* Business: emap
* Brand: Local Government Chronicle
* Base Location: Fleet Street, City of London
* Employment Type: Full-time, FTC, Hybrid (3 days in the office)
* Salary: £ Competitive, DOE
LGCplus.com is the leading information source for decision makers in town, city and county halls nationwide. We publish online daily and reach our readers through a suite of direct to inbox newsletters.
Our stories are frequently picked up by the national press and quoted in parliamentary debates or reports.
Councils and combined authorities are involved in the delivery of a wide ranges of services as well as being central to the delivery of much of the government’s agenda on growth, housing and social care. As a result LGC covers a diverse range of topics, including the impact of austerity, services for children with special educational needs, housing and planning as well as workforce issues and the governance of councils and combined authorities across England.
The Local Government Pension Scheme is worth £400bn and is currently a major policy focus for the government, with significant reforms underway designed to boost investment in the UK. LGC produces agenda setting content and events to serve the LGPS community.
LGC has a history stretching back over 160 years. In addition to its journalism, it also runs agenda-setting conferences and events, including the LGC Awards which is the biggest celebration of British local government talent.
LGC 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.
Key accountabilities
* Owning and maintaining your beats, generating original ideas for stories and investigations
* Sourcing and writing high-quality news stories to strict daily deadlines for the lunchtime newsletter
* Researching and producing long-form features, interviews and analysis
* Representing 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 sector
* Using Excel to analyse and report on data relevant to your beats
* Working as part of a team to ensure deadlines for production and distribution of newsletters are met
Skills and experience
* A track record of producing high quality copy and delivering exclusive stories
* Demonstrable ability to get to grips with complex and technical issues
* Interest in UK politics
* NCTJ journalism qualification or equivalent
* Ability to multitask and work independently and as part of a team
* Ability to use Excel or similar to analyse data for news stories
Desirable
* Knowledge of the public sector and local government, in particular, is an asset
* Proficiency in shorthand
* Experience covering a patch, whether topical or geographical
* Some experience of public speaking, such as radio interviews or podcasts
* Experience of political reporting and interviewing politicians.
* Experience of financial journalism
* Experience of using Datawrapper or similar to visualise data
Core competencies:
* Creative and enthusiastic.
* Excellent organisational skills with the ability to pursue more than one story at a time
* Tenacious and committed to getting the story over the line
* Able to research and write news and features to deadlines
* Capable of carrying out challenging interviews with senior figures
Personal Attributes:
* Self-motivated and organised
* Confident, effective communicator
* Curious
* Adaptable, with a positive approach to new challenges
* Interested in current affairs and politics and motivated to produce quality journalism
* Collaborative team player who can also work independently when required
* Tenacious, diligent, and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment
Apply
Please 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: 14/12/2025
What we offer
Learning & 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 days
* One additional day of leave per year- Celebration Day
* Health plan
* Life assurance
* Private virtual GP access
* Seasonal flu jabs available at the office
* Continuous learning & development opportunities
* In-house Excellence Awards and other innovation projects
* Cycle-to-work scheme
* Discounted gym memberships
* Retail discount vouchers
* Rail season ticket loans
* Pension scheme
* One paid volunteer day per year
* Annual Summer & Winter Celebrations
* Work from home during August
* Income protection and more
Privacy: 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.