East Africa Correspondent at Financial Times

The role

The Financial Times is looking for an East Africa correspondent, one of the most exciting and challenging jobs in the FT’s global network.  The correspondent will have a flair for writing news and analysis and a passion to cover one of the most dynamic regions of Africa.

The role is based in Nairobi but covers 13 countries in east and central Africa, the most important of which are Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. Visas are occasionally hard to obtain and the prospective candidate should not be afraid of bureaucracy. 

The job is busy and complex. It will suit a versatile journalist who is equally able to tease out business and economic stories from a region with few big listed companies and able to report fast moving from the ground. That includes reporting from countries with hostile governments and covering elections where events can be volatile. It may very occasionally be necessary to report from countries at war, although always with strong FT guidance and support.

A key feature of the job is the ability to report and break compelling stories of interest to FT readers from a region with relatively small economies and where only a minority of our readers will be actively invested.

Key responsibilities and duties:

• Cooperate effectively with other correspondents and the World desk in London
• Tell stories whether corporate, economic, political or social
• Write for all sections of the FT from company news and capital markets to a magazine front
• Have an eye for breaking news, business angles and a flair for writing
• Demonstrate numeracy and proficiency in handling data
• Report across all digital platforms and engage with our audience through social media 

Who we are looking for:

The successful candidate must be capable of writing economic and business stories in a fragmented environment where data is not readily available and numbers are not always large enough to excite desks in London. The ability to work in French would be useful.