Senior Journalist (SJ) at BBC Media Action

Main Responsibilities

The Senior Journalist will lead the Afaan Oromo team as required in the production of output, ensuring the material produced for the website, radio and social media is lively, interesting and of relevance to the target area.  You will be involved in the training and day to day supervision of the team of journalists and other production staff and assist in the assessment and development of staff, building teams through supervision and contributions to staff appraisals. 

Responding to breaking news stories, you will research, interview original sources and write reports, analysis and features for the BBC Afaan Oromo website in a range of formats, as well as help to produce and/or present the BBC’s live radio programme. 

Other duties include 

• To create content to drive the BBC Facebook page and other social media platforms and to help moderate these sites responsibly. 
• To be able to conduct interviews in audio and video on request, on phone or face-to-face, with authority and in-depth knowledge about Ethiopia and the region. 
• To ensure that all output material for which the post holder is responsible meets the standards required by the BBC. 
• To use journalistic skills and experience to suggest new angles on existing stories, means of moving the story on, and to put forward stories not yet covered. 
• To use editorial skills as appropriate to edit, write and adapt the material for the outputs on Facebook and other relevant platforms as required whilst maintaining professional journalistic standards of accuracy, impartiality and fair dealing and adhering to the BBC’s Producers guidelines. 
• To create material for all multimedia outputs, including text stories, audio bulletins and – with appropriate training – video reports for both BBC Afaan Oromo online and Facebook or other social media platforms. 
• To propose ideas and help to create, produce and maintain BBC Afaan Oromo content, including making output interactive such as editing user comments. 
• To prepare and produce as well as participate in Google Hangouts or other formats of video/visual interviews. 
• To liaise closely with other team members and with contributors and reporters. 
• To ensure that BBC Editorial principles of balance and impartiality and all relevant legal, contractual and copyright requirements are met, referring upwards in cases of difficulty or doubt. 
• To build and maintain links with other areas of the BBC, including BBC World Service Online and BBC News, to enable the efficient production of content. 
• To monitor the growth of BBC Afaan Oromo on social media and other relevant platforms, its use and identify areas for expansion. 
• To offer ideas for items or series and to actively contribute to the editorial planning process for the Afaan Oromo service and other parts of BBC Africa. 

Are you the right candidate?

We're looking for a journalist who is passionate about digital storytelling. As the digital landscape is changing you will need to be nimble with technology. You’ll be leading the digital first strategy implementation effort and you need to be able to produce content that works for digital platforms apart from playing leadership role in the team. 

You will need sound editorial judgment, a good understanding of Africa’s news agenda, in particular the Horn of Africa region. You will have the ability to tell complex stories in an engaging way. You will need sharp editing skills, the ability to respond to breaking news, assigning team with task, making a follow up to be delivered to meet the deadline and be committed to the overall growth of the service. 

Other requirements are:

• A full command and up to date knowledge of written and spoken Afaan Oromo. 
• A good knowledge of English, including complete comprehension of written and spoken English and the ability to communicate effectively. 
• Recent and relevant experience as a journalist and/or reporter both in originating material and editing the work of others. 
• Ability to write, adapt and translate with accuracy, clarity and style appropriate to differing audiences and forms of social media. 
• A good broadcasting voice and the ability to acquire the appropriate presentation style of the network. 
• Experience of reporting, in the field, on political and economic issues would be beneficial. 
• Able to demonstrate a good range of contacts for interview purposes including political and economic analysts, politicians, etc. 
• Wide and up to date familiarity with the target area and an in-depth understanding of its history, politics, social issues and culture as well as the changing needs of the audience as well as the target area.