Finance and Devolution Reporter

Business: emapBrand: Local Government ChronicleBase Location: Fleet Street, City of LondonEmployment Type: Full-time, FTC- 9 months starting January/February 2026, Hybrid (3 days in the office)Salary: £ Competitive, DOEAre you a reporter who is passionate about politics? Do you enjoy turning complex issues into compelling copy? Do you thrive in a fast paced environment with opportunities to produce agenda setting news and investigations? With the government committed to rolling out devolution and metro mayors across the country, this role offers a front row seat to a major change in how the country is governed as part of an ambitious and highly respected news team.The roleLGC is seeking a senior reporter to lead our coverage of three topics that are vitally important to our readers but which also have national significance: devolution, local government finance and the local government pension scheme. The role will involve developing contacts at councils, combined authorities and pension funds across the country to deliver a mixture of diary and off diary stories, as well as interviews with senior figures and exclusive investigations.You will contribute to our daily newsletter that is read by thousands of senior council officers and councillors as well as producing analysis and commentary for our LGC Briefing.You should enjoy working in a fast-paced environment and have a keen interest in politics.Our Fleet Street office in central London is open every day but the team currently works on a hybrid basis with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the office and Mondays and Fridays remotely.This is an excellent opportunity to join a team focused on producing high-quality, exclusive and original content for an engaged audience. The role would suit a reporter with at least two years’ experience who can demonstrate an aptitude for covering complex issues. We are open to requests for flexible working.Key accountabilitiesOwning and maintaining your beats, generating original ideas for stories and investigationsSourcing and writing high-quality news stories to strict daily deadlines for the lunchtime newsletterResearching and producing long-form features, interviews and analysisRepresenting LGC at conferences and other events relevant to local government. This includes travel around the country.Cultivating a strong contacts book which includes senior figures in the sectorUsing Excel to analyse and report on data relevant to your beatsWorking as part of a team to ensure deadlines for production and distribution of newsletters are metSkills and experienceA track record of producing high quality copy and delivering exclusive storiesDemonstrable ability to get to grips with complex and technical issuesInterest in UK politicsNCTJ journalism qualification or equivalentAbility to multitask and work independently and as part of a teamAbility to use Excel or similar to analyse data for news storiesDesirableKnowledge of the public sector and local government, in particular, is an assetProficiency in shorthandExperience covering a patch, whether topical or geographicalSome experience of public speaking, such as radio interviews or podcastsExperience of political reporting and interviewing politicians.Experience of financial journalismExperience of using Datawrapper or similar to visualise dataCore competencies:Creative and enthusiastic.Excellent organisational skills with the ability to pursue more than one story at a timeTenacious and committed to getting the story over the lineAble to research and write news and features to deadlinesCapable of carrying out challenging interviews with senior figuresPersonal Attributes:Self-motivated and organisedConfident, effective communicatorCuriousAdaptable, with a positive approach to new challengesInterested in current affairs and politics and motivated to produce quality journalismCollaborative team player who can also work independently when requiredTenacious, diligent, and enjoy working in a fast-paced environmentApplyPlease email your CV, a covering letter setting out why you are suited to this role and three examples of your work. Please also provide salary expectations. Role is 9 months FTC.Closing date for applications: 14/12/2025What we offerLearning & Development:At emap, we believe that employee learning and development are the key drivers of our success. To ensure continuous growth and meet the ever-changing demands of the workplace, we provide an environment that fosters continuous development for our employees.Our employees are encouraged to identify their areas of personal and professional development aligned with our strategic areas, including management development, health, safety & wellbeing, sales, events management, marketing strategy, editorial, and information technology. We have a structured framework designed to help equip our employees with the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviours to excel in their job roles, contributing to achieving our organisational objectives.To support our employees’ career development, we have designed specialized programs, as well as other stand-alone role-specific and generic courses, under the emap academy.Benefits: emap is part of Metropolis Group. Together, we are committed to providing a happy and healthy place to work, so we offer fantastic benefits and perks to our employees.25 days of annual leave, with the option to buy or sell additional daysOne additional day of leave per year- Celebration DayHealth planLife assurancePrivate virtual GP accessSeasonal flu jabs available at the officeContinuous learning & development opportunitiesIn-house Excellence Awards and other innovation projectsCycle-to-work schemeDiscounted gym membershipsRetail discount vouchersRail season ticket loansPension schemeOne paid volunteer day per yearAnnual Summer & Winter CelebrationsWork from home during AugustIncome protection and morePrivacy: Metropolis Group respects the privacy of every person for whom we have personal data. We comply with data protection legislation such as the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation which regulates the processing of data and ensures that your data is processed fairly and lawfully, is kept secure and only that data necessary for any processing is kept. You can see our privacy policy at www.metropolis.co.uk/privacy.Diversity and Inclusion: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity and inclusion. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, age, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or disability status.How to apply: Please submit your CV and covering letter. Due to the volume of applications, we receive, we are unable to give individual feedback at the application stage, however if you are successfully shortlisted you will be contacted within 10 working days of your application.