Staff Writer

Position description

Role details

• Location: Manchester (we need someone who lives full-time in Greater Manchester, or is willing to relocate)
• Salary: Dependent on experience (circa. £25k-30k), with an opportunity for pay to increase next year
• Basis: Full-time (including some out-of-hours work)
• Office/remote: Four days per week in our office in the city centre
• Start date: October/November 2025
• Deadline: Sunday, 5 October. Scroll down for details on how to apply.

About us

The Mill is the founding publication of Mill Media, which since being started in June 2020, has become a new force in British journalism, publishing high quality local journalism in six UK cities. The company has been described as “one of the most interesting and impressive media startups of the last decade,” by the FT’s John Burn-Murdoch, and as “very, very impressive” by the Wall Street Journal’s editor Emma Tucker.

Over the past few years, The Mill has become known for its major stories, including an investigation that led to the resignation of Andy Burnham’s advisor Sacha Lord, a story that was listed for the prestigious Paul Foot Award. And our investigation into the University of Greater Manchester has led to a major police investigation and the suspension of senior officials, including the vice chancellor, and has been mentioned several times in parliament.

Our financial backers include Sir Mark Thompson, the chief executive of CNN and former boss of the New York Times and BBC, who said he was investing because of the “exceptional quality” of our work. In the past year, our stories have led to political resignations, questions in parliament and have even prompted a police investigation into fraud at a university. The Observer wrote that we are “shaking up local news.”

Our success is based on the simple idea of giving journalists the time they need to produce great stories. Our writers don’t have to churn out multiple stories per day, and that means they can do old fashioned reporting: building sources, finding evidence and giving readers new insights and revelations as a result. That includes producing our brand of observational feature writing, which is what many of our readers particularly appreciate about The Mill.

What we’re looking for

This is a job for a journalist who believes in our mission, loves the kind of reporting we do and is passionate about applying our brand of journalism to many more stories in the years ahead. We need someone who has a natural flair for writing — who will deliver the kind of stories our readers look forward to when they open our newsletters.

This role also requires the kind of person who relishes trying to get hold of people on the phone and enjoys chasing stories even if they seem like dead ends; who likes getting to grips with complex issues and can explain those issues clearly to readers.

Crucially, this is a role for someone who likes working really hard. This job isn’t easy and doesn’t always fit into the normal working day. We give some of the most rigorous and intense training and development in British journalism, which means that you will grow very fast by working with us. But we need people who are incredibly committed and energised by the task.

Key responsibilities

• Producing consistently high-quality writing for The Mill that informs and delights our readers and makes us stand out.
• Generating lots of highly original story ideas every month, both for you and for our other staff and freelance writers, ranging from culture to crime, food to local politics.
• Developing exceptional contacts within Manchester’s political, cultural and business worlds so that we can break big stories.
• Helping to grow The Mill by posting on social media, assisting with our marketing and fostering strong bonds with our community of members.
• Working pattern: This is a full-time role. You will work four days a week at our office in the city centre, and remotely on Wednesdays.

Attributes required

• Superb writing: Someone who can write stories that our readers don’t just like but love, whether it’s a colour piece, an interview or a newsier feature. A key part of this is being able to write with clarity and distil complex issues for readers.
• Reporting flair: Someone with an unusual talent for unearthing information, including huge energy when pursuing a story, a knack for getting hold of people on the phone and the ability to develop contacts over time.
• Independence: Someone capable of working independently without lots of supervision from editors — that means being exceptionally organised, very communicative with colleagues and self-motivated when working on stories.
• Growth mindset: Someone with an entrepreneurial spirit who is motivated by The Mill’s growth as well as our journalism and will enjoy growing our social media accounts and spreading our brand.
• Mill values: Someone who is committed to our key editorial values: accuracy, nuance, thoughtfulness, fairness to sources and giving readers the context they need to understand what is going on.

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on geopolist.com