The New Humanitarian is hiring a news-obsessed, globally curious journalist to file and edit quick-turnaround coverage across platforms and keep our social content and newsletters smart and engaging. We are looking for someone to power up our breaking news coverage and ensure a timely and distinctive presence across social and other platforms. You will create both original on-site content and devise ways to repackage our hallmark in-depth coverage for social and newsletters.
Our reporting tackles many of the key issues of our time, from migration to climate change, from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the millions going to sleep hungry each night around the globe. We are a watchdog over the multi-billion-dollar aid industry, and we chronicle emerging forms of solidarity to counter long-standing social and economic inequities. Your Twitter threads, short news pieces, and newsletter items will ensure that our daily report links all things humanitarian to news events and trends around the globe. Topics could include the latest conflict hotspots, debates over migration policy, ethical issues around the use of AI in delivering aid or calls for climate justice.
This is a unique opportunity to work with one of the few non-profit international newsrooms covering international affairs for a global audience: The New Humanitarian is the only independent non-profit media outfit dedicated to covering humanitarian crises and holding the aid sector to account. We are committed to amplifying diverse voices and to upending traditional Western narratives and journalistic tropes. Our work has altered legislation and government policies, exposed financial corruption and sex abuse scandals, and helped citizens understand how their tax monies are spent on humanitarian initiatives.
This is a desk-based role, during standard CET business hours. Your desk could be anywhere you are legally permitted to work.
The successful candidate will join an organisation with many assets: a compelling mission; a strong reputation – built over more than 25 years – for journalistic integrity and credibility; a team deeply committed to its work; and a commitment to becoming a transformative newsroom that practises decolonised journalism, puts impact at the centre of its work, and adopts a progressive culture centred on wellbeing.
Help us achieve our vision of providing the world’s best journalism about the world’s toughest crises and setting the agenda in the interest of those most affected.
Who we’re looking for
You’re a cross-platform journalist who loves breaking news and what’s next, and who is at home on social platforms new and old. You’re a fast and accurate reporter and writer, as confident turning around a short text piece in a few hours as writing newsletter entries or pulling together a smart Twitter thread or Insta story from an in-depth news feature. You’re skilled at creating social content and have a knack for finding the nugget in a 2,000-word feature that will stop followers mid-scroll. You’re an information junkie who lives on news sources from around the world – and who understands the pros and cons of each.
It’s great if you’re familiar with the humanitarian sector, the people it serves and how it all works (or doesn’t). It’s fine if you’re not, as long as you’re excited by the prospect of immersing yourself in it. You have several years of newsroom or wire agency experience – with some responsibility for social feeds or newsletters — and thrive when you’re unsure what your next workday will look like. You are dedicated to amplifying diverse voices and pushing beyond formulaic narratives. And of course, you have the hands-on reporting, writing and editing skills to deliver content that is accurate, engaging and needs minimal editing – whether that’s a 400-word text story, a newsletter promoting the day’s content, or Tweets amplifying newly relevant archival coverage.
Like everyone on The New Humanitarian team, you’ll be flexible and open to meeting the evolving demands of this new role and eager to learn new skills quickly.
As part of our ongoing efforts to decolonise our journalism, we seek applications from candidates who represent the diverse communities our journalism serves and feel this role will be best filled by someone who has strong links to the communities we cover in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, or Latin America. Therefore, we will prioritise candidates who are deeply rooted or connected to the regions we report on.
Job requirements
As Staff Reporter and Editor – Social and Breaking News, key responsibilities include:
- Monitoring the daily news cycle and identifying the humanitarian focus for breaking stories.
- Monitoring social platforms for trending humanitarian topics
- Writing and scheduling daily social content for all TNH coverage
- Compiling and publishing the curated daily, weekly and any specialised newsletters, writing introductions and short news items as needed
- Reporting and writing quick-turnaround breaking news coverage for the site, social and newsletters
- Compiling listicles, article roundups and other quick-format on-site coverage to amplify TNH archival coverage made newly relevant by breaking news.
- Creating and posting original social content that amplifies TNH archival coverage
- Assisting with newsletter launches and ongoing production, writing, selecting, and formatting content as required
- Repackaging on-site text-first coverage for newsletters and social as needed
- Creating and scheduling evergreen social content and content that marks humanitarian-focused events
- Assisting the production and engagement editor in managing all social platforms, which may include scheduling, responding to followers and devising coverage strategies
- Contributing to weekly, annual, and other recurring features, such as the Cheat Sheet or end-of-year coverage overviews
- With the Product and Innovation Editor and the Director of Audience and Revenue development, devising and maintaining an engaging, consistent tone and voice for the TNH brand across all platforms, primarily social and newsletters
Experience & Background:
- Experience working in a breaking news environment, preferably as a reporter or editor in a global or regional newsroom or with an international wire service
- Experience running social accounts for a media organisation
- Excellent English-language verbal and written skills
- Impeccable news judgment
- Experience reporting via social media platforms
- Experience writing, compiling and scheduling newsletters
- Ease with monitoring breaking news and trends across social platforms
- Ability to quickly file grammatically correct, succinct and clearly structured news copy across platforms and formats
- Ability to spot breaking news that is aligned with the humanitarian beat
- Ability to file video, visual and audio content
- Ability to analyse, interpret and synthetize data and facts
- Highly organised and communicative
- Comfortable working independently as well as collaborating with in-house colleagues, freelance contributors and sources
- Guided by an eagerness for getting the story first balanced with a devotion to ensuring accuracy and clarity
Desirables
- Experience reporting on or working in humanitarian or conflict environments
- Experience launching and managing newsletters
- Proficiency in French, Arabic, Spanish or other languages
We have described the qualities we are seeking in this position, but we recognise that there will be strong candidates who do not meet all the requirements listed here but have other important qualities. So, if you’re interested but not sure you fit the profile, please apply anyway. Our newsroom is growing and we’re always open to exploring what’s possible for the future.
To apply
Please include a cover letter as part of your application explaining why this role is right for you and the skills you will bring to it.
