BBC Career Opportunities: Senior Journalist, BBC Northern Ireland

JOB DETAILS

*Interviews will take place during the week commencing July 27th* 

JOB BAND: D

CONTRACT TYPE:

Fixed-term, Full-time Contract until January 2027 

Fixed-term Contract until May 2027 - Part Time 17.5 hours per week. 

Fixed-term, Full-time Contract until December 2026

DEPARTMENT: BBC News Northern Ireland
LOCATION: Belfast
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £41,200 - £47,126 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

BBC News Northern Ireland provides breaking news, analysis, features and debate plus coverage on topical issues across all platforms for local audiences and beyond. We are transforming its news operation to make it future fit in a rapidly changing and
diversifying news media climate, with audience needs coming first and with digital at its heart.

We are seeking to appoint three Senior Journalists (Producers) to work initially within our Digital News team, although they may be required to work across the wider newsroom. Staff in the Digital News team work across the news website, social media and radio news bulletins.

Senior Journalists have high levels of production skills, a reputation for creative thinking and a thorough grasp of the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and journalism law.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM:

Joining the Belfast newsroom offers the chance to operate and grow in a busy and fast paced news environment. Your work will help inform public understanding, drive important conversations across platforms, and make a real impact. It’s a dynamic environment where your voice matters and your decisions will really shape the content we offer to our audiences.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

• Lead daily production meetings in their output area and then assign tasks to Journalists, Reporters and Researchers.
  Commission output for their production area and deploy resources in a cost effective way, provide forward planning and production support.


• Motivate teams to think creatively and respond quickly to breaking news and support junior staff members to help them grow and develop in their role.


• Contribute to the production of original journalism.


• Deal with complex legal and editorial issues.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Demonstrable first-class production skills, strong news judgement and decision-making ability, with experience of operating calmly under pressure and managing complex legal and editorial issues.


• A creative storyteller with a passion for producing original, impactful journalism that informs audiences, sets the news agenda and gets people talking.


• Proven ability to generate distinctive journalism through strong contact-building skills, a wealth of sources and the ability to persuade people to contribute to stories.


• An in-depth knowledge of politics, current affairs, cultural life, and domestic and international news, with a particular understanding of issues affecting Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and beyond.


• A strong understanding of the evolving media landscape, with digital storytelling at the forefront, and the ability to write clear, concise copy that works effectively across multiple platforms and outlets.

DESIRED BUT NOT REQUIRED:

• Experience in managing people, good interpersonal and communication skills and a keenness to collaborate.


• A track record in delivering original journalism.


• Have knowledge of our audience needs and output, demonstrating a commitment to diversity and inclusion.


• Have experience use audience insight tools to look at and measure engagement.


• Have an understanding of how audiences operate in a digital space.

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.