Deputy Editor - Today

Job Reference: 23874

Band: F

Salary: Up to £95,000 plus London Weighting, depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

Contract type: Permanent

Location: London

We’re happy to discuss flexible working. Please indicate your choice under the flexible working question in the application. There is no obligation to raise this at the application stage but if you wish to do so, you are welcome to. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.

Excellent career progression – the BBC offers great opportunities for employees to seek new challenges and work in different areas of the organisation. Unrivalled training and development opportunities – our in-house Academy hosts a wide range of internal and external courses and certification.

Benefits - We offer a negotiable salary package, a flexible 35-hour working week for work-life balance and 25 days annual leave with the option to buy an extra 5 days, a defined pension scheme and discounted dental, health care, gym and much more.

If you need to discuss adjustments or access requirements for the interview process please contact the reasonable.adjustments@bbc.co.uk. For any general queries, please contact: bbchr@bbc.co.uk.

Freelancers are eligible to apply for an internal role if they are on a Worker Contract and they have worked continuously for 6 months. If they have worked for less than 6 months continuously or have a break of 3 weeks or more between engagements, they must seek Divisional HR approval to apply for an internal role prior to submitting an application.

Job Introduction

We’re looking for a creative, highly experienced editorial leader to join the Today team. Today is unique. Its reach, ambition, range, and its importance to BBC News and to the wider BBC are without parallel. Its audience is large, influential and curious about the world.

You’ll be helping lead the team and working with some of the biggest names in news broadcasting. You will have the confidence and experience to handle anything from breaking news to producing news making interviews and taking the programme on the road.

You will be central to the successful running of the team and will be a proven thoughtful, intelligent manager.

Main Responsibilities

• Oversee output while in session, ensuring that all contents meet the target areas expectations for quality, as well as the BBC’s editorial and legal requirements, and that they are appropriate for the audience.
• Set and deliver a clear editorial vision for all output and content and communicate this vision to the teams.
• Maximise the benefits of technology for our audiences.
• Promote and reward collaboration, and challenge attitudes or processes that block it. Set an example by sharing resources, knowledge, ideas and skills across the organisation, build helpful, productive relationships within the BBC and outside.
• Responsibility for the programme rota, and oversight of appraisal, training and staff support.
• Working with the Editor/Regional Editor, run the management team of Assistant Editors, ensuring that management tasks are shared out, and programme priorities managed effectively.
• Coach others to build on strengths and improve on weaknesses, give and listen to regular, honest feedback, help develop the BBC’s new leaders, recruit and develop talent from a diverse range of backgrounds.
• Assist in developing the strategy and agenda for the teams, communicate that strategy and assist in leading and co-ordinating the team to that end.
• Foster an environment of productive employee relations and respond to and anticipate challenges from staff, unions and audiences.
• Ensure health and safety policy guidelines are implemented and adhered to, and that appropriate safety training is provided.
• Ensure that the team and its output work within BBC guidelines on Health and Safety, Diversity and Equal Opportunities and new ways of working.

Are you the right Candidate?

• Extensive experience and a track record of producing high profile journalism.
• Has an area of specialist knowledge and professional expertise.
• A high level of editorial awareness and judgement in line with BBC policy.
• Demonstrates excellence in the use of broadcast and computer based technology and stays up-to-date with developments in this field.
• Ability to foster creativity and experimentation, takes and promotes considered risks, shows openness to new ways of doing things.
• Ability to think strategically and describe the vision in a way which inspires others towards that goal - Able to convert long term aims into short and medium term goals.
• Demonstrates a commitment to improving diversity in the BBC and understands how individual differences can benefit the BBC.
• Able to prioritise and plan activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors such as deadlines, staffing, budgets and resource requirements.
• Excellence in communicating to differing audiences and across all forms of multimedia output.
• Maintains personal effectiveness by managing own emotions in the face of pressure, setbacks or when dealing with provocative situations.
• Demonstrates an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy.
• Awareness of News Strategy and its implications for the key agenda areas of BBC News: diversity; reaching new audiences; multi-skilling; health and safety and the ability to put these policies into practice.

About The BBC

The BBC is committed to redeploying employees seeking suitable alternative employment within the BBC for different reasons 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.

Diversity matters at the BBC. We have a working environment where we value and respect every individual's unique contribution, enabling all of our employees to thrive and achieve their full potential. We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to be part of the BBC – whether that’s to contribute to our programming or our wide range of non-production roles. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity.

We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles, unless operational requirements prevent otherwise.

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.