Journalist (Volunteer)

ROLE DESCRIPTION
STAFF EDITOR / WRITER
About The Sentinel by Yuvoice
The Sentinel by Yuvoice is a global media nonprofit (501(c)(3)) and the beating heart of citizen journalism. We publish award-winning stories from real people worldwide, breaking news, community stories, mental health journeys, career truths, and fiction and poetry that reflect the world we live in.
Our mission is clear: to surface truth with care, center lived experience, and mobilize communities toward practical change, so readers don't just know more, they can do more. We believe that journalism isn't the exclusive domain of large newsrooms. Stories live in every neighborhood, in every language, in every community. We exist to surface them.
Toward this mission, we are building a global network of 1,000+ volunteer citizen journalists who report from communities around the world, and we are looking for passionate, ethical, and curious individuals to join us.
Position Summary
The Staff Editor & Writer is a hands-on, dual-purpose volunteer editorial role sitting within The Sentinel’s regional journalism structure. This person does two things exceptionally well: they write original journalism, and they edit the submissions of Citizen Journalist contributors so that every story published from the region meets The Sentinel’s standards of accuracy, clarity, and public interest.
This role reports directly to the Director of Regional Journalism and is the primary editorial point of contact for citizen journalists (CJs) submitting work for publication. The Staff Editor & Writer is not a manager or community coordinator — it is a working editorial role for someone who loves both the craft of writing and the challenge of making other people’s writing better.
This role is for you if: You are energised by a blank page and a deadline. You feel genuine satisfaction when a rough submission becomes a publishable story. You care about quality — not as an abstract standard, but as a responsibility to readers and to the communities being written about.
Role-at-a-Glance
Report and write original news and feature stories assigned by the Director of Regional Journalism
Review, line-edit, and develop CJ submissions to publication standard
Produce breaking news coverage when assigned
Provide detailed written feedback to CJs explaining editorial changes
Pitch story ideas that emerge from the regional beat
Fact-check claims and flag sourcing gaps before publication
Write contextualising pieces that support CJ-reported stories
Work with CJs across multiple revision cycles where needed
Cover coverage gaps when no CJ is available for an assigned story
Escalate editorial concerns to the Director of Regional Journalism
Key ResponsibilitiesOriginal Reporting & Writing
Research, report, and write original news stories, features, and analysis pieces assigned by the Director of Regional Journalism, adhering to The Sentinel’s editorial standards, style guide, and publication deadlines.
Pitch story ideas to the Director of Regional Journalism based on beats, regional events, and gaps in current coverage, with clear newsworthiness rationale and suggested sourcing approaches.
Conduct interviews, gather documentary evidence, and verify facts independently before submitting copy for editorial review.
Cover breaking news assignments as directed, balancing speed with the accuracy standards required by The Sentinel’s corrections policy.
Write contextualising, explainer, or backgrounder pieces that add depth to stories submitted by citizen journalists, where the Director of Regional Journalism determines additional editorial scaffolding is needed.
Step in to cover assigned stories when no Citizen Journalist is available, ensuring regional editorial output does not fall below publication targets during recruitment gaps or high-demand periods.
Editing Citizen Journalist Submissions
Review all assigned citizen journalist submissions in a timely manner, assessing each piece for newsworthiness, accuracy, sourcing, clarity, structure, tone, and adherence to The Sentinel’s editorial guidelines.
Line-edit submissions to publication standard, improving sentence clarity, active voice, structural logic, and factual precision without overriding the contributor’s voice or losing their proximity to the story.
Provide clear, specific, and developmental written feedback with every edited submission, explaining the reasoning behind significant changes so that contributors learn and improve over time.
Flag sourcing weaknesses, unverified claims, potential legal risks, and ethical concerns to the Director of Regional Journalism before publication, never passing through content that cannot be adequately verified.
Manage multi-cycle revision workflows where submissions require more than one round of editing, maintaining clear communication with contributors about what is needed and why.
Ensure all edited submissions are correctly formatted for upload, with accurate headlines, subheadings, bylines, and metadata, before passing to the Director of Regional Journalism for final publication sign-off.

Work arrangement
No