Labour to helping LabourList seize new opportunities
- Interested in and supportive of Labour politics
Experience and knowledge (essential)
- 1+ year’s paid journalism experience, including writing original and breaking stories
- Knowledge of UK politics
Experience and knowledge (desirable)
- NCTJ and media law training
- Understanding of how to boost content on search engines/social media
- Labour party knowledge and contacts
- Experience doing high-profile and vox pop interviews
- Knowledge of devolved government, regional or local politics
- Experience using content management systems and multiple social media platforms
- Experience with data analysis, photography, or live-tweeting/blogging
If you can meet most but not all of the criteria listed, we would still encourage you to apply. Note also this is not an exhaustive or fixed list of duties, which may develop over time in a small team.
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