The Independent, Social Affairs Correspondent

About us 

The Independent is an online news publisher that was established in 1986 as a politically independent national newspaper. In 2016, The Independent became a fully digital publisher, moving away from print in pursuit of sustainability, and to keep its values alive. 

Through The Independent and indy100 websites, its subscription and contribution services, as well as its syndication and advertising businesses, The Independent hopes to continue the work of many decades, and with over 100 million unique global visitors a month, to make its voice ever louder and more insistent the world over. 

Today we have teams across the globe, from Delhi and the Middle East through to London, New York and Los Angeles. 

The role 

The Independent is looking for a Social Affairs Correspondent to lead its coverage in a hugely important area of journalism. 

The successful candidate will be full of ideas for exclusive stories, long form investigations, breaking news, features and analysis. 

They will be expected to have strong contacts and sourcing, bringing a human angle to crucial issues such as immigration and cost of living. 

About you 

• At least two years’ experience working for a newspaper or news website 
• A proven track record of bringing in the kind of exclusive stories that will get The Independent noticed 
• Experience of writing under intense deadline pressure in a breaking news environment 
• Ability to develop contacts and pitch stories 
• Experience and / or enthusiasm for capturing video content while reporting 

Key responsibilities 

• Find, pitch and write exclusive stories that will lead The Independent website and Daily Edition app. 
• Produce quick and accurate breaking news stories 
• Write analysis, features and long reads on key developments on your beat 
• Develop and maintain relationships with key contacts 
• Suggest and write headlines to best promote stories on the website and social media 
• Choose pictures and videos to accompany stories 

Continuous Improvement: 

• Work in a smart, flexible and focused way, be open to change and suggests ideas for improvements to the way things are done. 
• Collaboration – Build and maintain positive and supportive working relationships with colleagues. Help to create an inclusive and professional work environment. 
• Building Capability – Keep own knowledge and skill set current and evolving and look for ways to continue learning to support the achievement of business objectives. 
• Quality Service – Deliver high quality and efficient service and takes account of the diverse customer needs and requirements when looking at ways to improve service quality. 
• Responsive Delivery - Work to agreed business goals and objectives and deal with challenges in a constructive and responsive way. Takes personal responsibility for quality of outputs.  

To apply, please send an up to date CV along with a full covering letter with salary expectations. The closing date is usually two weeks. 

Due to the high volume of applications we will only be contacting candidates who have been shortlisted and progressed through to the next stage. 

Location: You will be based at our Head office in Kensington, London, W8. 

The Independent is an equal opportunities employer, if you require any reasonable adjustments to complete your application, please do not hesitate to advise us accordingly. 

All of our employees are entitled to benefits including great pension, private healthcare and life insurance schemes. We also offer cycle to work and season ticket loan initiatives to make our employees’ journeys to work easier. We want our employees to enjoy working for us and we invest in training and development to support and develop rewarding careers