C4ISR Reporter

Janes enables militaries, governments, and defence companies to make critical decisions. Our expert-driven tradecraft, developed over 125 years, combined with human-machine teaming, delivers assured open-source intelligence across military capabilities and order of battle, equipment, events, countries, companies, and markets.

Linking millions of assured data points, Janes Open-Source Intelligence creates a framework of interconnected national security insights that allows our customers to better understand emerging threats, integrate all relevant data and connections into a single intelligence environment, and to deliver a more complete and accurate answer to their intelligence analysis. Using Janes, enables our customers to better use their scarce resource more effectively, to support better decisions with higher confidence, more quickly.

The EMEA news team is looking for defence reporter to cover developments in C4ISR, one of the most rapidly evolving areas of defence technology. The chosen candidate will enthusiastically follow up on leads to provide the world’s most timely and detailed coverage of this area, from radars and radio communications to UAVs and electronic warfare. 

This is a multi-disciplinary role, touching on the land, air and sea domains and with space and cyber. It is also a technical subject, requiring persistence in gaining, growing and sharing a large corpus of knowledge on key systems and storylines.

This is chance to build a career at Janes, utilising the organisation’s global reputation and huge depth of knowledge to become a go-to C4ISR subject matter expert with a nose for the best stories.

Some travel is required with this role, both in the UK and abroad, as is good organisation and a self-assured manner in talking to key people at industry shows and conferences, technology demonstrations, military exercises and the like.

Near term:

• Write high-quality news and analysis about defence industry developments in the C4ISR realm and other defence beats. 
• Manage your own news beat, being trusted to work well unsupervised and cover the important developments while regularly discussing with your Head of News the merits of stories and reporting approaches.
• Maintain and develop relationships with key sources and press departments through regular phone and other contact, engaging personally to build a channel for ongoing questioning.
• Source and develop data-driven news stories and analysis including an understanding of budgets, satellite imagery and the fine details of equipment profiles.
• Attend defence events including exhibitions, conferences, technology demonstrations and military exercises as a news reporter and Janes ambassador.

Longer term:

• Develop, pitch, and execute strong analysis and feature ideas.
• Commission and edit news stories from across the EMEA region, serving as Janes point of contact for regional freelancers’ and industry content. 

Requirements

• Candidates should apply if they have demonstrable experience of written news reporting. Experience of and a keen interest in military/defence sector reporting is not essential but could put the candidate at an advantage.

• Consistent motivation for primary and multiple source reporting. 
• Personable and persistent phone manner for detailed interviews and strong networking skills to build up contacts.
• Excellent written and spoken English are essential, along with the ability to sharply edit and peer review copy (including from freelancers for whom English is a second language).
• Strong news sense and judgment, with the ability to independently generate story ideas and deliver them with minimal oversight.
• Ability to write accurate and unbiased copy concisely and quickly.
• Proven record of meeting newsroom deadlines.
• A strong work ethic, team spirit, and organisational skills.

Please include three examples of defence or similar stories you have written. The application process will also include a writing test.

Benefits

• 27 days of annual leave  
• Healthy half (0.5 day leave every 6 months for wellbeing)  
• Leave- study/ volunteer/ reserve forces
• Pension plan (6% employer contribution) 
• Private medical insurance – Vitality
• Maternity (100% of basic salary for the first 26 weeks followed by Statutory Maternity Pay)  
• Paternity (100% of basic salary for 6 weeks) 
• Life cover  
• Access to GoodHabitz
• Access to an on-site gym