Production Journalist/Assistant Content Editor (6-month FTC)

The Role

We are offering an exciting six-month opportunity for an experienced, ambitious multi-skilled Production Journalist to step into a leading role in the multi award-winning ITV News Central newsroom.

ITV News Central reaches hundreds of thousands of viewers each night and is proud of its reputation for editorial excellence. Based in Birmingham, we are one of the biggest, busiest and most competitive news patches in the country and are evolving into a truly multi-platform operation.

This role is ideal for a journalist ready to take the next step: someone keen to hone advanced news editing, producing and digital leadership skills while helping shape the editorial agenda across broadcast and online.

You will produce programmes and bulletins across the ITV schedule - Good Morning Britain, lunchtime, late and weekend. You’ll have a flair for curating content across our website, app, ITVX, YouTube and social platforms

By identifying subjects that resonate with this richly diverse part of the world you’ll help create stories that are relevant to and connect with all our audiences. You’ll need to show the respectful and collaborative behaviours to fit into our friendly team.

The successful candidate will already have a grounding in producing or news editing television bulletins and strong digital production skills. You’ll thrive in a demanding, fast-moving newsroom, meet tight deadlines with confidence, and remain calm and collaborative under pressure. You must have a solid grounding in media law and a thorough understanding of the Ofcom Code

This is a fantastic opportunity to play a high profile role in one of ITV’s flagship regional newsrooms, developing your leadership capability while delivering high-impact journalism across all platforms.

To be considered for an interview, you will need to submit a covering letter and a CV.

Skills you’ll need (minimum criteria)

• Fully qualified NCTJ, BJTC or equivalent experience
• Working knowledge of Ofcom code, media law and compliance
• The ability to generate, research and develop original ideas and taking a creative approach to storytelling, treatments and production for both on-air and online
• Knowledge and understanding of digital platforms and how to tap into new audiences online
• Excellent organisational skills and demonstrate the ability to plan multiple stories while prioritising tasks
• Strong writing skills for TV and digital (accurate spelling and grammar essential).
• Excellent news judgement
• A strong knowledge of the Midlands and an awareness of the types of stories that engage our audiences

Other things we’re looking for (key criteria)

• Excellent communication skills
• The ability to work well in a team environment
• The ability to be self-motivated and quick-thinking, demonstrating resilience in what is often a busy newsroom environment across day, early, late and weekend working
• The willingness and aptitude to learn other skills and to be happy to share skills with others
• The ability to work to deadlines
• Able to make decisive decisions under pressure
• A positive attitude to work
• A resilience and ability to thrive working in a constantly changing news agenda
• Excellent attention to detail
• Social Media/Digital awareness
• An enthusiasm and willingness to embrace further changes in technology and workflow.
• The aptitude to use the full range of digital newsroom technology
• Clear understanding of and commitment to DE&I and Health & Safety policies
• Able to bring in stories from underrepresented people from across our region as well as underrepresented parts of the Midlands

Please note, the rostered hours for this role will include weekend working , late shifts as well as early morning shifts and Bank Holidays. The working pattern will incorporate late shifts (typically 23:00 finish) as well as early morning (typically 04:45 start). You are expected to provide your own means of transportation to and from your main workplace

Because of the nature of news production, there will be occasions when you are required to work long and unsociable hours at short notice. Some members of the Production Team may be required to travel to district offices or to work in other news operations as well as attending relevant forums, development sessions and meetings off site as part of their role

ITV is for Everyone and we want to ensure that ITV Central reflects our audience both on screen and in our teams. We encourage applications from Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent people and People of Colour to help us achieve our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion goals.

Newsrooms are busy and pressurised environments, involving live news production, which often requires colleagues to make quick decisions under pressure. We also need people who are able to use their initiative and, particularly for editorial roles, know what information might be required and how to research it.

We need to test these abilities at the interview stage to understand how candidates will react when operating in a pressurised environment. This is a fundamental requirement of the role. We will always consider any request for reasonable adjustments as part of the interview process, for example sharing key themes when that is requested in connection with a neurodivergent condition, whilst still ensuring that we are able to test a candidate's ability to operate in the specific environment of a newsroom.

Interviews: Wednesday 5th August

Please note the notice period for this role is 2 months (this will include any new contracts/ secondments)

Please note, this role will be subject to a satisfactory disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)