News Editor, BBC Tigrinya Service at BBC World Service

BBC Tigrinya is one of the BBC’s newest language services, serving our audiences in Ethiopia and Eritrea.  We have an exciting opportunity for a News Editor to lead our team of journalists in Nairobi.  This role requires significant senior editorial and team management experience.

Role Responsibility

Reporting to the Head of East Africa, your role is to ensure the highest quality journalism is produced for all content in the Tigrinya language.  You will develop, implement and adapt a long term strategy for the Tigrinya Service.  We expect you to establish and develop the news agenda, ensuring our journalists create original and engaging content which is relevant for our audiences.  You will oversee a team of journalists, providing excellent leadership and training as well as managing deployments, rotas and commissioning.  You will use your digital journalism skills and knowledge to develop our digital platforms and maximise audience engagement across the Horn of Africa region.  You will also be responsible for managing the service’s budget, including programme expenditure and resources. 

The Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will have a full command of Tigrinya (written and spoken), as well as an understanding and appreciation of the various dialects of the written and spoken language.  A broadcast-standard level of English is essential.  You will have demonstrable experience in a senior editorial capacity with extensive knowledge of broadcast news and the complexities of political and socio-political issues in Eritrea and Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa region.  You will have highly developed communication skills and the ability to motivate and develop editorial staff to make innovative and imaginative content.  You must have evidence of making major editorial decisions with authority and under pressure.  You will also be able to manage resources, staff, technical facilities and large scale budgets, in order to make creative programmes in the most cost effective manner.  Knowledge of digital platforms and how audiences in the target region access and consume digital content is important. 

Package Description

Location: Nairobi

Contract: continuing - local terms and conditions apply

Any offer of employment is conditional upon you having the right to work in Kenya