North America Bureau Chief

Purpose of the Position: 

SCMP seeks an experienced and self-motivated journalist to lead its bureaus in North America, including the Washington, D.C. office and the New York office. The selected candidate will drive our coverage of a wide range of issues across North America, with a focus on US-China diplomacy, trade, economics, and major geopolitical developments. The candidate will also represent the SCMP at various events in the United States, as well as coach and guide our reporters rotating through from China. The candidate must be able to take a hands-on approach to managing bureau affairs and establish strong ties across divisions within the organisation to ensure teamwork and collaboration.

Reporting to: Executive Editor Chow Chung-yan
 

In this role, you will: 

• Lead a team of correspondents and production editors across our bureaus in North America, providing clear direction and guidance to deliver timely, factual, fair, and balanced news reports on major events with a clear China connection.
• Conduct final quality control for all stories, editing content for accuracy and clarity to ensure it meets SCMP editorial standards and house rules.
• Proactively collaborate with colleagues in Beijing, Hong Kong, and other offices to coordinate coverage, share resources, and provide comprehensive, well-contextualised stories.
• Build and maintain strong networks with policymakers, diplomats, thought leaders, academics, industry leaders, and key information sources across North America to generate exclusive coverage and insights.
• Represent the organisation at industry events, conferences, and meetings, promoting our brand and fostering collaborations.
• Organise advanced story planning, manage publishing schedules, and set deadlines to ensure consistent and engaging output.
• Provide training, guidance, and supervision to reporters rotating through from other bureaus.
• Identify, recruit, and groom high-potential journalists.
• Serve as a strategic leader contributing to the organisation's major goals and initiatives, providing constructive and timely feedback.
• Manage bureau budgets effectively and prudently.

Skills and Experience that will lead to success:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher.
• Minimum of 12 years of journalism experience, preferably covering international affairs, economics, trade, and business.
• Minimum 5 years of experience managing a news operation that competes globally to generate breaking news, deep analysis and enterprise pieces.
• Minimum 5 years of the above experience in Asia, preferably Greater China.
• A good understanding of the political and legal environments in the US, Hong Kong, and mainland China – and proven ability to work within these parameters to produce objective, fact-based reports that provide enough value to grow SCMP’s subscriber base.
• Proven people management experience, with the ability to motivate, mentor, and lead a team of journalists.
• Proven track record of breaking news, writing insightful analysis, and producing multi-format content.
• Strong editorial judgment, editing, and storytelling skills.
• Creative, agile, and dynamic, with the ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Proficiency in Chinese is considered a plus.

Work location will be at Washington D.C

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