Political Reporter

As part of a UK-wide ground-breaking initiative between the BBC and regional publishers, we are seeking to recruit a Political Reporter/ Local Democracy Reporter based with the Stoke Sentinel, home to one of the country's most respected daily titles and to the website StokeonTrentLive.

About the scheme

This unique scheme is designed to increase coverage and scrutiny of local authorities across the UK. Funded by the BBC and run by media publishers, the reporters will offer in-depth coverage of our local authorities. The key aim will be to ensure deep scrutiny of the way our local government institutions operate, decisions they make and how they spend public money. Successful applicants will play a vital part in launching the scheme and ensuring it is a success, with the aim of expanding it in future years.

Acting as a trusted source of news and ambassador for the scheme, the successful applicant will be adept at identifying issues and stories buried in council agendas which need to be brought to the public's attention. Reporting to the local newsdesk, this role offers the chance to get involved in a high-profile initiative that is improving coverage of local democracy across the country"

Working with its committed team of digital and print journalists, you will be part of a team responsible for covering the business of Stoke City Council and Staffordshire County Council. You will provide robust reporting from council meetings and documents, search out off-diary stories and analyse how decisions impact on the lives of people who live and work in the area.

As well as your work appearing online and in print, it will also be published on the wire of content accessible to the BBC and other publications and broadcasters throughout the region, potentially bringing a huge audience to your stories.

You will be an enthusiastic and capable journalist with experience of working to tight deadlines alongside a shorthand proficiency of 100wpm. This essential criteria will go hand in hand with your ability to provide outstanding content in text, audio and video format. You will be able to demonstrate a deep understanding of local government and a track record of delivering great ideas for content and building contacts. A solid working knowledge of social media and the way it can be used to drive audience and engagement is important too. We are ideally seeking candidates qualified to senior standard or equivalent with two years experience but applications from trainees approaching senior qualifications will be considered.

In addition to competitive salaries and a contributory pension scheme, Reach plc offer a whole host of voluntary flexible benefits. These include a car scheme, holiday purchase, childcare vouchers, cycle scheme, staff discounts, season tickets & parking loans and an employee assistance programme.

We are committed to equal opportunity for all. We may collect relevant data for monitoring as part of our candidate registration process. We will be reviewing applications as they are received so please don't delay in submitting your application.