The Bureau is hiring: Apply to join our innovative data journalism lab

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is looking for two people to join our ambitious new project, the Local Data Lab, which will provide data-led stories to regional journalists.

We are recruiting a data journalist and a developer who will join a team aimed at producing public interest stories that are underpinned by data, with local relevance.

The Local Data Lab will be a collaborative project involving a network of regional journalists and bloggers, who will work with the Bureau to identify important stories hidden in data. The Bureau’s Lab team will analyse national-scale datasets to identify leads for local stories that will be developed by members of the network.

The project has been part-funded by the Google Digital News Initiative and is being run by Megan Lucero, formerly Head of Data at the Times and Sunday Times.

We are looking for ambitious and enthusiastic candidates who have great ideas about how technology and data-led analysis can produce stories.

If you are buzzing with ideas about the potential for technology to aid journalism then this is an exciting opportunity to join a new dynamic team that aims to produce high-profile stories.

Data Journalist

The ideal candidate will be a journalist who is both experienced in data analysis and keen to improve transparency and accountability through open data.

Ideally, you are an experienced investigative reporter who has harnessed computational methods for stories. You recognise there is more to be done to open up datasets in the UK and even more to be done to mine and investigate them. You are fluent in at least one programming language and have used it to collect, scrape, parse, mine and analyse data to further your reporting. You may also use additional languages or have knowledge in machine learning or statistical modelling.

Above all, you think like a reporter but see computational method and data analysis as crucial to the future of journalism.

Salary: negotiable depending on experience.

Applicants must be eligible to work in the European Union.

To apply for the position please send a CV and covering letter to [email protected]. Closing date 5pm, January 3rd 2017. First wave of interviews will be held on December 19, with a second wave in January TBC.

Data Lab Developer

The ideal candidate will be a developer who is keen to build technology that helps journalists – someone who is just as interested in how reporters need and use data as they are in building innovative technology.

You have experience in backend development, database building and have used testing to improve solutions. You value and understand web security, version control and design principles. You want to experiment, collaborate and build in a small but meaningful solution-based environment. You may have knowledge of UK datasets and journalistic ideas of your own or you may not, but have an interest in learning along the way.

You may be interested in a full time position or a freelance one but want to invest in the Lab and see this project succeed over the next two years.

Salary: negotiable depending on experience.

Applicants must be eligible to work in the European Union.

To apply for the position please send a CV and covering letter to [email protected]. Closing date 5pm, January 6. Interviews will be on January 12.