The Tribune is hiring

Dear readers — we hope you’re having a lovely Sunday. As you might have heard, we’ve achieved unreal growth over recent months and we’re now ready to hire a second full-time staff reporter (our current team only has one full-time member of staff, Dan Hayes, plus freelancers and contributions from editors and writers at our sister newspaper in Manchester, The Mill). This is a huge step for us and we’re so grateful to our members for helping us get here.

We’ll celebrate soon, but first, there is now just one week left to apply. If you’re a journalism graduate and want a rare opportunity to write quality reporting with a warm and welcoming team, or if you’re a seasoned hack and think you can offer us a fresh take and perspective, we want to hear from you. Equally, if you think a friend or family member or disgruntled local press officer might be interested, please do share this post to spread the word. The full job description is below — just email mollie@sheffieldtribune.co.uk if you have any questions. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Staff reporter, The Tribune

• Location: Sheffield (the reporter must live full-time in this city) 
• Salary: Dependent on experience (£18k-£25k range)
• Basis: Full-time role
• Start date: April 3rd (later start dates will be considered)
• Application deadline: Sunday 5 March

About us

The Tribune started in 2021 with a mission to change journalism in Sheffield by publishing the kind of stories you don’t find in the local press. Every week, we produce thoughtful, long-form articles that help our readers connect with their city, including features, investigative stories, news briefings and interviews. That’s why almost 15,000 readers have joined our mailing list already and why we now have more than 1,000 paying members, who get four editions of The Tribune in their inboxes every week. It’s also why we have received coverage across the media, including a recent mention on Radio 4. 

This role 

The Tribune was started by local journalist Dan Hayes, working with the team of journalists at The Mill in Manchester. And now we are expanding the team for the first time by hiring a second full-time reporter so that we can broaden our coverage and take on more important stories. It’s an exciting opportunity to join an expanding and pioneering news organisation in Sheffield as well as working with the reporters and editors who make up our sister publications, The Mill in Manchester and The Post in Liverpool.

This is a job for a journalist who believes in our mission, loves the kinds of reporting we do and is passionate about applying our brand of journalism to many more stories in the years ahead. We need someone who has a natural flair for reporting — the kind of person who relishes trying to get hold of sources on the phone and enjoys chasing stories even if they seem like dead ends. You will be someone who likes getting to grips with complex issues and stories by speaking to experts and insiders and who has the ability to explain those issues clearly to readers. 

Given the salary for this role, we would expect to hire a recent graduate or someone who has a few years of experience in journalism, but we are open to people at all stages of their careers and will judge applicants on their applications and performance in interviews and writing tests rather than what they have on their CV. 

Key responsibilities

1. Producing consistently high-quality journalism for The Tribune that goes a level deeper than most newspaper reporting — including news reports, features, interviews and investigations. 
2. Generating dozens of fantastic and highly original story ideas every month, both for you and for our other staff and freelance writers.
3. Developing exceptional contacts within Sheffield’s political, cultural and business worlds so that we can break significant stories in the city. 
4. Helping to grow The Tribune by posting on social media, assisting with our marketing and fostering strong bonds with our community of members.
5. Contributing to the day-to-day running of The Tribune by answering emails from readers, setting up interviews for others and helping us to build our editorial schedule. 

Working pattern: This is a full-time role. You will work two days a week at a co-working space in Sheffield with our editor Dan and remotely the rest of the time. You will make fortnightly visits to The Mill’s office in Manchester. 

Attributes required

1. Reporting flair: Someone with an unusual talent for unearthing information, including huge energy when pursuing a story, a knack for getting hold of people on the phone and the ability to develop contacts over time. 
2. Clear writing: Someone who can write with clarity and distil complex issues for readers — you don’t need to have extensive experience writing long features but you need to be able to engage readers and write precisely.
3. Independence: Someone capable of working independently without lots of supervision from editors — that means being exceptionally organised, very communicative with colleagues and self-motivated when working on stories. 
4. Growth mindset: Someone with an entrepreneurial spirit who is motivated by The Tribune’s growth as well as our journalism and wants to be a part of building a new media organisation, including the unglamorous stuff.
5. Tribune values: Someone who is committed to our key editorial values: accuracy, nuance, thoughtfulness, fairness to sources and giving readers the context they need to understand what is going on. 

How to apply

To apply for this role, email mollie@sheffieldtribune.co.uk by Sunday 5 March at the latest (earlier applications are appreciated). We don’t expect every applicant to be a longtime reader of The Tribune, but please make sure you are very familiar with our work before you apply. Please include the following things in your application (all within the body of the email, not as attachments).

• Four or five paragraphs introducing who you are and why you would be a good fit for this role.
• Three links to stories you have written, each with one or two sentences explaining how they demonstrate the attributes listed above. 
• Three ideas you have for stories you would like to work on if you joined The Tribune.
• Any other relevant details, like how long your notice period is for example. 

Next steps: You will hear back from us within a fortnight of your application. If we are interested in taking things further, we will send you a short writing test, and the next stage after that will be a series of two or three interviews in March. The role will start on Monday, April 3rd, although we are open to a slightly later or earlier start date.

Applications for this role have now closed. If you’d like to be our next intern or write for The Tribune on a freelance basis, please click here.