We’re hiring! Apply to be our Enablers Editor

Title: Enablers Editor
Reports to: Deputy Editor
Contract: Full-time until at least April 2025. Should you believe you can do this job part-time, please detail in your cover letter how you think you would manage this
Location: London based, with a mixture of office and home working
Salary: £50,000-55,000, dependent on experience

About the role

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is looking for an experienced, ambitious and inspired editor to lead its thriving Enablers team into its next phase. In its first three years, the team has delivered explosive exposés of the UK’s role in facilitating corruption and wrongdoing around the world. The flow of dirty money and how it undermines democracy and society is one of the burning questions of our time. It is our job to lift the lid on this with original in-depth reporting.

The Bureau’s Enablers team has exposed the dealings of the rich and powerful, and the professional class which serves them. Investigations have appeared in the biggest national newspapers and in publications around the world, including front page splashes in the New York Times and Sunday Times. Most importantly, our reporting has met the Bureau’s core mission of achieving real-world impact. Leading backbench MPs have referred to the Bureau’s reporting as they have pushed for measures to curb ‘Lawfare’ and have introduced a bill to regulate private investigators working for oligarchs and autocrats.

We’re looking for someone who is full of ideas, able to lead by example and who can get stuck into all stages of the editorial process while also taking a strategic view of the team’s work. This role could particularly suit a mid- or senior-level reporter looking for an opportunity to expand on their editing and leadership skills.

You will be expected to manage two reporters and an impact producer, and together pitch where our Enablers investigations should go next. We are not interested in being just another investigations team in this space, but want to find gaps where we can contribute meaningfully with the skills and impact approach we have and the ability to spend a lot of time on major projects.

You will also need to have innovative ideas for how our investigations can reach the right people, not just by partnering with established outlets but by making the topic of financial corruption more relatable and person-centred. And you will be tasked with overseeing an effective impact strategy for your team’s work.

About the Bureau

The Bureau is the UK’s largest independent investigative journalism organisation. It exists to inform the public about the realities of power in today’s world. Our investigations seek to expose systemic wrongs, challenge misinformation and spark change. With no corporate or political agenda, we bring to light serious issues affecting individuals and communities in the UK and around the world. We work strategically and collaboratively to maximise the impact of our reporting and share our findings openly with local, national and international media outlets to reach as many people as possible.

Responsibilities

• Shape and lead the team’s editorial direction
• Lead a four-person team delivering hard-hitting and impactful investigations – this includes providing the necessary pastoral care for your team
• Guide the team’s reporting and ensure it is robust
• Source and deliver major exclusives
• Oversee the team’s impact strategy
• Edit copy
• Oversee a rigorous fact-checking and right-of-reply process
• Conceive of and deliver innovative output that reaches a broad range of audiences
• Help meet our ambitious diversity, equity and inclusion targets across our journalism, personnel and policies
• Manage reporting partnerships with freelancers and other outlets
• Oversee project budgets, with support from the Finance Manager
• Support the Development team in constructing funder applications, reports and budgets.
• Represent the Bureau at events, conferences and in the media

You don’t need to tick every box in this ad – we are committed to hiring people with potential. If you feel like you lack some specific experience but have the necessary drive and passion, please don’t be deterred from applying.

You’ll be a good fit if:

• You are ambitious, passionate about your work and are driven to get the best out of people
• You can show that you are deeply interested in the Enablers theme, know who the major players are and know how to develop sources in that space
• You have at least five years’ experience of leading investigations – i.e. coming up with story ideas and following leads, handling robust evidence/data, developing contacts and protecting vulnerable sources
• You are diligent with right-to-reply and legal processes. You should have a good understanding of media law and journalism ethics
• You are able to edit copy to a high standard
• Your leadership style is collaborative and you are excited about the idea of being a facilitative leader for this investigative team rather than a top down one. You align with the Bureau’s management values to be open and communicating, developing and solution-focused
• You believe in journalism’s role in making a difference. You think journalism organisations have to take a more active role in ensuring their work is heard and sparks change
• You are willing to take creative risks on new ideas, including innovative ways of telling stories that are often complex and hard for people outside the City of London to follow
• You firmly have the public interest in mind with all your journalism
• You consider how diversity and equity issues are relevant to this area and have ideas about how to address this

Benefits

The Bureau recognises the importance of helping its employees balance their work and home life by offering flexible working arrangements such as flexible hours and hybrid working across our office and remotely. Our core benefits include: access to an employee assistance programme; 25 days annual leave (excluding Christmas break during office closure); and enhanced maternity pay and sick pay. We also provide staff development opportunities and a learning culture.

To apply

Please email an up-to-date CV and covering letter to [email protected]. Please also fill out our Equality Monitoring Form here, which is anonymous, so we can better track who we are reaching.

Deadline for applications: 5 April 2023

The Bureau is committed to being an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a diverse, inclusive and adaptable environment where people are encouraged and supported to do their best work. We encourage applications from those belonging to groups traditionally under-represented in the media. If you have questions about this, please contact [email protected].