Senior Journalist, Planning & Prospects

This pivotal role in the WSL Planning and Prospects team oversees editorial planning across all BBC Language Services. Reporting to the Senior News Editor, you’ll collaborate closely with all teams in Global Journalism, Newsgathering, Deployments, Long Form teams, and Language Services in Output. You’ll play a key part in shaping coverage, ensuring alignment across platforms, and driving forward editorial strategy in a dynamic, multilingual news environment.

Job Requisition ID: 27311

Job Closing Date: 31 August 2025

JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: D
CONTRACT TYPE: 12 month fixed term contract, Full-time. There are two vacancies.
DEPARTMENT: BBC News
LOCATION: London, office based
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £41,200 – £51,200 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

Join a dynamic team that collaborates globally to shape a clear and impactful news agenda. As a Senior Journalist in Planning and Prospects, you’ll help steer editorial priorities, track major events and calendar moments, and oversee the compilation and production of content. You’ll also use audience metrics and social media insights to evaluate performance and influence strategy, ensuring our journalism resonates across international platforms.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

Select and curate content that meets audience expectations and adheres to BBC editorial standards.
Coordinate story development, including scripting, editing, and outputting across BBC platforms.
Lead and support teams by allocating tasks, monitoring progress, and ensuring high-quality journalism.
Apply editorial judgment to develop compelling, accurate, and impartial news coverage.
Use audience insights and best practices to drive performance, meet deadlines, and support continuous improvement.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

Strong editorial judgment, writing, and production skills, with experience in broadcast journalism; proficiency in Optimo, Stitch, and Wolftech is essential.
Skilled in coordinating multilingual planning teams and aligning content across BBC output.
Confident in using emerging technologies to enhance storytelling and newsroom efficiency.
Collaborative team player with conflict resolution skills and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Able to prioritise under pressure, write creatively for varied audiences, and uphold health and safety standards.
This is a shift based role across 7 days, 7 am – 8 pm

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.