FT seeks a data journalist for central banking team

The Financial Times is seeking a data journalist for its new central banking hub. Designed for professionals, the hub will offer users high quality data on monetary policy so that they are better able to do their jobs both in the form of permanent dashboards and articles showcasing data of relevance for monetary policy in the US, Eurozone, UK and Japan.

This new role will head up the data output of the hub and work closely with the FT’s award-winning Visual and Data Journalism team. Initially, the focus will be on sourcing and building permanent databases and graphics for the hub and ensuring they are up to date.

It is expected that the role will quickly expand to include economic analysis of data relevant to monetary policy and writing for the hub. We are looking for someone flexible who enjoys data organisation and analysis. You will also be able to write for the FT, contributing to make the central banking hub a must-read product for professional users. This is a start up venture within the FT, so it will be an exciting and dynamic opportunity.

Key responsibilities: 

You will have high quality data skills and be comfortable working in a fast-paced role in a core part of FT output.

The job will combine data husbandry, analysis and writing on monetary policy. It could provide the perfect springboard for a wider FT career. We are looking for someone with sufficient skills in each area, a desire to learn more and to develop their skills more broadly.

You will collaborate with the data journalists, graphics journalists and developers in the Visual & Data Journalism team, as well as  journalists from all other parts of the FT.

If you are someone who is fascinated by economics, monetary policy and has exemplary data skills, then this is the job for you.

What we are looking for

Your application should include a portfolio of work that demonstrates:

• Confidence in data sourcing (including the use of scraping techniques), cleaning and analysis
• Numeracy and the ability to think statistically
• A good understanding of monetary policy
• Excellent communication skills, particularly the ability to explain your quantitative analysis work simply to non-specialist audiences
• An interest in global economics, business and politics
• Passionate about continuously learning in order to keep your skills at the forefront of current practice

Your previous work does not have to be in a journalism context although that would be an advantage.

Desirable Skills

We don’t expect you to have all of these skills, but the ability to demonstrate experience of one or more of the following would be beneficial:

• Relevant training in statistics or data science
• Building, maintaining or working with processes for continuously acquiring and processing data or maintaining models based on such data
• Interactive data visualisation using D3, React or Flourish
• Working with automation processes that use machine learning techniques, eg natural language generation tools, text analysis or document classification algorithms
• Writing data documentation for non-technical users
• Training and supporting others in data handling techniques

Please submit your application by the end of the day, Thursday 9th November 2023.