jobs
After another successful year of having a Trainee Press Officer with us at the SMC, we are now looking for the next trainee!
Trainee Press Officer
Salary: £27,008
1 year, fixed term
Location: London (Euston). We’re an office-based organisation and staff are expected to be in the office as default five days a week.
To start: ideally Monday 15 September 2025
Application deadline: 9 am Monday 7 July 2025
Interviews: in person at our London office, Monday 21 July 2025
The Science Media Centre is looking for our next Trainee Press Officer after our second year-long Traineeship comes to its end. This is the perfect role for someone with a passion for science who wants a career in science media relations. It focuses on the messy, contested science stories that hit the news headlines as well as science that is open to mis-reporting. This is an office-based role in a fast-moving, open-plan team based in the Wellcome Collection building.
The traineeship will be a one-year contract, and the successful candidate will be trained to:
- Respond to media enquiries from national and international news outlets;
- Gather comments from scientists on breaking news or new research findings on topics as varied as infectious diseases, AI, mental health, diet and nutrition, cancer, and climate change;
- Monitor the top scientific journals on a daily basis and identify new findings which need expert comment;
- Add scientists to the SMC database;
- Contribute to editorial decisions about press conferences.
Candidates should have:
- A degree or equivalent in science;
- A proven interest in science in the news;
- Enthusiasm to act at a junior level and work in high pressure environment.
You can find a copy of the Trainee Press Officer role profile here
For an informal discussion about the role please contact Ed Day, Press Officer, on ed@sciencemediacentre.org or 07990 040 298 / 0207 611 8321, or Joely Merriman, the current Trainee Press Officer, on joely@sciencemediacentre.org or 0207 611 8344.
If you wish to apply please send your C.V. and a covering letter to jobs@sciencemediacentre.org detailing why you want this particular role and how you fit the role requirements. Your covering letter should not be more than one side of A4 long.