Executive Editor, Audio – Southampton, Tunbridge Wells or Brighton and Hull or York

Job Description

BBC Local provides a rich mix of content across TV, radio and mobile platforms for audiences across England.  Our aims to reflect society in all its different aspects - providing impartial news and current affairs and showcasing local stories, talent and creativity - are as important today as at any time in our history.  There is a really strong appetite for local programmes and content on TV, radio and mobile.

Local radio stations have a collective weekly audience of over 6 million and play an important role in our diverse communities through local partnerships. We are ambitious for the future of BBC Local and now we want to ensure that our multimedia service delivers effectively across the BBC’s mobile portfolio, including BBC Sounds, BBC News and BBC Sport.

The Audio Executive Editor for BBC Local reports to the regional Head of Production and leads the production of compelling, audience-focused audio services across BBC Local Radio and BBC Sounds – supporting the audio strategy of the Controller of BBC Local Audio Commissioning.

Main Responsibilities

In this role, you will ensure the delivery of outstanding local audio content that enables the BBC to serve new and existing audiences and grow new habits across live and on-demand services  You will provide effective leadership to support production teams through a process of organisational change in order to grow audience value and ensure that programmes and content meet their audience objectives.

You will manage and motivate production teams across multiple sites to deliver creative and innovative content, driving improvements in the diversity of the workforce to ensure the full diversity of local life and communities is reflected on air.

You will support the Audio Commissioning strategy for BBC Local and work closely with the Controller of Commissioning to ensure content meets the required editorial specification and service brief.

You will work closely with the Head of Production, other Executive Editors and the Senior News Editors as part of a multi-media leadership team within the region and act as an ambassador for the BBC.  You will collaborate with peers and the regional Head of Production to develop and deliver shared programmes that engage local audiences across multiple local broadcast areas, striving to ensure that the audio and news teams work effectively together in partnership.

You will effectively harnesses live and on-demand audience data to drive editorial and audience performance and be accountable for editorial standards & compliance.

Are you the right candidate?

To succeed in this role, you will need the ability to adapt to and lead ongoing business change, and help others to do so with the capability to provide inspirational leadership, support career development and talent retention and act as role model to your teams and colleagues.

You should have experience of creative production and complex editorial decision-making with the ability to look ahead and to continue to develop creative content in response to changing audience consumption patterns.

We are looking for a leader with a track record of establishing a positive, engaged and supportive culture within teams and a demonstrable ability to collaborate and build strong relationships.  You will have excellent communication and influencing skills with experience in managing complex relationships and ensuring outcomes are met through a culture of collaboration, dialogue and engagement across all levels.

As a supporter of career development and talent retention, we are looking for our executive editors to offer strong coaching and development for presenters and production teams.