Full Fact, the UK’s independent fact checking organisation, is recruiting a health policy journalist to be part of the team tackling health misinformation. If you have experience in health policy, and an interest in communicating with the public, this is a unique chance to do ground-breaking work when it couldn’t matter more. And your work will play a vital role in ensuring accurate and impartial information is available to the public as we head towards the next general election.

Focusing on health policy misinformation, you’ll be researching and writing fact checks, explainers and features, and will learn how to identify and expose patterns in misinformation. You’ll also be working with the wider Full Fact team – for example informing our policy and communications work – and will help build our links with organisations and experts who can reduce the harm that bad health information does.

Full Fact fights bad information. Our team of independent fact checkers, technologists and campaigners works to find, expose and counter it. Your work will be seen by millions and help tackle the harm caused by misleading information.

If you are interested in applying but not sure you have all the skills, please do apply. We are open both to supporting learning on the job and to rearranging tasks within the team to suit the skillsets of the best applicant.

Job Definition

You’ll be a fact checker working as a key part of Full Fact’s health programme, a dedicated part of our editorial team established in 2023 to fight bad health information. You’ll be responsible for spotting, exposing and tackling bad information, writing a number of fact checks each week, and will also be expected to write features and other content as required.

We’re ideally looking for candidates with some journalism experience, but will consider candidates from other backgrounds and prior fact checking experience isn’t necessary. We also want candidates with some pre-existing knowledge of health policy – either working as a journalist or in some other professional capacity.

You will need to be able to quickly master and explain tricky, nuanced topics in clear, concise and impartial copy – and must have an eye for a story.

Outcomes

• Regularly monitor media organisations, social media, public figures and politicians for health policy misinformation
• Pitch fact checks and features based on a good understanding of the health policy landscape and Full Fact’s aims
• Produce accurate, engaging and publication-ready copy to combat the spread of bad information
• Working with colleagues, hit weekly and monthly publication targets
• Develop contacts, subject knowledge and expertise across the health policy landscape
• Work with other teams within Full Fact, such as policy and communications, to ensure we have a good overview of the health misinformation landscape
• Build links with other organisations and experts who can help reduce the harm that bad health information does
• Help Full Fact’s work fact checking for change, liaising closely with our interventions team to ensure we are able to tackle the root causes of misinformation

What we are looking for from you

Political impartiality and sensitivity:

• You are committed to the political neutrality of our work and have a good understanding of impartiality (please see the rules on our website).
• Understanding of public debate in the UK and sensitivity to the political context we work in.

Job skills/competencies

• Strong research and writing skills. Journalism experience is an advantage but not essential
• An ability to understand and master new topics rapidly
• An understanding of what it takes to meet the highest standards of accuracy and balance
• Communication skills, and a track record of communicating with a non-specialist audience in any format
• Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of health policy
• Ability to build on pre-existing knowledge of health policy topics, for example by developing contacts
• Understanding of digital channels, audiences and formats
• An understanding of Full Fact’s style and principles
• Ideally experience of identifying and correcting misleading claims in public debate
• Ideally experience using the Freedom of Information Act

What we offer

Starting salary of £26,700 – £38,535 per annum depending on experience.

Workplace Pension

Generous holidays

• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays.
• In addition, we close the office and give additional days off for a period between Christmas and New Year.
• Day off for moving home.

Comfortable, centrally located London office with good transport links.

Employee Assistance Programme.

Our core working hours are 9am to 5pm, but we are considering having one member of the team start earlier on a rota basis in future, so if you were open to working occasional 7am to 3pm shifts that would be desirable.

How to apply

Click the link below for further information and to upload your CV and cover letter by 10am on Monday 20 November 2023.

Our recruitment platform will remove identifying details such as email addresses to allow us to sift applications anonymously

Before applying, please read the requirements we place on staff to protect Full Fact’s independence and non-partisanship https://fullfact.org/get-involved/jobs/#standards