Bureau Chief, West & Central Africa

Reuters is looking for an experienced and energetic newsroom leader to be their Bureau Chief for West & Central Africa, based in Dakar. The successful candidate will lead a team of correspondents and a network of over 50 stringers and freelancers covering 23 incredibly varied countries.

About the role

The successful candidate will be able to write and oversee ground-breaking, insightful news coverage on a wide range of topics, from rapid economic and political developments to instability and militant violence in the West Africa Sahel region. They will be comfortable covering news for a range of Reuters clients, from military coups and climate change to mining production and the cocoa crop. West & Central Africa’s rich deposits of minerals make it an important region for the clean energy transition. It is home to the world’s top cocoa producers and some of the fastest growing economies in Africa.

A willingness to travel at short notice around the region and the resilience to deal with sometimes challenging logistics are essential.

The bureau chief leads a team that spends a good deal of time working with local reporters, many of them working in French, to generate compelling stories in English. West and Central Africa is ethnically and culturally diverse, but also politically turbulent with a history of rebellions, coups and election disputes. The region has vibrant art and music scenes, and an emerging tech sector.

The ideal candidate will have a proven ability to handle big breaking news and to produce a body of ambitious, deeply reported stories. They will be a strong writer and editor, and they will be able to work closely with visuals and graphics colleagues to tell stories in a variety of formats.

Requirements

• At least five years’ experience with international news outlets.
• Hostile environment and/or emerging markets experience
• Experience finding, mentoring, and nurturing talents
• Fluent French essential
• Knowledge of/experience in commodities and energy markets
• Strong record of nurturing sources, breaking news, and producing in-depth stories.
• Clean, lively copy that sparkles – whether writing your own or editing someone else’s
• Familiarity with different story-telling formats for a digital audience
• Experience managing a team.

How to apply

The deadline for applications is August 25, 2024. To learn more and apply, please click here.