Journalist – BBC (London)
Job Reference: 15488
Band: C
Salary: £26,975 – £36,975 plus London Weighting, depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.
Contract type: x1 Fixed Term Contract & x1 Perm Contract
Location: London
We’re happy to discuss flexible working. Please indicate your choice under the flexible working question in the application. There is no obligation to raise this at the application stage but if you wish to do so, you are welcome to. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.
• Excellent career progression – the BBC offers great opportunities for employees to seek new challenges and work in different areas of the organisation.
• Unrivalled training and development opportunities – our in-house Academy hosts a wide range of internal and external courses and certification.
• Benefits – We offer a negotiable salary package, a flexible 35-hour working week for work-life balance and 25 days annual leave with the option to buy an extra 5 days, a defined pension scheme and discounted dental, health care, gym and much more.
Freelancers are eligible to apply for an internal role if they are on a Worker Contract and they have worked continuously for 6 months. If they have worked for less than 6 months continuously or have a break of 3 weeks or more between engagements, they must seek Divisional HR approval to apply for an internal role prior to submitting an application.
If they are unsure which contract they are on, they can speak to their booker or the HR BP, however if it helps – both a PAYE freelance or Modus Gross contract is considered a Worker contract and covered by the Worker terms found here.
The Radio Newsroom broadcasts the news to tens of millions of listeners in the UK and around the world. It provides news for Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4, 5Live, 6Music, local radio and the World Service. It is also responsible for the latest news service on BBC Sounds, short-form news podcasts and summaries on voice-activated devices. For journalism of record, the Audio Newsroom sets the standard.
We are looking to appoint a Journalist to work on the Bulletins and Summaries desks. On occasion, you may be required to undertake shifts in other parts of the Radio Newsroom, including on the World Service’s Newsroom programme, or with Digital Audio News if operational needs require.
We want people brimming with story ideas – to help broaden our news agenda, so it better reflects the many diverse communities across the UK. Collaborative working produces the best output – so being a team player is essential.
You will need a range of skills from writing stories and news summaries, editing audio, putting forward ideas for stories you might cover yourself to spotting stories that would interest our different audiences.
Band C Journalists play a vital role in the newsroom. They are relied upon to research and produce stories for the output. A good broadcasting voice is desirable. Journalists may have the opportunity to write and present news bulletins, on air reports and live two-ways. They should also have the potential to take on more senior roles.
• Producing, editing and setting up stories for broadcast.
• Writing news bulletins and summaries with accuracy, clarity, wit and flair, often underpressure, with our different networks and audiences in mind.
• Showing the ability to source a range of stories that connect with our audiences and engagenew ones.
• Working with the entire range of on-air talent, including editors, presenters and reporters.
• Acting up to more senior roles.
• Liaising with and maintaining positive relationships with colleagues throughout the BBC.
The successful candidate should have:
• First class writing, production and organisational skills.
• Good knowledge of domestic and international news
• An understanding of our audiences, and a track record in delivering content with diverse audiences in mind.
• A creative approach to producing the best content for impact across our different output areas and platforms – radio and digital audio.
• Editorial judgement: making the right editorial and policy decisions based on a clear understanding of the BBC’s audiences and distinctive news agendas; generating original ideas for broadcast.
• Experience in producing news summaries, bulletins and programmes.
• Knowledge of the law and ethics as they apply to journalism.
• A good understanding of BBC News services and output.
• Experience in producing podcasts – or a willingness to master the skills to do so.
• Excellent communication skills, with a commitment to dealing with colleagues in an inclusive, nurturing and kind manner.
This is a 24/7 newsroom. Applicants must be willing to work the full range of shifts, including weekends, public holidays, night shifts and early starts.
If you have any questions regarding this role please contact Matthew Grant, for more info. If you have any questions about the interview or application process please refer to Gateway where there is a wealth of resources and videos to help you.
The BBC is committed to redeploying employees seeking suitable alternative employment within the BBC for different reasons 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.
We don’t focus simply on what we do – we also care how we do it. Our values and the way we behave are important to us. Please make sure you’ve read about our values and behaviours here.
Diversity matters at the BBC. We have a working environment where we value and respect every individual’s unique contribution, enabling all of our employees to thrive and achieve their full potential.
We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to be part of the BBC – whether that’s to contribute to our programming or our wide range of non-production roles. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity.
We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles, unless operational requirements prevent otherwise.
To find out more about Diversity and Inclusion at the BBC, please click here.