Senior Journalist, BBC Amharic

As a Senior Journalist, you will play a leading role in shaping and delivering BBC Amharic's journalism across digital, video, audio and social platforms.

Job Requisition ID: 50303

Job Closing Date: 16 September 2026

Nairobi, KEN, 0 0100
| Nairobi, KEN, 0 0100

JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: D
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, Full-time
DEPARTMENT: BBC News
LOCATION: Nairobi, Kenya

Any offer of employment with the BBC will be conditional upon you having the right to work in Kenya.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

BBC World Service is creating a new Horn of Africa Language Services Unit in Nairobi, bringing together BBC Amharic, BBC Afaan Oromo, BBC Tigrinya and BBC Somali under a single editorial leadership structure for the first time.

BBC Amharic is a trusted source of independent journalism for millions of Amharic speakers across Ethiopia and across a significant global diaspora.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

As a Senior Journalist, you will play a leading role in shaping and delivering BBC Amharic’s journalism across digital, video, audio and social platforms. Working closely with the Assistant Editor and colleagues across the Horn of Africa services, you will contribute to the service’s digital transformation, helping to grow audiences while maintaining the highest editorial standards and audience trust.
This role combines strong journalistic judgement, creative storytelling and digital ambition. You will commission, create and deliver distinctive journalism that serves audiences with accuracy, impartiality and innovation across multiple platforms.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Contribute to BBC Amharic’s transition to a digital-first, video-led service by supporting a culture of editorial excellence, innovation, collaboration and continuous learning.
Produce, edit, commission and publish high-quality journalism across digital, video, social, audio and radio platforms, creating content that meets audience needs and platform behaviours.
Support the delivery of major news stories, special coverage, investigations, explainers and original journalism, helping to ensure timely, engaging and impactful output.
Use audience insights, analytics and performance data to inform content decisions and improve reach, relevance and audience engagement.
Work closely with colleagues across the Horn of Africa services and wider BBC teams to coordinate coverage, share knowledge and contribute to collaborative storytelling projects.
Support the development of digital storytelling, visual journalism and emerging content formats, particularly those that engage younger and underserved audiences.
Apply BBC Editorial Guidelines at all times, ensuring content meets the highest standards of accuracy, impartiality, fairness and compliance, and contribute to editorial decision-making within agreed parameters.

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

Significant experience producing high-quality journalism in a fast-paced, multimedia news environment, with the ability to deliver accurate and engaging content to tight deadlines.
Strong editorial judgement and the ability to identify, develop and tell distinctive stories that resonate with target audiences.
Proven experience creating content for digital-first audiences, with a strong understanding of video, social media and mobile journalism.
Ability to use audience insights, analytics and performance data to inform content decisions and maximise audience reach and engagement.
Good knowledge of major digital and social platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp and BBC digital products.
Experience editing, producing and publishing content across a range of formats and platforms.
Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with colleagues across teams and services, alongside a sound understanding of BBC Editorial Guidelines and a commitment to accuracy, impartiality and fairness.

DESIRABLE

Experience of reporting on Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa region.
Experience in data journalism, investigative reporting or visual storytelling.
Experience presenting content on video, audio or live digital platforms.
Knowledge of audience growth strategies, SEO and content optimisation techniques.

If you can bring some of these skills and experiences, 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: bbchr@bbc.co.uk

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.

Information at a Glance

This is your BBC

At the BBC you can create and innovate in an inclusive environment while contributing to some of the world’s best loved content, and the BBC’s mission to inform, educate and entertain.

Life at BBC

Here you will benefit from:
• Fair pay and flexible benefits specific to your location and contract type.
• Excellent career and professional development.
• Support in your working life.
• A values-based organisation where the way we do things is important as what we do.

You belong

We have a working environment where we value and respect every individual’s unique contribution, so all our employees feel that they can belong, thrive and achieve their full potential.

We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to join us. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity.

We welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief.

Find out more about diversity, inclusion and belonging in our strategy below.