Political Reporter

Political Reporter

Your Team: We are The Scottish Sun. The Scottish Sun is Scotland’s No.1, award-winning newsbrand. The Scottish Sun cares about quality of life, the kind of world we live in, and about people. The Scottish Sun is more than a newspaper. It is an instigator, an entertainer, a cultural reference point, a finger on the pulse and a daily relationship. The Scottish Sun strives to the very highest standards of accuracy in its reporting, and continues to invest in original journalism in print and online.

Your Role: As a Political Reporter, you will be responsible for providing coverage for Scottish and UK politics as well as sourcing and producing engaging and exclusive political stories which keep our audiences engaged and updated on all things politics.

Day to day you will:

• Produce coverage of Scottish and UK politics for the newspaper's daily and Sunday editions and our digital platforms
• Generate exclusive stories and present the ever-changing world of Scottish and UK politics in a bright and accessible way.
• Work with the Associate Editor (Politics) and Chief Politics Writer to ensure compelling content is produced over seven days, generating ideas on a daily basis.
• Think digital first, by providing content and ideas tailored to our online platforms - especially for video - as well as our newspapers.
• Proactively build positive relationships and a network of contacts across the political spectrum and with organisations.
• Maintain a working, in-depth knowledge of the Scottish and UK political landscape - keeping up to speed with the thread of political events.
• You will have the opportunity to act as an ambassador for The Scottish Sun on social media and broadcast channels.
• We are a seven-day operation and weekend working, typically every other Sunday, will be required as well as occasional overnights at political events such as conferences. Occasional Saturday working is also expected, to cover major events.

What we’re looking for from you:

• A proven track record for generating agenda-setting stories and ideas, ideally with experience in political reporting, and a passion for making a difference and improving the lives of readers.
• An ability to adapt your style to news, features and commentary.
• An ability to build good relationships across the political spectrum and with organisations, as well as good knowledge of the use of data.
• An in-depth understanding of the Editor's Code and relevant legislation is essential to the role.
• The ability to work independently when required and organised the day’s political coverage, liaising with news editors and senior executives.
• The ability to work under the pressure of tight and frequent deadlines across our seven-day operation, handling multiple stories throughout a day.
• Drive, flexibility and demonstrable experience working as part of a team.
• Passionate about the work you do, embracing every opportunity to do your best work.
• Principled in the way you go about your role and the decisions you make.
• Purposeful with a strong desire to achieve and deliver work to a high standard.

Life at News

At News UK some of us work flexibly, in many different ways. We encourage you to talk to us about the flexibility you need. We can’t promise to offer exactly what you want, but we do promise not to judge you for asking.

We champion diversity and inclusion, we strive to maximise and encourage every individual’s potential and ensure everyone feels valued. We support this through our Diversity Board, D&I strategy & training, creating more diverse content and our intern and apprenticeship programmes. We also have 8 employee-led networks; Cultural Diversity, News is Out, GenZ, Sustainability Champions, News for Parents, Women in Tech, News UK Christian Fellowship and we are awaiting the launch of our Women’s Steering Group.

We take pride in looking after our amazing talent at News UK supporting the Health and Wellbeing of our staff. We offer private medical insurance covering pre-existing conditions, discounted gym memberships, ClassPass at Home, weekly virtual HIIT, yoga and run club classes, and a ‘Bikes for Work’ scheme, as well as offering opportunities for physio/massage, counselling and legal support.

In addition we also offer:

• A generous pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 5%;
• 38 days holiday and up to 4 volunteering days per year;
• Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary & paternity leave up to 2 weeks;
• Wide range of training available, plus full LinkedIn Learning access.

We want to ensure that everyone we meet has the opportunity to perform to their best when interviewing, so feel free to let us know, at any stage, whether you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, and we will do our best to accommodate.