THE Runcorn & Widnes World is looking for a top-class digital-only reporter to help lead its online coverage.

Every day our online Newsquest newsbrands reach millions of people right across the UK, and this role presents an exciting opportunity for a digitally-savvy journalist brimming with ideas to unearth the best breaking news, features, leisure and trending stories from across your patch.

You’ll be delivering the sort of fast, agile and dynamic coverage that our readers deserve in 2020.

You’ll be passionate about digital storytelling, with a desire to come up with new and innovative ways of telling those stories using a vast array of different skills, tools and platforms.

A big part of the job will also be immersing yourself in social media to help you tell your stories, develop relationships in your area and discover what it is that gets your community talking.

We want to tell the stories our communities care about – everything from live updates on what’s happening on the roads to the latest on crime on our streets and in the courts, as well as the best new shops, restaurants and bars (and the ones to avoid!).

This is an exciting new opportunity to immerse yourself in your community and give them the news they want, when they want it.

Key responsibilities:

Writing high quality, accurate news stories, live blogs and features to deadlines as agreed by news editors

Using a range of digital tools and platforms to tell stories, including video, audio, infographics and maps

Crafting and posting social media posts to sell your stories and drive engagement

Using social media to build contacts and sniff out the best stories from your community

Being first to report accurate breaking news from your patch to keep readers bang up to date

Thinking creatively to come up with new story ideas and ways to deliver them to our audience

Building our digital audience and social media following to bring our content to even more people in the community

Spotting national/regional content that could resonate in your patch and making it relevant and interesting to our readers

Keeping on top of what’s happening at magistrates’ court and reporting the best stories, as well as weekly listings/results

Developing ideas produced by colleagues and our community content network to drill down into issues locally and adapt them for a digital audience

Using your SEO skills to reach the largest possible audience

With guidance from editors, using analytics to identify what our readers like and what they want next

Building contacts in the community and getting out and about on your patch to see what’s really going on

Joining forces with your counterparts across the UK to share ideas, best practice, success stories and skills

Our ideal candidate will have:

• NCTJ qualification (including 100wpm shorthand)

• Excellent knowledge of relevant media law

• A zippy, fresh writing style

• Exceptional attention to detail

• The ability to write – and think – quickly under pressure

• An adaptable style to produce everything from live blogs and listicles to long-reads and features

• Skills with shooting and editing video as well as online tools and apps for producing images and audio

• A keen news sense

• Bags of ideas for how stories can be presented in the best possible way for our audiences

• An understanding of what audiences want, and when

• A good sense of humour

• Knowledge of SEO and its importance to digital journalism

• Excellent social media skills and the ability to spot stories and trending topics

• Great people skills and the ability to get on with a wide range of people in the community

• A high level of organisation and the ability to manage your own diary out on patch

• Collaborative skills to pool ideas with the wider digital reporting team and take on board suggestions

Salary dependent upon experience and includes a bonus structure.

If you would like to apply email elaine.hunt@nqnw.co.uk by 5pm on Monday, December 16.