Assistant Communications Officer - EXTEND

Join to apply for the Assistant Communications Officer - EXTEND role at BBC.

Package Description:

• Band: B
• Contract type: 12 month FTC
• Location: London based role with some flexibility - i.e. hybrid working
• Salary: £24,800-£28,000 plus London Weighting Allowance of £5319

Any offer of employment with the BBC will be conditional upon you having the right to work in the UK. 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:

• Competitive salary package
• Flexible 35-hour working week for work-life balance
• 26 days annual leave (1 of which is a corporation day) with the option to buy an extra 5 days
• Defined pension scheme
• Discounted dental, health care, gym and much more

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 the BBC Extend team via the shared mailbox.

The BBC are fully committed to providing workplace adjustments to help eliminate barriers in the workplace 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.

Job Purpose:

We are looking for an Assistant Communications Officer to work in the heart of the BBC’s Corporate Press Office. This is a twelve-month fixed term opportunity, based in London. You will support the external communications department in protecting and enhancing the BBC’s reputation, as well as contributing to work that raises awareness of BBC services and programmes. You’ll work on a busy press desk, often as the first point of contact for media queries.

The Corporate Press Office has specific responsibility for handling the media on the BBC’s corporate areas, such as the Director-General’s work, diversity, the licence fee, strategy, HR, and editorial policy. It also provides a coordinating role for all the BBC’s communications from teams including TV and BBC iPlayer, Radio and BBC Sounds, News and Online. You will sit in the heart of the BBC’s wider Corporate Affairs Division during a critical time as the Corporation heads into Charter Review.

Key Responsibilities And Accountabilities:

• Support colleagues from across the communications team to handle difficult or sensitive issues, particularly those which may be reputationally damaging.
• Help to handle and respond to enquiries from relevant stakeholders where appropriate.
• Carry out tasks such as media monitoring and managing a central Press Office inbox.
• Support communications colleagues in publicising BBC programmes and services.
• Contribute to communications material – writing, editing, and uploading where relevant (i.e. briefings, presentations, and press releases).
• Contribute to evaluation of work, collecting data and working with colleagues to examine the impact of communications work.
• Assist with the planning, organising and delivery of press conferences, briefing and other corporate events where required.
• Provide additional administrative assistance and project support to stakeholders and colleagues.
• Support the running of social media channels and assist with the production of assets for use online and in social media.

Essential Knowledge, Skills, Training & Experience:

• Ability to work to tight deadlines often under pressure.
• Excellent written and spoken communications including good English spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and social skills, both face-to-face and on the phone.
• Computer literate with strong office skills including the ability to translate complex data into easy-to-understand materials.
• Able to learn new IT skills quickly and adapt to different systems, including digital editing and uploading to websites.
• A good working knowledge and use of social media for promoting content and news stories.
• Organised and focused with good attention to detail.

Desirable:

• Some experience in communications environment.
• Experience of organising events.
• Experience of writing communications materials, for publication by a wide range of outlets to short notice and tight deadlines.
• Good knowledge of the media including print, broadcast, and online channels.

Seniority level: Entry level

Employment type: Full-time

Job function: Marketing, Public Relations, and Writing/Editing

Industries: Broadcast Media Production and Distribution