Reporters, Official Report - #65707

Job Title: Reporters, Official Report

Salary:£42,000 to £50,079 FTE

Location: Hybrid working from Holyrood, Edinburgh and from home

Working Pattern: We have full time and part time posts available. Our full-time posts are for 37 hours per week. Working days can be long and some flexibility is required to accommodate last-minute extensions and changes to parliamentary business. We currently operate a wide variety of work patterns, successfully balancing lifestyle choices with business requirements. All requests for flexible working hours will be seriously considered.

Pension: Civil Service pension arrangements with an employer contribution of 28.97% of basic annual salary

Clearance Required: CTC security clearance will be processed at job offer stage

Do you love working with words and have a passion for detail? Are you interested in politics and current affairs? Can you make good judgments and complete assignments under intense time pressure, and are you able to manage competing priorities effectively while working unsupervised?

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to join a team of committed professionals at the heart of political life who aspire to the highest standards of parliamentary reporting in order to bring the work of Parliament to the Scottish public.

The Official Report is a key parliamentary publication, as it is the only authoritative written account of all public proceedings in the chamber and in parliamentary committees. It provides an important historical record of parliamentary business and is central to the Parliament’s aims of informing and involving the people of Scotland and enabling effective scrutiny of the Scottish Government. As a parliamentary reporter, you’ll see your work published after every meeting, and it will form part of the national archive.

In this challenging and varied role, you’ll use your excellent language skills to transcribe meetings of the Parliament and its committees in well-written English without losing the character of the speaker’s voice. You’ll also take notes of committee meetings to assist with the reporting of them.

We’ll offer you robust training to support you in your role. Your career in the Official Report will start with six months of on-site training to hone your reporting skills, followed by coaching and mentoring to support your development. You’ll then have the opportunity to progress to sub-editing training if you wish.

A sound understanding of politics and current affairs is essential, as is the ability to remain professionally impartial and make good editorial judgments under intense time pressure. Official Reports of meetings of the Parliament are published on a rolling basis throughout the day, and for committee meetings the publication deadline can be the same day.

We work as a team and have to be able to trust, rely on and communicate effectively with one another at every stage of the reporting process, so we value good teamworking and communication skills. A keen eye for detail and the ability to spot errors in a speech or written transcription are also essential, along with the ability to work unsupervised while managing time and priorities efficiently.

We’re hosting an online recruitment event on Friday 10 May at 12.30pm where you’ll have a chance to meet some of our Official Report Team and find out what it’s like to work at the Parliament and in Official Report. For full details and to sign up to the event, please visit Eventbrite here. If tickets are showing at capacity on Eventbrite, please contact [email protected] to request a space.

We particularly welcome applications from candidates from a Minority Ethnic background and candidates with a disability. All appointments will be made on merit. We have a values-based culture of respect and inclusion embedded in our organisation, and everyone has the ability to make a difference.

We offer a great range of benefits including: 41.5 leave days (including public holidays), flexible working, paid professional subscriptions, family-friendly policies, Season Ticket advance loans, an onsite gym facility, Health and Wellbeing Schemes including discounted gym membership, a confidential counselling and information service, and the Cycle to Work Scheme.

You’ll also have the opportunity to join the Alpha Civil Service pension scheme, where we’ll offer you an employer contribution of 28.97% of your basic salary.

For full information about this role and to apply for this job click here. Please visit the recruitment process to further understand our application process and gain some hints and tips on your application.

Closing date: 11:59 pm on Sunday 19 May 2024.