Senior Breaking News Editor, BBC News

Position description

It’s an exciting time to be part of BBC News as we grow in North America. Our independent, impartial and unrivalled global journalism has made us one of the most trusted news brands in the US, where we reach tens of millions of people each week across digital, TV and radio. 

 

We are recruiting a Senior Editor to help lead our breaking news coverage for our website (BBC.com/news) and app. Based in our Washington DC headquarters, you will shape the daily news agenda and help drive audience growth and engagement in this key market.

Main Responsibilities

The BBC’s North American digital operation covers US and Canadian news for domestic, UK and global audiences.

 

We are looking for a senior editor who will help manage our daily news coverage, ensuring it is urgent, rigorous, and comprehensive, while maintaining our distinctive mix of global insight and impartial storytelling. While this role is based in Washington DC, you need to be able to assign and edit a wide range of national stories, from politics and foreign affairs to crime and technology.

 

As part of a team of senior editors, you will frequently be acting as either early or late duty news editor. In this role, you will work to a Supervising Editor but take responsibility for duties including running and updating story lists, assigning stories, and copy-editing/publishing. At times, you will be expected to stand in for the supervising editor and run the news meetings, send push alerts and direct coverage.

 

$100,000-$125,000 US, depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

Contract type: At will 

Location: Washington DC Bureau

You will be a self-starter who knows how to identify potential news moments in advance, while being able to react quickly and re-assign resources in response to breaking news. 

 

You will feel comfortable constantly monitoring a wide range of sources, shaping and reshaping stories to ensure they always reflect the best top line, and using search and social insights to anticipate audience needs. You must have an unwavering attention to detail and take pride in ensuring our copy and headlines sing, even when working at pace.

 

Finally, BBC News is committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive organisation. We expect you to help cultivate that. 

 

Please note this role involves regular late evenings and some weekend working.

Are you the right candidate?

We are looking for candidates with:

• Significant experience as an editor in a daily digital news operation, and evidence of strong editorial judgement under extreme pressure
• A love for breaking news, enthusiasm for working in a fast-paced newsroom and the ability to make smart decisions against tight deadlines
• Experience in all aspects of digital news production and curation. You should instinctively think mobile-first and have a strong understanding of audience behaviours and needs, including how best to present content with limited space
• Experience in generating ideas to reach wide audiences, and using data to inform decisions about how to reach them
• Curiosity and creativity to explain the world to a US audience, and reflect the different perspectives of American and international audiences
• Enthusiasm for the BBC’s unique position as one of the most trusted news brands in the US, and an understanding of the importance of impartiality – and what it means in practice
• Evidence of having a positive impact on newsroom culture
• An ability to function in a matrix organization and to work collaboratively across teams and time zones, in an ever-changing digital landscape

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on tendersglobal.net