Real Change Homeless Empowerment

Real Change Homeless Empowerment Project was founded in 1994 to offer immediate employment options for poor and homeless adults and challenge the structures that create poverty. Real Change serves our vendors and unsheltered folks through three integrated approaches:

Vendor Program: We meet vendors where they are, providing immediate income and job training. Additional opportunities include advanced sales trainings, leadership positions, resource navigation and paid work with our Homeless Speakers Bureau and editorial department.

Real Change Newspaper: As North America’s leading street paper, we provide work for about 700 homeless and low-income people annually, regularly win awards for excellence and focus on economic, social and racial justice.

Real Change Advocacy: Real Change leverages relationships between vendors and readers to increase opportunities for homeless and low-income people to positively impact their lives.

Real Change actively recruits persons of various backgrounds and supports the retention and advancement of people within the organization. A board, staff and volunteer corps with diverse personal and professional backgrounds enhances our mission and effectiveness and creates an environment for individuals to thrive. We are committed to fostering and supporting a workplace culture inclusive of people regardless of their race, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, marital status, age, physical ability, political affiliation, religion and any other non-merit factor. We equally value and strive to support all employees and job candidates.

Features Reporter Job Description

The Features Reporter is a 32 hours per week, non-exempt position reporting to the Editor. This position is key to fulfilling our vision as a leading Seattle-area newspaper of the progressive community, producing advocacy journalism focusing on issues of race and class. This enterprising reporter position produces original weekly content featuring a wide variety of community voices as well as a quarterly feature story about, or in partnership with, an active Real Change vendor.

Primary Responsibilities
1. Reporting (45%)
• Gather news from community members, wire and local services, press releases and all around
• Develop story ideas and pitch to Editor
• Present and plan stories to the team at the weekly news meeting
• Ensure each story has usable art by coordinating with Art Director or taking photos
• Cultivate relationships with sources, community organizations, artists and other journalists
• Follow through with your stories up until the production deadline, including fact-checking
2. Writing (45%)
• Compile and synthesize data
• Interview multiple sources for each story
• Complete one longform story weekly or several shorter stories in AP Style. Editor will make exceptions to allow for investigative stories, as warranted
• Participate in copy editing and production
3. Other Duties (10%)
• Upload content to the INSP News Service weekly
• Participate in regular department, all staff and other meetings as assigned
• Participate in one Real Change Strategic Planning workgroup
• Promote reporting through Real Change social media
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications
• Passionate dedication to economic, racial and social justice
• Educational, paid or volunteer experience in journalism, including completed writing of news and feature articles
• Self-starter with a history of meeting deadline and content requirements
• Proven ability to find sources and create content ideas
• Team player who can work effectively within and across departments
• Strong organizational skills and comfort working in a deadline-driven environment

Compensation: Salary range is $17.00 – $19.23 per hour. Benefit package includes generous PTO, employer invested retirement fund, flexible work schedule and professional development funds.