We’re looking for a writer in Oxford

Contract type: Full-time, flexible hours. We are open to a part-time arrangement for the right candidate, but full-time is strongly preferred.

Compensation: £80,000 to £120,000 per year, based on experience and location.

Location: Our offices are in Oxford, United Kingdom, but many people in our team work remotely. We welcome applications from international candidates, though working hours should partly overlap with core UK working hours to facilitate collaboration with the team. Visa sponsorship may be considered for the right candidate, depending on individual circumstances and relocation preference.

Description: We are looking for an experienced writer. The ideal candidate already writes single-authored pieces regularly and publicly for a non-specialist audience, builds arguments based on data and research, and has the range to cover many of the topics we work on. This is a senior role: the person we hire will work closely with Hannah Ritchie, our Deputy Editor.

The hiring process involves a paid writing residency before any full-time offer. What we’re looking for is quite a unique combination. We want someone who writes excellent narrative articles for a general audience, finding memorable framings to make hard ideas easier to understand, while being genuinely obsessed with the technical details: the scientific nuance, the caveats, the honest communication of what the evidence actually shows.

Our work is focused on helping people understand the world’s largest problems and how we make progress against them. The right person for us needs to know which questions are important and what readers need to know to understand the answers.

Key responsibilities of the writer role:

• Writing clear, engaging, and insightful articles on various aspects of the topics we cover (such as health, poverty and inequality, technological change, demographics, or human rights), to make important data and research findings on the world’s largest problems accessible to a large, non-specialist audience.
• Collaborating closely with data scientists to produce relevant data and interactive visualizations presenting evidence on the topics you are writing about.

What we’re looking for:

• A track record of clear, engaging, and informative public writing for a general audience — pieces you conceived, researched, and wrote yourself — that rely on well-chosen data and build on the relevant research literature.
• Good understanding of statistics and excellent ability to interpret and engage critically with data from different sources.
• Interest and ability to write across a broad range of topics.
• A strong sense of editorial judgment — knowing which questions are worth asking, which data is worth using, and how to frame things for a general audience.
• Strong interest in global issues and a commitment to the values and mission of Our World in Data.

Personal characteristics we look for:

• Ability to analyze information critically and change your mind based on evidence.
• Openness to editorial feedback and an iterative writing process.
• High sense of agency.
• A high degree of initiative and ability to work independently on projects from conception to completion.
• Curiosity and desire to learn in-depth about a diverse range of topics.
• Drive to present information in engaging and creative ways.
• Ability to understand and consider diverse perspectives, particularly when discussing sensitive or complex global issues.

Growth and career trajectory: The initial position we’re hiring for is a full-time writer role. In this position, you will work closely with me to develop article ideas and produce them with editorial feedback.

Contract and salary: Contract type: Full-time, flexible hours. We are open to a part-time arrangement for the right candidate, but full-time is strongly preferred. Compensation: £80,000 to £120,000 per year, based on experience and location.

About us: Our World in Data is produced through a close collaboration between academic researchers, writers, data scientists, web developers, and designers. Research and data are crucial to making progress against the large problems the world is facing and building a better future.

Diversity and inclusion: Remote work has allowed us to build a team of fascinating colleagues from a wide range of countries and backgrounds, a diversity we’d like to nurture and encourage. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment and strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply.