Position Title: :Reporter
Reports To: :Secretariat Director of Communications
Location:: Fort Wayne, Indiana Wage: :Salaried
: :POSITION PURPOSE:
Every point of contact with the Office of Communications is marked by an atmosphere of engagement and motivation. In a collaborative spirit of teamwork, this position will advance the mission of Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades throughout the territory of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
This position is responsible for articulating the zeal with which the diocese desires to evangelize by covering, writing, editing, and photographing assigned news stories for Today’s Catholic. This person will also be responsible for pitching feature stories and inviting local Catholic parishes, schools, and other Catholic entities to share their story in this new evangelization.
This position is responsible for increasing local Catholic content that is contributed to Today’s Catholic and the Office of Communications.
Through collaborative efforts, this position will support marketing efforts of other diocesan departments and local Catholic entities. By building relationships, this position will initiate and seek out Catholic news and events to proactively offer resources.
It is crucial that this position provide high-level customer service and servant leadership in response to all community interactions. This position will help plan the coverage of local Catholic news within a weekly newspaper and help the diocese engage and expand news outreach with a circulation that includes the website, social media, and other platforms. The ideal candidate will seek out new ways to present local Catholic news stories and will innovate with consideration to current trends in modern media and journalism. In this way, this position will support cutting edge technology to increase levels of engagement with not only the local Catholic faithful, but also in evangelizing to secular and non-Catholic communities as well.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Present a positive, professional image of the Diocese through relationships built with parishes, schools, other Catholic entities and businesses within the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
Promote local Catholic engagement with the Office of Communications through relationship building and offering communications and marketing resources, including but not limited to parishes and schools.
Seek out and develop news content for Today’s Catholic.
As a full participant in the Office of Communications Marketing Strategy Team, this position helps to develop concepts and ideas for advertising and marketing materials and campaigns and generates ideas with other members of the creative team. Specifically, this position will provide expertise in writing and community connections for the proposed project.
Report weekly and monthly to Secretariat Director of Communication on content and engagement progress.
Develop story ideas based on leads or as assigned by conducting research, investigation, and observation.
Coordinate regular visits to local parishes, schools, and other Catholic entities for the purpose of soliciting news, story ideas.
Write stories using proper grammar and following mostly AP style guidelines while also ensuring they are compelling and professional in style and presentation.
Rework pieces as requested by managing editor or staff editors and update pieces as needed for ongoing or developing stories.
Assist in editing written pieces by other reporters to check for clarity, grammar, and overall story presentation; make suggestions and assist with any revisions that need to be made.
Arrange and conduct interviews when needed to collect witness statements, get information from experts or individuals involved or work on a lead for a proposed story.
Meet all deadlines for projects as requested by Publication Director and Editor-In-Chief.
Assist in oversight of weekly production of news content, idea generation from staff, contributors, reporters, and photojournalists.
Assist in management of internal processes of story production for efficiency and efficacy.
Have proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and other content management products.
Promote and attend Today’s Catholic Meet and Greet events to develop community relationships as well as other networking opportunities for the Office of Communications.
Collaborate with sales department to promote special section to support advertising revenue acquisition.
Participate in on-going training efforts to develop personally and professionally.
Seek out people who can serve as contract reporters and photojournalists.
Work with Secretariat Director to establish and build an environment of Catholic storytellers to promote evangelization through the diocese.
Work interactively between multiple departments of the diocese to facilitate news story contributions.
Respond promptly to all calls requesting general information.
Participate in staff meetings, diocese program events, fundraising events, and other training activities as required by Secretariat Director.
Perform all other duties as assigned.

EDUCATION & RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE:
A minimum of a Bachelor Degree in Communication or Journalism with at least 3-4 years prior experience in journalism or communication or a relevant combination of education and experience is required.
Must have two years direct experience with supervision and/or management experience.
Demonstrated experience in use of computer to word process, access/update database information, and manage communication processes is required.

Skills and Knowledge:
Capacity to solve practical problems, deal with a variety of situations, and manage multiple projects while interpreting a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form
Detail-oriented and able to establish courses of action for self and team in a clearly articulated and well-organized fashion
Uses appropriate methods and styles of communication to gain acceptance of an idea, plan, activity, or product.
Actively takes initiative to set and achieve goals; a self-starter who can work independently
Willing to modify plans and behavior when necessary to meet deadlines and priorities of Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades
Keeps other members of the organization informed of progress and problems; capable of monitoring progress and coordination of assignments
Possesses ability to write clearly, convincingly, and with proper sentence structure and grammar
Demonstrates excellent interpersonal skills in building and maintaining relationships
Excellent oral communication skills reflecting solid customer service both in-person and via the telephone; capacity to use excellent communication skills in presentations and training
Effectively collaborates with other staff across other departments and relates well in cross-cultural environments
Ability to position and promote opportunities while using time effectively and adapting to shifting priorities
An articulated belief in the mission of Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend; a passionate champion and advocate for the Catholic Church
Amiable team player that exhibits a positive attitude while working under pressure
Capable of leaving good impressions when promoting the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
WORK ENVIRONMENT/PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
This position is based in the office at the Archbishop Noll Center in Fort Wayne. It is the expectation of the Office of Communications that this position be flexible to travel throughout the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend to building relationships with local parishes, schools, and other Catholic entities and meet other community relations objectives as necessary. This person must be able to provide their own transportation. This person must also have a valid driver’s license and insurance. This position will be expected to maintain normal business hours as well as being flexible to conduct office hours during evening and weekends when diocesan events require it. This position is expected to maintain wide availability to receive communication from Bishop Rhoades for the purposes of Today’s Catholic newspaper.
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear. The individual may also be required to lift up to 10 pounds infrequently; and should be able to walk and climb stairs in order to be able to physically navigate unfamiliar facilities in various conditions. Attendance at diocesan events and client visitations requires ability to walk outside in various weather conditions. This person must be able to use hands to type on personal computer keyboard and view a computer screen for at least 5-6 hours per day.
NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY:
Diocesan employment practices are based on job-related criteria such as one’s fidelity to the Catholic faith, individual merit, ability, experience, performance, education, and training. This policy of nondiscrimination extends to all aspects of diocesan employment including recruitment, selection, compensation, training, reasonable accommodation, promotion, transfer, and termination.
Since the distinctive and unique mission of the diocese is primarily religious, the diocese will, whenever possible, retain a Catholic in good standing to perform work for the diocese.
POLICY FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE:
It is the policy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend that all diocesan priests, deacons, and other personnel, lay and religious, paid and volunteer, must adhere to the diocese’s Practical Guidelines for Conduct When Interacting with a Child or Young Person. All must report any suspected incident of the physical,
mental, or sexual abuse or neglect of a child or young person to appropriate civil and diocesan authorities consistent with the Diocesan Guidelines on Reporting Incidents of Child Abuse or Neglect. All priests, deacons, and other personnel, employee and volunteer, are subject to and obligated by this policy.
Apply at diocesefwsb.org/careers