Join us as Now Then Race Correspondent
Now Then is looking for a Sheffield journalist to join our core team, reporting on vital issues around race, racism and systemic inequality in our city. Deadline for applications: Sunday 8th May.
Following on from its successful Community Correspondents pilot project, Now Then is looking for a local journalist to join the editorial team as Race Correspondent.
We want to diversify both our team and our editorial output, and as such we see whoever takes on this role covering race, racism and related issues of systemic inequality in Sheffield.
But the role will ultimately be self-directed – so you will choose what stories you write based on your own lived experience and areas of knowledge and interest, with support from our small staff team.
Sheffield journalist and editor Shahed Ezaydi, who worked at Now Then for ten months as a Community Correspondent covering race and faith before moving on to Bustle, said of her experience:
Being a Community Correspondent at Now Then has given me the space and opportunities to explore stories that may not always make the ‘mainstream’ news, which is really quite a rare thing to come by in the journalism and media industry.
The priority isn’t on following trends or clickbait headlines, but bringing real stories and issues to the attention of the local community and beyond.
I’ve researched and written about the stories of racialised communities and been able to spotlight incredibly important issues, which have given these marginalised communities a much-needed platform.
Vital statistics
Location: Sheffield, UK. Home working assumed. Office space available near Bramall Lane (S2).
- Hours: 1-2 days per week, subject to discussion. Starting in or around June 2022. Working days/hours flexible.
- Contract: Permanent.
- Rate: £10.82 per hour.
- Deadline for applications: Sunday 8th May.
The role
You’ll need to find stories and write them up for publication, make new connections and choose your own areas of focus.
We want to allow space and freedom within this role because we know that, when it comes to the many communities of Sheffield, we don’t know what we don’t know.
We will measure success against how well our stories represent the interests and concerns of local people to the wider city through Now Then's platforms.
You will work with our small staff team and sometimes with our volunteer community writers too.
You will need to be self-motivated and enthusiastic about journalism – and about Sheffield.
Some examples of past Now Then articles which could inform future editorial direction:
How a community resettlement group is welcoming refugees to Sheffield
Sheffield’s statues don't tell the full story about its colonial legacy
Why did the Council give Windrush archive funding to a white-led organisation?
Pay
Our rate of pay is currently £10.82 per hour.
We know this is low by industry standards – however, it is currently what all Opus employees are paid, including the company’s Directors and Now Then’s Editors. When we increase wages, we do so for everyone who works at the company.
What we’re looking for
Essential criteria
Some experience and/or training in journalism. This doesn't have to be formal - it could be unpublished writing, work done as a student, or any other type of experience which you think makes you well-suited.
A passion for Sheffield and for representing its underrepresented communities through journalism.
A desire to challenge – through your writing – corporate media narratives that have shaped the city in recent years.
Hard worker, who is comfortable managing deadlines, creating and following their own leads, and working on multiple stories at once.
Good communicator with good interpersonal skills.
Good level of IT/digital skills.
Self-motivated, able to generate ideas and carry them through to original and timely content.
Ability to work flexibly - from home where needed, with the option of office use.
Desirable criteria
Formal training and/or good experience in journalism.
Existing connections to community or communities.
Willing and able to travel around the city.
An understanding of social justice and the intersections within social justice movements.
To apply...
Please send the following to editor@weareopus.org by Sunday 8th May.
A single-side of A4 (maximum of 500 words) about why you are well suited to the role, including links to examples of your writing.
A filled-in Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form (optional but encouraged, available to download here).
Please do not send us your CV.
We are also open to applications made with video or audio clips, at a maximum length of 5 minutes.
If you have any questions at all – about the role, the application, or anything else – feel free to get in touch.
Diversity & equal opportunities
This opportunity is open to individuals from a group that is under-represented. This includes, but is not limited to, Black, Asian and ethnically diverse candidates, people with disabilities, those who identify as LGBTQI+ and individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
About Opus
If you want to learn more about Opus – the worker-controlled social enterprise which publishes Now Then and also runs other projects including Festival of Debate and UBI Lab Network – our 2021 Review gives a good overview.
