US Senior Political Reporter

US Senior Political Reporter

DailyMail.com is looking for an energetic and skilled U.S. Senior Political Reporter to join our Washington, D.C., office covering U.S. politics with a focus on the White House.

This is a rare opportunity for a smart, prolific journalist to write for the English-speaking world's most-read newspaper website and a take on a senior position.

The D.C. politics team is responsible for covering cover breaking news of the day in D.C. whether it originates on Capitol Hill, at the White House, in Cabinet agencies or on the campaign trail.

Outstanding candidates will be able to work flexible hours, be ready to cover news whenever it breaks, and be able to run live coverage of major events. This includes evenings and weekends.

They will be able to write sharp and entertaining copy and headlines and understand how to communicate in words, photographs and video.

Most importantly, an outstanding candidate must have the ability to break stories that will beat our competition and land unrivalled scoops to drive the national conversation.

The successful applicant will be based in the Washington, D.C., metro area. We offer competitive salary ($95,000-$105,000), benefits (Healthcare, dental, optical, life insurance and 401K) and vacation time. Compensation will be commensurate with experience.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Follow breaking news, pitch exclusive projects to the Executive Editor of Politics and write features based on the pressing political issues of the day that interest DailyMail.com readers in the U.S.
• Cover the White House, Congress, political campaigns, the Pentagon, and other agencies.
• Focus on politics, power, and influence at a national level.
• Responsible for being an ambassador in Washington, D.C., to our DailyMail.com brand and ultimately grow our number of subscribers to Daily Mail Plus.
• Gather and compile information on political events and use their news judgement to produce stories that cater to the DailyMail.com audience.
• Provide the highest quality analysis and content based on political news daily.
• Required to write between three and eight articles per day, depending on breaking news and ongoing projects.
• Produce own stories, projects and arrange interviews based on the political events that shape the lives of our readers.
• This position requires working seven days a week, including nights, to keep up with the 24-hour political news cycle. This includes late nights in Congress, major speeches, late breaking news and major developments in contemporaneous issues and scandals.
• Attend White House daily briefings, interview members of Congress, ask questions during press conferences and travel across the United States and the world on official visits.
• Extensive knowledge of Search Engine Optimization and social media to optimize traffic and help spread Dailymail.com stories to as many readers as possible.
• Able to write copy in Dailymail.com style – with accuracy, entertaining turns of phrases and have input on punchy headlines.
• Able to juggle research with fast breaking news coverage.
• Produce a visually impressive story with photos, graphics, video and in rare instances audio.
• Show flexibility to work on stories from different areas of politics that extend beyond their beats or interests.
• Responsible for mentoring and collaborating with junior members of the Dailymail.com Politics team based in Washington, D.C.
• Contribute to group projects and help obtain information for junior members as needed.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree
• Strong knowledge of Congress, the White House and federal election campaigns
• Expert in American politics and have substantial experience (at least six years) in print and online journalism across all fields
• Experience covering U.S. politics for a news organization that operates in real-time
• Competence with a digital publishing platform
• A portfolio of published clips