Job Opportunities at the BBC World Service

Job Reference: BBC/TP/788768/29768
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Contract Type: Permanent – Full Time
Job Category: Journalism

Job Description

• As part of the world’s largest broadcaster, the BBC’s Hausa Service broadcasts a daily mix of news and current affairs programmes through radio, TV and digital (online and mobile) platforms to very large and audiences in West Africa and beyond.
• Working as part of our editorial team based in Abuja and adhering to tight deadlines, you’ll write original material and translate and adapt material swiftly and accurately into Hausa in a style suited to a variety of platforms. You’ll also conduct interviews and reports in both Hausa and English.
• You’ll need proven recent and relevant journalistic experience with Hausa as your first (or equivalent) language and very good written and spoken English. An excellent microphone voice and strong radio presentation skills in Hausa are also essential together with an in-depth current understanding of African and international current affairs. Strong technology skills and extensive knowledge of online journalism are also required.

Job Specification
Organisation:

• Working as part of a team of multi-lingual journalists and reporting to the Abuja Bureau Editor, BBC Hausa Service. On a daily basis, reporting to Senior Broadcast Journalists as appropriate. Shift work shall be required which will include nights, weekends and public holidays.

Job Purpose

• To originate, research, prepare, produce and present compelling and engaging dispatches, packages, interviews, discussions, complete programmes, background, analysis and features for TV, radio, online, mobile and other media platforms.
• To ensure that any programme material for which you are responsible meets the standards required by the BBC. To work as duty editor for specific broadcasts or periods of time, as required.
  

Duties

• To research, report, write, translate, edit or adapt stories or programme material; to find interesting contributors and interviewees as well as other sources of material and/or actuality, as appropriate and to the required specification whilst maintaining professional journalistic standards of accuracy, impartiality and fair dealing and adhering to the BBC Editorial Guidelines.
• To perform at the microphone with or without a script, conduct interviews, chair discussions and act as a participant in other productions, whether live, pre-recorded or on location.
• To be responsible for a moving story, amending and updating material as required. To be able to freshen a story. To be responsible for thinking through and around editorial problems, developing realistic alternative strategies and approaches.
• To offer original ideas for items, programmes/series and to actively contribute to the editorial planning process. To suggest new angles on existing stories, means of moving the story on, and to put forward stories not yet covered.
• To understand the Service’s strategy and to suggest ideas appropriate to its distinctive style and content.
• To liaise closely with other team members and with contributors, reporters and stringers. To collaborate constructively with colleagues in BBC Africa whether in London or abroad, and to advise other parts of the BBC on target area affairs.
• To be responsible for studio production of live and pre-recorded programmes. To respond to breaking stories whilst on air and to resolve technical difficulties.
• After appropriate training, to be able to use a range of audio & digital equipment and information technology to research, write, assemble, edit and deliver programmes in the appropriate medium, to the highest professional standards.
• After appropriate training, file TV reports in Hausa and English.
• All multi-media broadcast journalists may be required to travel outside Nigeria on reporting trips and assignments.
• All multi-media broadcast journalists may be required to work with or move to other programme teams on a multi-media and multi-lingual basis and to have the ability to work across a range of skills and in a flexible manner, and to carry out these responsibilities in accordance with BBC Values and the BBC’s overall standards.

Essential Skills, Knowledge & Experience
Skills

• An excellent broadcasting voice and the ability to acquire an appropriate presentation style.
• Ability to write, adapt and translate with accuracy, clarity and style appropriate to differing audiences and forms of media.
• Ability to also write for different media platforms in Hausa and English.
• Good keyboard/computer skills and technically adept. Practical experience and extensive knowledge of the internet and an understanding of the potential of digital and social media is essential.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Proven recent and relevant experience as a journalist.

Knowledge and Experience:

• An outstanding command and up to date knowledge of Hausa language (first or equivalent).
• An excellent knowledge of English including complete comprehension of written and spoken English and the ability to communicate and write effectively.
• Wide and up to date familiarity with the area/s to which the Hausa Service broadcasts and an in-depth understanding of the areas history, politics, social issues and culture as well as the changing needs of the audience. An extensive knowledge of the media situation in the target area and the way it is developing.
• A thorough knowledge and understanding of African news and current affairs. A good knowledge of and interest in international and British current affairs, particularly insofar as they affect the target area/s.
• Knowledge of the aims, objectives and standards of the BBC World Service.
• Demonstrable interest in and experience of social media.

Desirable:

• A working knowledge of Igbo, Yoruba, Pidgin, French or Arabic.

Competencies:
The following competencies (behaviours and characteristics) have been identified as key to success in the job. Successful candidates are expected to demonstrate these competencies:

• Editorial Judgement demonstrates balanced and objective judgement based on a thorough understanding of BBC editorial guidelines, target audience, programme and department objectives. Makes the right editorial decisions, taking account of conflicting views where necessary.
• Creative Thinking able to transform creative ideas into practical reality. Can look at existing situations and problems in novel ways and come up with creative solutions.
• Planning and organisation able to think ahead in order to establish and efficient and appropriate course of action for self and others. Prioritises and plans activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors such as deadlines, staffing and resources.
• Communication able to get one’s message understood clearly by adopting a range of styles, tools and techniques appropriate to the audience and the nature of the information.
• Influencing and persuading able to present sound and well reasoned arguments to convince others. Can draw from a range of strategies to persuade people in a way that results in agreement or behaviour change.
• Managing relationships and team working able to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of people. Works co-operatively with others to be part of a team, as opposed to working separately or competitively.
• Resilience manages personal effectiveness by managing emotions in the face of pressure, set backs or when dealing with provocative situations. Demonstrates an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy.
• Flexibility adapts and works effectively with a variety of situations, individuals or groups. Able to understand and appreciate different and opposing perspectives on an issue, to adapt an approach as the requirements of a situation change, and to change or easily accept changes in one’s own organisation or job requirements.

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Job Reference: BBC/TP/788768/29771
Location: Abuja
Reports to: Editor, BBC Hausa (with other dotted line reports)
Contract 1 Year fixed term

Job Description

• BBC Hausa is part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the world’s largest public broadcaster.
• In Africa the BBC reaches a weekly audience of more than 90 million people on Radio, TV,
• Digital, Mobile and Social Media. We broadcast to Africa in English, Hausa, Somali, French,
• Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, Kiswahili and Arabic.
• The BBC Hausa Service is the pre-eminent international broadcaster in the Hausa language with our teams based in London and Abuja. Broadcasting since 1957, the service now offers the most trusted Hausa news service on TV, radio, digital (bbchausa.com) and social media to our audiences in West Africa and the worldwide diaspora.
• In this role you’ll be leading the BBC Hausa digital effort. So we are looking for an experienced digital journalist to provide the creative leadership and vision needed to deliver a mobile, social and digital strategy which ensures that our editorial impact in Africa and beyond remains the best in the business.
• At the BBC you will be have a chance to work on ground-breaking content which will be seen and used by millions of people.

Purpose of the Role

• We are looking for a senior digital journalist to shape digital editorial development and delivery across all our digital platforms and to help influence the growth of digital skills and approaches across BBC Hausa.
• You will oversee the development of BBC Hausa digital. As a senior member of the digital editorial team, you will help the service to build authentic connections between the BBC and its audience. You will curate the best visual stories for a global Hausa audience.
• As a digital champion you will liaise between the service and the wider BBC and communicate the BBC digital vision and industry developments to the department.
• You will be responsible for defining best practice on our social media accounts, as well as assessing our next move on social media platforms, and feeding into our evolving work on shortfrom content. You have dynamic ideas and have great connections in the digital industry in West Africa.
• You will be reporting to the Editor, BBC Hausa, with a dotted line report to the Digital Editor, BBC Africa.
• Your will be expected to cultivate relationships with the BBC Africa Planning teams and BBC News website teams to ensure that BBC Hausa Service digital content is effectively disseminated inside as well as outside the BBC.

Main Duties
Mobile First journalism:

• BBC Hausa thinks mobile first and you will be expected to use your extensive knowledge about the user experience to deliver exciting, visual journalism. You will responsible for ensuring we continue to deliver best practice. You will have ideas about the mixture of content, frequency, packaging and discoverability for the mobile audience.

Digital innovator:

• The BBC has been one of the global leaders in experimenting with the latest social and digital tools in journalism. We’re looking to you to help us continue our development but also push the innovation further; you’ll be expected to work with the Digital Editor, BBC Africa to identify the latest apps, trends and digital story treatments which BBC Hausa should be using. In this highly visible role you’ll be sharing your digital vision for the service with various key stakeholders.

Story creator:

• You will be expected to produce daily sharable content for online and social – including text stories, picture stories, videos and live pages. In order to do that you will have accurate editing and writing skills in Hausa and also be able to reversion English text into Hausa.

Audience Engager:

• Engagement on social and online is key for our relationship with the audience.
• We’re looking for someone who is connected to our core audience communities and will implement an imaginative engagement approach.
• Your plan is expected to consider how to gain new audiences ‘off-site’, and drive them back to our home page and stories.

Training:

• As a senior digital guru to the service, you will be a main point of reference for identifying training needs for your team and the department.

Other Duties:

• To identify, develop and execute editorial opportunities involving social media across all platforms.
• To provide oversight of the accounts being provided by BBC Hausa’s social media service.
• To report regularly on performance with a clear focus on growing reach; reaching new audiences; spotting content opportunities to which we respond
• To assist in developing future strategies, including around new platforms and audience engagement
• Be advisor to all colleagues in the BBC Hausa Service on best practice in the use of digital tools.

Skills, Knowledge & Experience Required
We are looking for an exceptional digital journalist who has the following skills, knowledge and experience:

• Significant recent experience as a digital journalist both in originating ideas and material and in editing the work of others.
• Demonstrable track record of imaginative and advance use of social media including a wide of range of platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter.
• Excellent Hausa and English language skills.
• Excellent news and editorial judgment.
• Video shooting and editing skills.
• Experience of managing digital communities and the ability to communicate diplomatically with audiences.
• Understanding and appreciation of the aims of the BBC World Service.

Competencies:

• Editorial Judgement - demonstrates balanced and objective judgement based on a thorough understanding of BBC editorial guidelines, target audience, programme and department objectives. Makes the right editorial decisions, taking account of conflicting views where necessary.
• Strategic Thinking – Can identify a vision along with the plans which need to be implemented to meet the end goal. Evaluates situations, decisions, issues, etc. in the short, medium and longer-term.
• Analytical Thinking – Able to simplify complex problems, processes or projects into component parts, explore and evaluate them systematically. Able to identify causal relationships, and construct frameworks, for problem-solving and/or development.
• Decision Making – Is ready and able to take the initiative, originate action and be responsible for the consequences of the decision made.
• Imagination / Creative Thinking – Is able to transform creative ideas/impulses into practical reality. Can look at existing situations and problems in novel ways and come up with creative solutions.
• Planning and Organisation – Is able to think ahead in order to establish an efficient and appropriate course of action for self and others. Prioritises and plans activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors such as deadlines, staffing and resources requirements.
• Leadership – Ability to create a vision and inspire others to realise it irrespective of circumstances. Can demonstrate experience or ability of leading teams and able to develop collaborative relationships with other parts of the BBC.
• Resilience – Can maintain personal effectiveness by managing own emotions in the face of pressure, setbacks or when dealing with provocative situations. Can demonstrate an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy.
• Influencing and Persuading – Ability to present sound and well-reasoned arguments to convince others. Can draw from a range of strategies to persuade people in a way that results in agreement or behaviour change.
• Communication – The ability to get one’s message understood clearly by adopting a range of styles, tools and techniques appropriate to the audience and the nature of the information.
• Talent Management – Is able to recognise potential (managerial, professional, artistic or otherwise) and is willing to foster the development of that potential. Creates a climate in which potential can be realised.
• Change Management - Can understand and anticipate the need for change. Builds frameworks to plan and manage the continuous process of change.
• Business Management – Is able to understand commercial imperatives and trading relationships, appropriately applies business principles in terms of costs, the market and added value.
• Managing relationships – Able to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of people.
• Self-Development – Is able to identify and apply opportunities for learning and development.
• Understanding Diversity: You will understand diversity in its widest sense and appreciate the uniqueness of self and others, and how individual differences can benefit the BBC. You will demonstrate a commitment to improving diversity in the BBC and take a balanced approach to discussing and taking action on diversity issues.