Head of HR, BBC Studios Content Studio in London

PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £110,000 - £165,000 (with eligibility for participation in the Company bonus scheme) depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

START DATE: End March 2026, subject to negotiation.

WE ARE BBC STUDIOS: A globally renowned media company borne of the BBC. We make and distribute the world’s most sought-after TV, audio and digital content. Our ambition is to be the home of the most powerful, entertaining, and inspiring stories for people all around the world.

Purpose of the Role

The Head of HR role for BBCS Content Studio is responsible for developing and leading people strategies with significant organisational impact for the overall global Content Studio; providing HR expertise across a broad range of specialisms. The role is part of the BBC Studios People Leadership Team and the Content Studio Leadership Team and includes accountability for the extended workforce (i.e., freelance population) and wholly owned and majority owned labels. A critical aspect of the role is to operate with an enterprise wide mindset, actively collaborating across BBC Studios and the wider BBC to ensure alignment, share best practice, and drive cohesive and connected people strategies that support the organisation’s broader ambitions.

Your Key Responsibilities and Impact

• Develop and deliver people strategies as efficiently as possible across an international population; ensuring appropriate investment while delivering maximum value through reducing costs and identifying new ways of working to maximise return to the audience/customer.
• Lead large scale, complex functional HR change programmes, managing stakeholders within a matrix environment, to ensure successful delivery within budget and timescales.
• Develop, monitor and track financial budget for the area, measuring ROI for the department.
• As a member of the Content Studio Leadership Team, partner Senior Leaders and provide expert advice across a broad range of specialisms to handle the most complex situations, making decisions independently.
• Build effective relationships with Senior Leaders and collaborate to create an inclusive culture and an environment in which colleagues can thrive.
• Lead the performance of a team to deliver exceptional service, ensuring individuals are developed and motivated to deliver services that add value to the BBC.
• Interpret and present people data to stakeholders to offer strategic insights on trends and issues.
• Develop/manage relationships with recognised trade unions, employee representation groups, other external partners/professional organisations and networks.
• Work collaboratively across BBC HR to identify emerging themes and business critical issues that can be addressed.
• Keep up to date with external trends and best practice, sharing knowledge and best practice with colleagues.
• Be an ambassador for the function and represent BBC HR internally and externally (as appropriate).

Job Impact

Decision Making

• Develop, adapt and execute departmental plans in line with strategic plans and direction from Senior Leaders.
• Undertake a wide range of activities factoring in multiple, diverse considerations, requiring decision making, interpretative thinking and a solutions-focused approach.

Scope

• Ability to apply external sector knowledge, contextualising challenges and changes in the sector, to understand the relative positioning and strength of the BBC’s services/practices.
• Responsibility for HR delivery for a significant freelance population, including Work for Hire freelancers whilst on BBCS sites.
• Global accountability for the production labels and overall production operations (EMEA, APAC and Americas).

Strategic Impact/Influence

As a member of the Content Studio Leadership Team and the Studios People Leadership Team, develops and leads elements of the divisional strategy, which has significant organisational impact.

Your Skills and Experience

Essential Criteria

• Requires in-depth knowledge of HR and provides expert advice to handle the most complex situations independently.
• In-depth knowledge of how the various elements of Content Studio (in-house Productions, Sales, labels/commercial subsidiaries) integrate within the wider BBC Studios and the BBC Group, including how processes and resources interact to help achieve functional/divisional targets and objectives.
• Experience in managing significant budgets and understanding key financial drivers.
• Adept at managing numerous, diverse senior and executive level stakeholders, often operating under tight timescales and managing numerous competing priorities.
• A convincing and persuasive communicator, required to modify beliefs and opinions of teams, as well as senior stakeholders, able to establish effective and collaborative relations across BBC departments, and external agencies/stakeholders where required.
• Act as the conduit to effective communication and influence across the management team.
• Experience of operating internationally across multiple geographies and at a senior level dealing with external/governmental stakeholders.
• Experience contributing to or leading organisation wide initiatives that require collaboration across BBC Studios and the wider BBC, demonstrating an enterprise mindset and an ability to work beyond immediate functional boundaries.
• Demonstrated ability to operate with an enterprise mindset, working collaboratively across multiple BBC divisions/functions to drive alignment, influence outcomes, and contribute to organisation wide objectives.
• Proven capability in shaping and scaling high performing teams during periods of rapid change, ensuring clarity of direction, resilience, and a strong culture of continuous improvement.

Desirable Criteria

• Strong awareness of the way in which programmes are commissioned, financed, produced, and distributed.

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.