Journalist -BBC Isle of Man

You will be working as part of the North West and Isle of Mann news team, primarily focused on delivering multi-platform content with a particular focus on online.

Job Requisition ID: 31034

Job Closing Date: 25 January 2026

Isle of Man, GBR, IM99 1SW

JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: C
CONTRACT TYPE: Fixed-term Contract (Maternity cover) until 15 October 2026
DEPARTMENT: BBC Nations, BBC News Online (North West/Isle of Mann)
LOCATION: Isle of Mann office, BBC Isle of Man, Broadcasting House, Douglas Head, Douglas, Isle of Man IM99 1SW.
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: Band C salary range is £27,600 – £46,500 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

We’re happy to discuss flexible working. If you’d like to, please indicate your preference in the application – though there’s no obligation to do so now. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

BBC Local is the family of services we offer across local communities in England, including radio, online, social media and TV. With famous brands and new platforms, we provide a rich mix of content and programming from news to entertainment. We are looking for a motivated, innovative journalist to help shape our digital agenda.
We want driven and passionate journalists who want to help reach new audiences with the news that matters to them. You’ll be a journalist who knows what online audiences expect and know how to turn around clean copy under tight deadlines. The role requires someone who will be keen to do more than just look for press releases – we want original ideas that help reflect the diverse audience across the region.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM
You will be working as part of the North West and Isle of Mann news team, primarily focused on delivering multi-platform content with a particular focus on online.
The ideal candidate is someone who gets excited about big stories, is tenacious in chasing follow-ups, can juggle a list of jobs and relishes change as we continually adapt to audience demands.
You will cover all manner of different stories and work to pitch them to the various audience motivations.
We’re looking to find someone who is a brilliant colleague, has a strong work ethic and wants to maximise content.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

Responsible for originating and producing stories primarily for the BBC website and audio platforms, as well as reacting to news as it comes in
To tailor different news treatments for different audiences ensuring that the output reflects the audiences we serve
Delivering to tight deadlines while maintaining the highest editorial standards
Working with colleagues to ensure all our journalism works across digital, TV and audio platforms
Providing local news content for BBC News Online, with a main focus on the Isle of Mann index page, based in Douglas.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

Have sound editorial judgement, making decisions on matters of editorial sensitivity under pressure. You should be curious in your approach to delivering original journalism
Able to write clean, accurate and concise copy with quick turnaround times, for publication on the BBC website
Be comfortable delivering content for other BBC Local platforms; audio, social and TV.
Strong media law knowledge, including experience of covering courts and inquests
A keen eye for strong imagery to make stories standout online and be able do basic photo editing

DESIRED BUT NOT REQUIRED:

Understanding of SEO within a news context to help our stories reach the people most interested in and impacted by them
Knowledge of Optimo, the online publishing platform
Experience of working in a multi-platform newsroom, delivering content for both online and audio platforms
Be familiar with social media in a news context and know how to make the most of various platforms to reach a range of audiences

If you can bring some of these skills and experience, along with transferable strengths, we’d love to hear from you and encourage you to apply.

This role is currently advertised as internal only. Freelancers are eligible to apply if they have been on a Worker Contract (more info here) continuously for 6 months. If less than 6 months (or they have had a break of 3 weeks or more between engagements), they must seek Divisional HR approval to apply.

Disclaimer

This job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved.

Please note: If you were to be offered this role, the BBC will conduct Employment screening checks which include Reference checks; Eligibility to work checks; and if applicable to the role, Safeguarding and Adverse media/Social media checks. Any offer made is conditional on these checks being satisfactory.

For any general queries, please contact: [email protected]

Redeployment

The BBC is committed to redeploying employees seeking suitable alternative employment within the BBC and they will be given priority consideration ahead of other applicants. Priority consideration means for those employees seeking redeployment their application will be considered alongside anyone else at risk of redundancy, prior to any individuals being considered who are not at risk.