Job Description

Planning, Assignments and Photography Editor, Sub-Saharan Africa

Reuters is looking for an experienced and highly organised editorial leader to oversee the deployment of journalists, equipment and technology for breaking and daily news coverage in Africa.

This role will ensure Reuters delivers cohesive, high-impact journalism across all formats — text, video and pictures — by aligning field operations across the region with editorial priorities and helping deliver coverage that meets client expectations.

The successful candidate will be detail-oriented with a strategic mindset, able to balance logistics with the broader editorial picture. They will be passionate about equipping journalists with the right skills and technology to deliver lightning-fast breaking news and memorable reporting that reaches the front page and leads the bulletin.

They will work closely with regional Editors to coordinate coverage across formats and platforms. They will bring strong news judgement, excellent communication skills and the ability to prioritise in a fast-moving environment.

The right candidate will also be a specialist in photography, helping ensure Reuters remains "first and best" in news, sport and entertainment coverage. In addition to responsibilities across text and video, they will work with the Global Director of Photography to deliver breadth, speed and quality across the Reuters pictures file while driving innovation through feedback and mentorship.

The successful candidate may also represent Reuters' photographic excellence externally, including meeting with clients, supporting certification and provenance initiatives, and speaking at industry events and photojournalism forums.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate field deployment of journalists and logistics for breaking news coverage.
• Work with newsroom leaders to determine staffing levels that match the ambition and scope of coverage.
• Work closely with staff and freelance photographers, as well as the Global Director of Photography, to maintain Reuters' high editorial and visual standards.
• Provide feedback, mentorship and talent development across the region to foster a strong photographic culture.
• Troubleshoot and mitigate staffing challenges during fast-moving news cycles.
• Lead cross-format planning for major news events and editorial initiatives, ensuring cohesive execution across teams.
• Utilise planning tools to maintain accurate, accessible and client-ready coverage calendars.
• Communicate with clients in real time regarding coverage as required.
• Collaborate with commercial and product teams to improve newsroom planning systems and workflows.
• Work closely with the Editorial Safety Team.
• Ensure coverage is delivered within agreed budgets and that deployment costs are managed efficiently.
• Anticipate coverage needs and move people and resources ahead of major developing stories.
• Make clear deployment decisions quickly as news priorities change.

Required Qualifications

• Strong editorial judgement and operational decision-making under pressure.
• Deep understanding of visual workflows and newsroom technologies.
• Excellent photography and photo-editing skills, with knowledge of the latest developments in photojournalism technology.
• Outstanding communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills.
• Familiarity with newsroom safety protocols and planning workflows.
• Proven track record in planning, production or senior coordination roles within a fast-paced newsroom.
• Commitment to Reuters Trust Principles of independence, integrity and freedom from bias.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor, develop and retain talent.
• Strong knowledge of Africa and proven experience working in hostile and challenging environments.
• Ability to coordinate complex coverage across multiple bureaus and countries.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven track record leading cross-format coverage across text, video and pictures, with the ability to coordinate complex, multi-country deployments during major breaking news events.
• Demonstrated ability to drive newsroom innovation through new technologies, digital workflows, AI-enabled tools or content provenance initiatives.
• Experience representing a news organisation externally through client engagement, industry forums, training programmes or partnerships.
• Proven ability to direct coverage of major breaking news, elections, conflicts, disasters or other complex events.
• Experience directing field teams and coordinating deployment across multiple bureaux.
• Familiarity with AI tools and their application in planning, research, production or newsroom workflows.
• A strong record of mentoring and developing journalists, photographers and producers in a high-pressure newsroom.

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What’s in it For You?

At Reuters, our people are our greatest assets. Here are some of the benefits we offer for your personal and professional growth:

• Global Career: As a global company, we can offer a truly international career and progression opportunities.
• Learning & Development: On the job learning and coaching. We also have a dedicated training team focused on the continuous development of our journalists.
• Industry Competitive Benefits:  We offer competitive salary packages and market leading benefits including paid volunteering days.
• Perks: Work alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and a team who provide unmatched, award-winning coverage of the world’s most important stories.

About Reuters

Reuters is the world’s largest multimedia news provider. Founded in 1851, it is committed to the Trust Principles of independence, integrity and freedom from bias. With unmatched coverage in over 16 languages, and reaching billions of people worldwide every day, Reuters provides trusted intelligence that powers humans and machines to make smart decisions. It supplies business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters informs the way forward by bringing together the trusted content and technology that people and organizations need to make the right decisions. We serve professionals across legal, tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media. Our products combine highly specialized software and insights to empower professionals with the data, intelligence, and solutions needed to make informed decisions, and to help institutions in their pursuit of justice, truth, and transparency. Reuters, part of Thomson Reuters, is a world leading provider of trusted journalism and news.

We are powered by the talents of 26,000 employees across more than 70 countries, where everyone has a chance to contribute and grow professionally in flexible work environments. At a time when objectivity, accuracy, fairness, and transparency are under attack, we consider it our duty to pursue them. Sound exciting? Join us and help shape the industries that move society forward.

As a global business, we rely on the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of all employees to deliver on our business goals. To ensure we can do that, we seek talented, qualified employees in all our operations around the world regardless of race, color, sex/gender, including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, citizen status, veteran status, or any other protected classification under applicable law. Thomson Reuters is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer providing a drug-free workplace.

We also make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs in accordance with applicable law. More information on requesting an accommodation here.

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More information about Thomson Reuters can be found on thomsonreuters.com