Junior Operations Engineer - EXTEND

CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, Full-time

DEPARTMENT: BBC Technology operations - MCR

LOCATION: London Broadcasting House (shift work including weekend and night shifts)

PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £32,200 - £37,200 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience.

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.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The Master Control Room (MCR) group within Technology Operations operates and supports control rooms located at BBC sites both in and out of London, providing a comprehensive monitoring and switching service to the output divisions. As a Junior Operations Engineer in the MCR Contribution Team in London you’ll be part of a team responsible for contribution feeds for News and Radio, alongside the management programme feeds being presented to Playout. Technology Operations is responsible for keeping multi‑media output available 24/365 across the BBC. The MCR team are critical to getting content where it needs to be, in the format required, to keep the BBC on air. You’ll be working in a live broadcast environment alongside a team of dedicated engineers, with the opportunity to develop within the Operations Engineering job family.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT

• Contribution: Setting up programme contribution feeds to hand on to studio staff or recording areas as appropriate. Carrying out line‑ups of incoming feeds for transmission and arranging backups as necessary.
• Playout: Ensuring that local and remote studios along with outside broadcasts producing live programmes are correctly routed and lined up through to the playout suites for transmission on BBC TV networks. Manipulation of video feeds such as video standards conversion, audio shuffling etc.
• Dealing with multiple, sometimes conflicting, demands calmly and asking appropriate questions to fully understand what is required.
• Accurately logging all output‑affecting incidents, escalating to Duty Operations Managers or editorial staff as appropriate including authoring or contributing to Post Incident Reports.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Experience working within a broadcasting or live production environment, or demonstrable relevant experience in a related discipline.
• Demonstrable experience of outstanding and adaptable communication skills, for example working with colleagues around the globe, for whom English is sometimes a second or third language or explaining technical concepts to non‑technical colleagues.
• Demonstrable attention to detail and experience of managing multiple conflicting priorities, for example dealing with technical information in a pressured environment.
• Good working knowledge of audio and video engineering principles, and experience of using these in practice.
• ‘Safety first’ attitude; able to follow and adhere to safe systems of work at all times.

DESIRABLE:

• A good understanding of BBC News output as well as Sports and Event coverage.
• Experience of working in a control room environment.
• Experience working with or supporting control systems such as BNCS, scheduling systems and consumer technologies such as Zoom, Teams etc.
• Experience working with or supporting one or more of the following technologies: Audio/Video over IP, Peer‑to‑Peer content delivery, IT Networking, Content Management Systems, Linux/Windows operating systems, Audio/Video baseband routers.
• Electrical safety testing certification, or safety related qualification.

Before your start date, you may need to disclose any unspent convictions or police charges, in line with our Contracts of Employment 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.

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.

Benefits: Fair pay and flexible benefits including a competitive salary package, a flexible 35‑hour working week, 25 days annual leave with the option to buy an extra 5 days, a defined pension scheme and discounted dental, health care and gym. Excellent career and professional development. Support in your working life, including flexible working which you can discuss with us at any point during the application, selection or offer. A values‑based organisation where the way we do things is important as what we do.