Senior Journalist, Growth. BBC Local

Join the BBC Local’s Audience Growth team to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of BBC Local.This is a hands-on role, empowering editors and their teams to shape our stories, journalism and content to reach new audiences, and build deeper connections.

Job Requisition ID: 42884

Job Closing Date: 22 April 2026

JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: D
CONTRACT TYPE: 6 month Full-time / Fixed-term Contract, Full-time / Attachment until 27 November 2026
DEPARTMENT: BBC Nations, Central Editorial Team, BBC Local
LOCATION: Hybrid across any BBC Local base
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £41,200 -£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

You’ll run growth projects, collate and analyse audience data, and work directly with editorial teams.You’ll be at the heart of driving digital growth in news, sport, audio and video, working closely with editorial, product, and Nations colleagues to unlock new opportunities. A deep understanding of our current audience, and our underserved groups, is crucial as well as good knowledge of the changing consumption habits of our target audiences.This is a fast-paced, collaborative role that puts you right at the heart of storytelling, strategy, and innovation.

The Central Team is a wide-ranging team covering News Online, Sport Online, data journalism, CNS (local radio news), social media and innovation.We are largely based in Birmingham and Salford.This position requires the flexibility to travel across England, with some overnight stays.

To find out more, please contact Roopa Suchak, Audience Growth Editor, BBC Local

WHY JOIN THE TEAM
Reporting to the Audience Growth Editor, you will be part of the wider Central Team, working hand in hand with output from across all regions of England. You will work on growth projects to increase the reach and impact of BBC Local’s digital output by using levers and strategies to improve discoverability of our content for target audience groups. The team is at the heart of digital development for BBC Local.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

Lead and deliver impactful analytics projects, including large-scale initiatives and managing multiple projects simultaneously.
Collaborate with Audience, Editorial, and Product teams to provide both tactical and strategic insights.
Provide audience insights, story ideas and a pre- and post-publication optimisation advice to ensure we’re meeting audience needs and maximising the visibility of content.
Translate complex data and audience insight into clear, actionable recommendations using innovative storytelling and presentation techniques.
Support editorial teams in data informed decision making, contributing to a culture of learning and collaboration.
Break down complex problems into manageable parts to deliver effective, data-driven solutions.
Strengthen BBC Local’s data-informed culture – by providing training as required and supporting use of data and insights at all stages of the content production and publication process.
Provide hands on support on the daily news agenda.
Build and maintain strong working relationships across BBC Local, Nations and BBC News, managing expectations of senior stakeholders when needed.
Work with senior colleagues across Nations, Product & Audiences to develop strategies for cross product growth.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

Strong editorial judgement with experience of creating content on digital platforms to tight deadlines, and a proven track record of making the right decisions under pressure
Proven expertise in SEO and analytical tools (e.g., Chartbeat, Telescope, Piano, Google Search Console) and an ability to translate data into editorial action
Analytical thinking with a high level of numeracy including Excel skills
Ability to manage project teams and help other members priorities work, as well as the ability to manage your own time and prioritise accordingly
Editorial experience and understanding of content production, formats, user needs, and newsroom workflows.
Knowledge of emerging digital trends and platforms, and an awareness of AI innovations and their possible impact on our work.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively as part of a team, build strong relationships, and present results to senior stakeholders.

DESIRED BUT NOT REQUIRED:

Familiarity with audience segmentation and growth tactics.
Demonstrable experience of growing audiences
Experience in training or mentoring colleagues on digital best practices.
Understanding of BBC editorial values and compliance

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.

#LI-FG1

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]

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.