Jobs and Ops at The Week, TES, Creative Lives In Progress, and Many, Many More 🌊
Plus, our thoughts on the state of job applications in journalism.
Afternoon, it’s Jem here with you this week, screeching in to write an opening to this newsletter at exactly 5:01pm. It’s now almost a month exactly since I landed back from my big adventure of cycling from Lands’ End to John O’Groats — and most of my work life since has been consumed by recruitment. Currently, we’re knee-deep in the process of hiring for two roles, one senior, and the other our entry-level fellowship.
The process — which is very much still ongoing — has involved sifting through hundreds of applications, dozens of chats, and writing a mind-numbing amount of feedback. According to my time tracker, I’ve already spent more than three and a half solid working days slowly working my way through the to-do list.
That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed it — meeting new people and seeing new ideas is one of my favourite things to do as a journalist. It’s also in no way comparable to the pains of the job hunt — but it has given me a lot of time to think about how often we purely talk about what job applicants can do better, rather than what the industry itself needs to change to ensure an equitable process. For those of us privileged enough to be in a position to hire people, it’s on us to make the system work better.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to reflect this in our processes. From stripping back what we ask from applicants to reframing how we write feedback, we’ve tried to be as equitable as possible in our design. You can see a deeper look at what we’ve put in place this time around in this TikTok video — but we’re just one organisation, and we know we’re not there yet either. In short, if you have thoughts about hiring, either as a recruiter or job hunter, we’d love to hear them.
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The Congleton Chronicle Series is a paid-for weekly newspaper, which is independently owned and says it prides itself on avoiding clickbait. They’re looking for a new trainee, in a role that pays £20,319pa.
This one is from a mystery charity who are in need of a content writer. You’ll be paid up to £25,000pa and will work on creating compelling content about biomass and solid fuel heating.
TES, which used to be called The Times Educational Supplement, is hiring a junior news reporter to find exclusives and must-read stories for their sector. They’re paying £26–28,0000pa.
United Christian Broadcasters has an opening for a broadcast journalist, and are open to entry-level candidates with a relevant qualification. It pays from £24,000pa.
Yotel, which runs 22 jazzy-looking hotels, is in need of a marketing intern to help them increase their brand awareness through digital channels. They’re paying £21,672.56pa, which is incredibly specific.
Asian Standard Newspaper and Asian Sunday Online are expanding and have roles open for journalists/reporters to produce digital stories for their community. It’s a full-time role with pay starting at £21,000pa.
Synergy is the magazine for the Society and College of Radiographers and is read by 32,000 members. It’s published by Haymarket and they’re looking for a staff writer — it pays £24,000pa and no specialist experience is needed.
🏡 🚨 This is an entry-level job writing about birds, could anything be more wholesome? Answer is on the back of a postcard. Either way, the RSPB is paying £25,723–27,614pa for a junior copywriter and they’re flexible on your location.
🕑 🏡 🚨 Both of the jobs with the Rory Peck Trust close in a few days and are a great way to support journalists and build your network. There’s a role as a programme assistant looking at their grant applications and a training assistant looking at training delivery and research. Both pay £25,000p FTE.
🚨[AD] It’s your last chance to apply for the social video producer job at Evening Standard. You’ll work across social video trends, news clips, and shooting lifestyle video content. It pays £30–35,000pa.
Mark Allen Group has a reporter opening for their brand Portfolio Adviser, generating off-diary stories, interviewing and presenting at events, and putting together longer-form content for the magazine. It pays up to £30,000pa.
Global Water Intelligence Magazine, covers water stuff, as you’d probably expect. They are hiring a deputy projects editor to work on a project that will track 1,300 infrastructure projects across the world. It pays £28–35,0000pa.
🚨 Last call for the Creative Lives In Progress gig as a staff writer and social media editor. They’re a great organisation championing access to the wider arts industry and this role pays up to £27,000pa.
A few more jobs from Future this week — it’s my favourite discovery of the month that they list salaries on all roles. There’s a staff writer gig at Tom’s Guide to focus on mobile phones (pays £25,000pa) and a content producer at Horse & Hound (which pays £29,000pa).
I’m sorry, I know I make this joke every time. Student loans are shitty, but you can claw some cash back from them by working for them as a content designer. I’m sorry, I just can’t help it. It pays £34,500–42,000pa, they’re flexible on location, and you’re basically writing content for a variety of different formats.
The Museum of London, which used to have a bit of the actual fatberg on display, is looking for a senior media officer to help generate media interest in launching a new location for the museum. It pays £35,007pa.
🏡 Shelter, the housing charity, has an advert up for a copy lead, who will oversee a team of two writers working on all kinds of copy from social media to policy reports. It pays £56,828pa.
🕑 A mystery company is looking for a content and website manager to write, edit, and proofread, as well as think about social media and SEO. All I can glean is they make stuff out of hardwood and it pays £48,000pa FTE.
The Week is hiring a senior editor to work on global news stories. It’s a great gig for someone who likes staying across the agenda and it pays up to £50,000pa.
🕑 Bromford, a housing association, is looking for a senior content producer to work primarily on video that makes an impact. It pays £40,000pa FTE, and they’re looking for someone to work 30 hours a week.
And, finally, the team at Money Marketing, a publication run by emap are in need of a new editor. You’ll be paid £53,000pa and set the overall strategy for the publication, as well as oversee day-to-day quality.
The lovely Holly Beddingfield, who now works for The News Movement, is searching for freelance social video presenters who can speak German, Italian or Spanish. Bonus points if you’re able to get to London easily.
[AD} We got this one sent to us directly — so act fast! There are a few opportunities for casual shifts across Mirror Online, including on news, features, TV, showbiz, audience, and production. Training is offered if you haven’t worked with them before, but you will need previous experience. Email jane.lavender@trinitymirror.com with a short note about your past work.
🏡 The Royal British Institute of British Architects is a bit of a mouthful to say, but they’re looking for a co-editor to work as a consultant, advising on things like their review strategy and social media. It pays a £2,000 honorarium.
🚨 [AD] DeHavilland is looking for a freelance assistant content editor to work for approximately 16 hours a week until December. You’ll mainly be working on sub-editing and proofreading and it pays £20ph.
🏡 A public agency whose projects focus on the environment is in need of a communications assistant, on a day rate. It pays up to £375 a day for six months and the job description lists knowledge of PowerPoint as number one, which is fun.
We mentioned in last week’s newsletter that Katie Russell, who is digital editor at Penguin Books UK, was assigning specific crime fiction-related stories. Katie is also now open to pitches more generally — particularly for Penguin’s crime website deadgoodbooks.co.uk.
Stan Horaczek is looking for writers to write mostly research-based buying guides for Popular Science next month. The pay is $450 per story, and you’ll apparently be working across “weird but fun” topics which sounds intriguing.
A reminder that Climate Home News is seeking pitches on the renewable energy supply chain — think mining, manufacturing, transport, installation, and innovation. They’d love to hear from reporters in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
The Reynolds Center for Business Journalism is looking for freelance journalists to cover business topics for businessjournalism.org. It’s pretty decent pay at US$500 per piece, and there’s also a helpful pitching guide.
For any wine lovers out there, Rachel Tepper Paley wants stories for Wine Enthusiast to run during Hispanic Heritage Month. It pays $0.50 per word and there is a handy pitching guide available online.
Aaron Leaf, from CBC Arts, which publishes art and culture stories relevant to Canadian artists, is looking for pitches — especially those exploring technology and the arts, digital subcultures and all things new and weird online.
🎪 Don’t forget to get your tickets for our upcoming event on how to write cover letters — we’ll be talking about how to frame your story, what you should include, and how it varies at different stages of your career.
🚨 There are just two days left to apply for The Hostwriter Prize. There are two strands available: one offers a prize of €1,000 for a piece of collaborative journalism that has already been published, and the other offers €1,500 for a story that you’d like to work on.
🚨 Just a few days left to apply for the Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant too. It’s open to photographers aged 24 and under and there’s £10,000 on offer to go towards a journalism project, as well as mentoring and guidance.
🚨 Girls in Marketing is running a free three-day programme that will run virtually to equip you with new marketing skills and knowledge. It’s open to anyone up to mid-level and it takes place next week, so be quick.
🚨 Last call to put yourself forward for The Radio Academy’s 30 Under 30. Yes, this is a PSA that you can apply for most 30 Under 30 lists.
🚨 #Merky Books’ fourth annual prize is also on our radar as closing soon. It’s open to unpublished, underrepresented writers under 35 and offers a book publishing contract as well as a writer’s camp to make your book happen.
🚨 Berlin Science Week is offering a research grant to journalists from outside the country who need financial assistance to come and report on science-based topics. In total, you can expect up to €1,000 of funding.
The Tarbell Fellowship this year will focus on early-career journalists who want to work on projects around AI. It’s a yearlong fellowship that includes a nine-month placement at a major newsroom and a two-week summit in Oxford.
Don’t forget to order your free printed copy of the Limit Less media guide from the Institute of Physics. It’s packed with simple tips and a handy checklist to make inclusive science reporting simple, even on a busy deadline.