Positive Action Scheme 2026 - Disabilities

The Guardian believes there should be a better representation of our diverse society in the media and, to break down barriers, each summer we run a work-experience scheme for those considering a career in journalism.

This year our London office is running a paid work-experience scheme for applicants with disabilities. (This includes people with visible and invisible disabilities, chronic conditions, and mental health challenges.)

Successful applicants will spend two weeks learning about different aspects of journalism, shadow journalists and have a chance to pitch story ideas. You will see up close the daily discussions and decision-making which help create our newspaper and website.

Sections you'll experience might include Features, Multimedia, Sport, Saturday magazine, Podcasting, Business/Consumer, Environment, among others.

You’ll also have an experienced journalist as a mentor, to offer advice on your future career.

We want the placements, which will all take place between Monday June 8 and Friday June 20, to be accessible to as many people as possible and will do our best to accommodate any reasonable adjustments you may need for access to this opportunity (eg accessible interview locations, sign language interpretation, extended time for interview tasks, alternative application formats).

And if office working is not possible for you, we’ll aim to offer the chance to work remotely. If you'd like to be considered for a remote scheme, please add a note at the end of your covering letter.

Criteria

To be considered for a placement you must be at least 18 years old, with the right to train in the UK at the time of application, and be able to demonstrate a genuine interest in journalism – for example, having work published online or in print, involvement in student journalism, work experience on local/specialist media, or an impressive personal website or blog.

The aim of this scheme is to introduce aspiring journalists or those at the start of their careers to the Guardian’s editorial environment. For this reason experienced professional journalists, and those who have received a previous placement at GNM, are not eligible to apply for these positions.

For applicants who have no access to accommodation in London (nor the ability to travel daily to our King’s Cross headquarters), the Sarah Hughes Trust has kindly offered to provide a small number of grants. If you'd like to be considered for one of these, you can do so via the application form.

Application instructions

Please complete the application form and attach the following three items within ONE document:

• A covering letter (no more than 150 words) explaining how you qualify for this diversity scheme, why you're applying, and what you hope to learn from your time with us. If there's a particular section (or sections) you'd like to work in, please let us know and we’ll try to place you there
• Your current CV
• A 400-word feature or comment article on a current issue which you believe will be of interest to Guardian readers.

Please note, for your application to be considered, we require all of the above to be included.

Deadline for receipt of applications is midnight on Sunday 29th March 2026.

Interviews are scheduled to take place in late April or early May.

We're committed to providing reasonable adjustments as detailed by the Equality Act 2010. It is important to us that you feel supported and comfortable throughout the process, in order to perform your best. Please let us know if there are any changes we could make to help your application, this includes providing documents in accessible formats or personalising the process to better support your needs. Please contact Sean on sean.brinkley@theguardian.com to discuss further so we can work with you to support you through your application.

We value and respect all differences (seen and unseen) in all people at the Guardian. We aspire to have inclusive working experiences and an environment that reflects the audience we serve, where our people have equal access to career development opportunities, their voices are heard and can contribute to our future.

Positive action is covered by section 158 of the Equality Act 2010.