The Financial Times is looking for a Frankfurt correspondent to start in September with the key focus on covering banking and finance in the Euro area’s financial capital, one of the most important and demanding beats at the heart of the FT’s coverage. Your primary task will be to report on Germany’s largest banks and insurance companies from Deutsche Bank to Commerzbank, Allianz, Munich Re and Deutsche Börse as well as the country’s large fin techs like N26, Trade Republic and Raisin while working closely with the FT’s London-based banking team to report about wider trends in the European finance industry.
While banking and finance – in particular Deutsche Bank – will be the core part of the portfolio of topics, you will also be in charge of covering the country’s professional services sector as well as the consumer goods and retail industry, including sportswear makers Adidas and Puma and privately held retail giants Aldi and Lidl.
A third pillar will be white collar crime like the sprawling cum-ex tax scandal and its many court cases as well as other aspects of financial crime.
You will be expected to break news on the companies in your sector as well as write smart analysis on the changes affecting the sector.
The job is based in Frankfurt, but involves frequent travel across Germany. The bulk of the coverage will be for the companies desk, but there is plenty of scope to also write for the world desk, FT Weekend and to do business features and interviews.
Key responsibilities
- Generate scoops and exclusive interviews while writing breaking news and original features
- Core coverage of Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Allianz, Munich Re, and Deutsche Börse as well as Germany-based fintechs
- Stay on top of the consumer goods sector including Adidas, Puma, Henkel, Metro Hugo Boss as well as Bayer
- Report on key cases of white collar crime including the cum-ex scandal, insider trading and other high-profile cases of financial crime in Germany
- Stay abreast of key developments in Germany’s professional services industry (Big Four firms, key law firmst, strategy consultancies)
- Write mainly for the companies desk but contribute to other parts of the FT, such as world
- Cooperate effectively with colleagues in Frankfurt, Berlin and across Europe
- Demonstrate expertise in reporting across all digital platforms and engaging on social media
- Demonstrate numeracy and proficiency in handling data
- Identify opportunities to use charts and collaborate with the Visual and Data Journalism team
- Weekend shifts are required as set out in the team rota
Who we are looking for
You will ideally speak German and be a proven reporter who has shown they can both break important business scoops and write agenda-setting analysis pieces about the latest trends in European industry. An ability to collaborate with editors and fellow correspondents is essential.
To apply, go here.
