Senior Data Journalist

Dmgmedia; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Daily Mail is seeking a Senior Data Journalist to join our Deep Dive team in London. You will produce data-led stories and interactive tools for millions of readers, working with editors, designers and developers.

You will take projects from ideation to publication, overseeing data wrangling, visualization and rigorous verification in an AI-assisted environment where final products are human-verified. You will mentor junior colleagues and contribute to cross-newsroom collaborations on

Qualifications

• Significant practical experience in data journalism or related field, ideally in a national newsroom.
• Track record of owning projects from start to finish and coordinating cross-functional teams.
• Strong data wrangling skills in Python (or R) and Excel.
• Sound data verification judgment and adherence to style guides.
• Understanding of data visualization and UX principles; familiarity with data visualization tools.
• Desirable portfolio of trusted data sources; cartography/spatial analysis (QGIS) bonus.
• Experience mentoring junior colleagues; presenting short-form video is a bonus.

Responsibilities

• Project management: coordinate data pages and interactives with designers, developers and writers.
• Methodological data wrangling: build verifiable datasets and ensure stats are bulletproof.
• Visual storytelling: prototype and implement tools and graphics in collaboration with design and dev teams.
• Collaboration: work with data journalists and wider newsroom partners to broaden coverage.

Skills

Data journalism

Project management

Python

Excel

Data visualization

UX principles

Mentoring

Video presentations

Tools

Python

Excel

QGIS

Job description

Position: Full Time / Permanent

About the role

The Daily Mail is looking for a sharp, highly motivated Senior Data Journalist to join our award-winning Deep Dive team in London. Deep Dive is a global digital-first department that covers data, graphics, interactive development and visual storytelling. Our team is fun, independent and collaborative, with a startup spirit and a go-getter attitude. We strive to make data journalism understood and seriously popular.

In this role, you will be responsible for producing "must-read" data-led stories and interactive tools for our millions of readers. You will work closely with the Data Editor and your Deep Dive colleagues to take projects from ideation to publication, ranging from everyday topics such as health, personal finance, weather and crime, to news-led data coverage such as the World Cup and election results.

We are looking for someone comfortable working in an AI-assisted yet human-led environment where AI is used to speed up processes and ideation but the final product is created, verified and approved by our team members.

Main Responsibilities

• Project management: You will help build and maintain our personalised data pages and interactives on evergreen and trending news stories, coordinating cross-functional teams of designers, developers and writers.
• Methodological data wrangling: You will come up with re-usable, verifiable algorithms that will inform our interactive storytelling. You will find, scrape, FOI or creatively build datasets to feed into our flagship data stories and ensure every stat is bulletproof, adhering strictly to the Daily Mail’s editorial standards and stylebook. While AI-assisted research is allowed, you should be able to structure, write and debug your own analysis.
• Visual storytelling: In collaboration with our unrivalled design and development team, you will prototype and implement compelling tools, visual stories and graphics.
• Collaboration: You will rarely work alone. Every project will consist of at least a data journalist, a designer and a developer. You will also occasionally partner with the wider newsroom, liaising with specialists to dive deeper and champion our work across the newsroom.

Person Specification

• Significant practical experience in data journalism or a related field, including quantitative academic research, data communications or data analytics, ideally with time in a national newsroom
• A track record of owning projects from start to finish, and coordinating cross-functional teams (designers, developers, writers, editors, post-production)
• An obvious data storytelling instinct and strong data wrangling skills in Python (or R) and Excel
• Sound data verification judgement, transparency and adherence to internal processes and style guides
• In-depth understanding of data visualisation and UX principles, and familiarity with modern data visualisation tools
• A portfolio of trusted data sources is desirable
• Cartography, spatial analysis and demonstrable QGIS or equivalent are a bonus
• Experience mentoring junior colleagues; reviewing others' methodology is desirable
• Desirable but not essential: confidence on camera and an interest in presenting short-form video
• A nose for news, excellent writing skills, ability to operate under pressure, self-motivated, curious, adaptable and full of ideas

Our Commitment

We are committed to increasing diversity and maintaining an inclusive workplace culture.

We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability.

We are Disability Confident Committed.

Please let us know if you require any recruitment documentation in other formats or if you require reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process. Please be assured that any such information will be held separately to your recruitment application and will not be considered as part of the selection process.