Northamptonshire story journalist

BBC Northampton is looking for a great journalist with sharp writing skills and strong editorial judgement to work as part of our online team.

Job Requisition ID: 47235

Job Closing Date: 28 June 2026

Norwich, GBR, NR2 1TF

JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: C
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, three days a week (21 hours)
DEPARTMENT: East News
LOCATION: Northampton
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £27,600 – £33,900 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. (delete if not applicable)

BBC EXTEND

This role is advertised as part of our BBC Extend programme for disabled people. To apply for this role you should identify as deaf, disabled or neurodivergent and must meet either the definition of disability in the Equality Act (2010), or the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) if applying in Northern Ireland. You’re broadly defined as disabled under both acts if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long‑term negative or adverse effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. This definition includes both apparent and non-apparent conditions and impairments, and medical conditions such as Cancer, HIV or Multiple Sclerosis.

We are committed to making the process of applying for this role as accessible as possible. If you need to discuss adjustments or access requirements for the application process, or have any questions about our Extend programme, please contact [email protected].

The BBC is fully committed to providing workplace adjustments to help eliminate barriers in the workplace that disabled people face. To do this, we have our own dedicated BBC Access and Disability Service that provides assessments and support throughout employment with us. If you are successful in applying for this role and require workplace adjustments, we will work with you to get your adjustments in place.

If you’d like more information on BBC Extend, please visit the BBC Extend webpage. (EXTEND code: EX2324)

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Job Introduction

BBC Northampton is looking for a great journalist with sharp writing skills and strong editorial judgement to work as part of our online team. You will play a key role in covering the best stories in Northamptonshire to reflect all audiences.

You’ll be adept at responding to breaking news, generating original stories and collaborating with colleagues to ensure content is delivered in accessible and engaging formats. You’ll be a team player with a can‑do attitude, an organised approach, and a talent for telling the stories that matter most to our communities in a conversational and relatable way.

We’re looking for people who can help deepen our relationship with local audiences. You’ll be a creative journalist and storyteller who reflects the diversity, energy and character of Northamptonshire.

BBC Local is the family of services we offer across local communities in England—including radio, online, social media and TV. With established brands and new platforms, we provide a rich mix of content from news to entertainment.

Your Key Responsibilities and Impact

Producing, writing and editing news content for the BBC News website, ensuring it is accurate, engaging and relevant.
Generating story ideas that connect with local audiences and attract new ones.
Building and maintaining positive relationships with colleagues throughout the BBC.

Your Skills and Experience

Essential Criteria

First‑class writing and organisational skills.
Significant recent experience in a fast‑paced news environment, preferably working on digital platforms.
Good knowledge of Northamptonshire.
Strong editorial judgement and an understanding of the BBC’s audiences and distinctive news values.
Excellent communication skills, with a commitment to dealing with colleagues in an inclusive, nurturing and kind manner.

Desired but Not Required

A creative approach to producing impactful content across different output areas and platforms – including radio and digital audio.
The ability to write stories into Optimo.
An understanding of our audiences and experience delivering content with diverse communities in mind.
Experience producing news content such as summaries, digital articles or audio features.
Knowledge of relevant law and ethics for journalism.

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.

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.

Before your start date, you may need to disclose any unspent convictions or police charges, in line with our Recruitment policy. This allows us to discuss any support you may need and assess any risks. Failure to disclose may result in the withdrawal of your offer.

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

We are unable to accept applications via CV and only applications made online will be considered. Please click on the APPLY NOW button to proceed with your application.

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.