Trainee Racing Journalist

Spotlight Sports Group is a global media and technology company specialising in content and data within sports betting, horse racing and fantasy sports. With over 400 employees, the group operates multiple award-winning brands, including Racing Post, the world’s largest horse racing affiliate, Pickswise, myracing and Free Super Tips. We partner with leading operators across the betting industry to produce and build multilingual, best-in-class digital products and content to engage and educate customers. ICS-digital, an international marketing agency including ICS-translate, also operates under the group.

Job context:

The Racing Post is looking for a talented, enthusiastic and driven individual to develop a career in horseracing journalism, helping create and prepare content for our daily newspaper, app, website and other outlets under the Spotlight Sports Group umbrella. 

As a trainee racing journalist in our editorial team, you will work across a wide range of tasks including writing news stories and features, editing the work of others for publication in print and online, live coverage, racecourse reporting and more.  

You must be hard working, ambitious, be comfortable working at pace, have strong writing ability and a passion for horseracing. An ability to learn quickly, grasp opportunities and develop a feel for the stories that matter to our readers will also be important. Training and mentoring will be provided, and you'll have the opportunity to work closely with our team of award-winning reporters and editors in a fast-paced and exciting publishing environment.

This homeworker role is based in Ireland with occasional travel to racecourses and other locations for reporting duties.

Responsibilities: 

• Research, write and edit compelling news, features, special reports, interviews and other content
• Prepare content for publication in line with required publishing standards, paying close attention to accuracy, headlines and picture choice 
• Develop an appreciation of our audience so as to tailor content for maximum impact
• Pitch story ideas to editors and execute those ideas with flair 
• Monitor the daily news environment in racing, betting and beyond to identify and report upon potential items of interest
• Produce audio and video output as part of editorial content packages
• Adhere to and stay up to date with media and copyright laws
• Any other duties as required 

• Keen interest in horse racing and an understanding of betting

• Ability to work under pressure on varied tasks with demanding deadlines
• High standard of written English
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to use initiative and work without supervision
• Excellent communication skills

We offer a range of well-being initiatives, including private medical insurance, excellent parental leave, a working globally policy, mental health support, assistance programs, and social gatherings. We also provide a pension scheme and various other benefit schemes. Plus, we all get our birthdays off work and enjoy 25 days of holiday per year, as well as the opportunity to buy 5 additional days per year and you can be flexible about when you use your public holidays.

We’ve also got you covered with life assurance and exclusive perks like our Step Further Awards (our employee recognition program) to recognise your dedication.

You can also take advantage of complimentary access to our Racing Post Members Club, complete with an Ultimate Membership. We believe in making a positive impact beyond the workplace, and you'll have the chance to volunteer two days per year with our charity partner, Autism in Racing.