The General and Lifestyle reporter on the US West Coast is a new English-language post offering one of the most dynamic and exciting roles in the AFP network.

Based in the Los Angeles bureau, the job is integral to the North American region’s coverage of US life, including Donald Trump and this extraordinary political moment. But the location thousands of miles (kilometers) from Washington DC means you will have a crucial role in providing perspective on what it all means outside the Beltway.

This post handles a wide variety of topics that reflect the main cultural themes in the United States and their human impacts, as well as changing ways of living and trends. That includes the nexus between celebrity/entertainment, lifestyle and the growing multi-billion-dollar industry and social trend of wellness — an area that has a huge global following and a subject AFP must cover more.

The bureau is responsible for coverage of 13 states in the US West, a region that provides a fertile source of stories on lifestyle and social issues (California has the world’s fourth largest economy but a terrible homelessness problem), the environment (climate change is happening here on a large scale before our eyes) and, of course, entertainment — the LA team handles movies, television and music throughout the year, especially during the exciting awards season that culminates in the Oscars (where you will have to wear your smartest clothes and could be hobnobbing with Hollywood royalty).

In the entertainment and music spheres, you will work in tandem with the Spanish-language Entertainment Reporter, producing sparking English language stories.  While there will be scope for your own work, this will necessitate a heavy translation load.

Wellness coverage lies at the intersection of health and science coverage (executed by reporters in Washington), as well as crossing into entertainment and celebrity coverage, so you will also work closely with the health, science, environment and space team.

You should have a hunger for multi-pronged features missions in improbable places, when needed, but be just as keen to throw yourself into coverage of a natural disaster — we have fires and earthquakes — or a human tragedy anywhere in North America. While there will be some opportunity for travel, you’ll work mostly from the bureau,  alongside the English-language bureau chief, writing and translating everything from hard news to focuses to offbeats, including the work produced by colleagues writing in French and Spanish.

You’ll also be working closely with photographers and videographers in the region, planning your stories with them from the very start. And if you’re first on the scene of a breaking news event, or if you see something arresting, you’ll whip out your smartphone and get the first pictures and video onto the wire.

Building an extensive network of contacts and sources who can help break original stories will be key to your work.

Your schedule will be flexible and you should be prepared to work occasional early mornings, as well as late evenings or weekends, including on entertainment and music stories, which can arrive at unsocial hours.

Like everyone at AFP, you’ll be adept at keeping Iris 360 up to date, and will follow the agency’s social media guidelines.

You will also contribute to the fight against disinformation, helping the network’s fact-checking journalists and ensuring you are trained in the main online verification tools and methods. You will adhere to AFP’s charter of good editorial and ethical practices, as well as all current editorial practices.

The nature of the position and the office makeup are subject to change.

· Native-level English is a must

· Ability to translate seamlessly from Spanish and French

· Extensive experience of original reporting, editing and translation.

· You must be adaptable, polyvalent and able to shift from topic to topic rapidly

· You must be a team player capable of working with text, video and photo reporters in Los Angeles and across the country

· You have to be bursting with ideas, ready to work hard and have top-notch writing skills.

· A driver’s license — and the ability to suffer traffic jams — is a must

If your application is selected, you will be invited for an interview with the Editor-in-Chief, the LA Bureau Chief and the HR Manager.

Salary and conditions are outlined in the contract with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, which can be consulted at https://wbng.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/afp-2023-24-signed.pdf