Senior Journalist (Social) : EXTEND

Job Requisition ID: 34202

Job Closing Date: 5th of January 2026

Cardiff, GBR, CF10 1FT

JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: D
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, Full-time
DEPARTMENT: BBC Wales News, Digital
LOCATION: Wales, hybrid
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £41,200 – £49,133, 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.

Welsh language skills aren’t necessary for this role / Nid yw sgiliau’r Iaith Gymraeg yn hanfodol ar gyfer y swydd hon

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 are fully committed to providing workplace adjustments to help eliminate barriers in the workface 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

Lead BBC Wales News’ social media team. You’ll help to set social strategy, run the on-day operation, and turn our strongest journalism into scroll-stopping posts and reels across BBC Wales News’ accounts. Sitting in Digital but working closely with Commissioning, Planning and Stories & Specialists, you’ll grow loyal, returning audiences—especially underserved groups—while upholding BBC standards in a fast-paced environment.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM
This is where BBC Wales News’ pivot to digital really lives: you’ll shape social formats, sharpen workflows, and help define how social media feeds our journalism (and vice versa). You’ll have autonomy, clear KPIs and fast feedback loops—with your learnings feeding directly into commissioning and planning. It’s hands-on and high-impact public service journalism.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

Lead daily social output: Plan, create and publish highly engaging social coverage of on-day, pre-planned and breaking news that is distinctive, visual and editorially compliant. Optimise content for each platform’s behaviour and our brand voice. Align with digital video, site and app, and linear to maximise cross-platform impact.
Own the social strategy: Set priorities according to audience need. Develop formats that work well with social audiences and stay abreast of ever-changing social media algorithms.
Make social the front door to our journalism: Create engaging content that also drives referrals back to our website.
Coach and empower: Lead a small team of journalists to produce social content. Build playbooks, edit scripts and upskill reporters/producers on social storytelling and audience motivations.
Measure what matters: Track and share audience insights (views, engagement, watch times etc) to inform future commissions.
Run safe, compliant channels: Uphold the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and legal responsibilities.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

Senior-level judgement and proven social news leadership—setting priorities, shaping output, staying calm under pressure.
Expert craft for social: Proven experience of creating and commissioning social slideshows, thumbnails, captions, reels and other platform-specific content.
Audience-centred: Use data and research to inform choices – know what appeals to younger audiences in Wales. Balance the pursuit of engagement and reach with our responsibilities as a public service broadcaster.
Editorial standards: Strong understanding of the importance of accuracy, impartiality and inclusion. Confidence in navigating user generated content (UGC), safety and legal considerations.
Flexibility: Shift work, including some evenings and weekends within our hybrid set-up.

DESIRED BUT NOT REQUIRED:

Welsh language skills (spoken and written) or experience commissioning bilingual output.
Familiarity with Photoshop, SocialFlow and Wolftech.
Experience of designing and evaluating pilots and reporting impact against newsroom KPIs.
Experience partnering with correspondents and producers to land high-impact, social-led treatments.

HOW THIS ROLE FITS :

You’ll sit within the Digital team, working day-to-day with the Digital Senior News Editor and Assistant Editors, to surface social opportunities early, shape pitches, and close the loop with audience insight.

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.