Sports Content Senior Researcher

Position Summary:

You have a head for stats, an eye for a great story, and the range as a writer to be creative and succinct -- and your passion for sports is the beating heart that fuels it all.  This is the type of person who thrives as a Sports Content Senior Researcher at ESPN. 

Our mission is simple to define but incredibly complex to deliver:  Provide ESPN’s television, audio, digital and social platforms with statistics, context and historical perspectives that make our sports coverage as interesting to the sports fanatic as it is understandable to the casual observer.  It’s no easy feat, but we do it 24/7, and we think we do it better than anyone else.

Ok, it’s true: You’re in the office on Super Bowl Sunday. And for the NFL Draft. And the NFL schedule release. But the office is ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, CT, and you’re surrounded by people who share your passion. You’re a member of a tight squad of like-minded professionals who feed an endless flow of differentiating content that lands across ESPN platforms. Sports Content Senior Researchers tap their existing reservoirs of knowledge and use ESPN’s vast resources – including access to world-class advanced metrics -- to hone in on the why and how of the sporting events that are most important to ESPN and sports fans. The NFL, college football and the NBA are year-round staples, with significant coverage for the NHL, WNBA and college basketball. Any sport could deliver the story of the day, week or month.

The Senior Researcher position requires strong news judgment, broad sports knowledge and a high comfort level with giving and receiving feedback. Training and coaching Researcher colleagues of varying experience level as well as assisting with coordinating Research/BottomLine coverage for a particular sport are among the expanded requirements for this second-tier Research position. If this sounds like you and you’re up for the challenge, please apply today!

Responsibilities:

The Senior Researcher will be a leader in the department in terms of content, mentoring, recognizing and suggesting solutions for long-term issues, and generating ideas related to the future of the department. This person will consider the broader ESPN-wide perspective and will demonstrate leadership competencies in leading themselves and colleagues.

The Senior Researcher will think globally about content, from planning and projects to shows across all ESPN platforms – including ESPN’s BottomLine.

Ideal candidates will possess the following traits:

• Demonstrated ability to follow all company policies and to adhere to department guidelines including but not limited to filing weekly shift reports
• Demonstrated ability to give and receive constructive feedback.
• A self-starter, able to manage and prioritize working time on the fly and adapt to rapidly changing work conditions.
• Strong news/content judgment
• Mentors Researchers and demonstrates leadership capabilities, including reviewing the work of colleagues.
• Takes a proactive approach to working with managers to address issues and offer suggestions on solving problems.
• Approaches job from a larger ESPN-wide perspective.
• Night, weekend and holiday work will be required.
• The role is On Site, requiring on-campus shifts.

Working in Research also means you:

• Work a schedule that will vary by month and/or season  --  you’ll get to dive deeply into sports and have enough variety to keep your days and week fresh;
• Experience professional growth and development – in addition to on-boarding and training and coaching that is a constant, you’ll meet with your supervisor formally twice a month and receive quarterly performance updates.

Qualifications:

• Must have demonstrated the ability to do all the work required of a Sports Content Researcher at an elite level.
• Deep and broad knowledge across multiple sports.
• Elite writing and grammar skills. Must have demonstrated ability to research and to write air-ready scripts and edit and improve anchors’ scripts or put content on BottomLine and lead breaking news scenarios.
• Must be able to identify appropriate statistical tools, advanced statistics to support storylines across all platforms.
• The ability to provide full availability for this position which will include nights, weekends and holidays.

Preferred Qualifications:

• The ideal candidate will have 3+ years’ experience working with statistics, covering sports, or analyzing sports events, news and issues.
• College degree preferred.
• Fluency in reading, speaking and writing Spanish preferred.

Required Education:

High School diploma or equivalent

Preferred Education:

College degree or equivalent

Additional Information: (i.e. physical requirements, holiday, nights, weekend shifts, etc.)

Research at ESPN is 24/7, and the role is On Site (all shifts are worked in person on campus).Position shift times include early mornings and late nights – and everything in between – as well as shifts on weekends and holidays. This is a constant throughout one’s career in ESPN Content.