Senior Journalist, Australia Digital News (19896)

Job Introduction

The BBC’s Australia digital news team is a small but dynamic group of journalists who report on the biggest and most interesting stories out of the country. We are looking for a Senior Journalist to join us in Sydney. You will be expected to write, edit, sub and commission for the BBC News website, reaching many millions of readers globally. You will work predominantly in text but have a strong understanding of what makes compelling digital video.

It’s a job for an experienced journalist who can switch seamlessly from covering fast-paced breaking news to generating ideas for future pieces. 
 

Main Responsibilities

The Senior Journalist will write, edit, sub and commission Australian stories for our website (bbc.com/news) and app. You’ll be expected to cover anything from major emergencies to cultural trends to the twists and turns of Australian politics, Indigenous issues and more. You’ll also craft the most engaging ways to sell these stories to the BBC’s global audience.

This role has many aspects: it could involve covering news, generating ideas for digital coverage and working on planned pieces. Crucially, you will be a self-starter, a great editor and writer, and someone who is highly engaged in international news. You will have strong ideas to bring in more Australian and global readers, and devise the best formats to tell our biggest stories.

An understanding of how search and social trends and audience data improve our journalism will be part of the job.

Are you the right candidate?

You will be able to demonstrate the following key criteria:

• Excellent editorial judgement with significant experience writing and editing breaking news in text on digital platforms
• A solid track record of covering Australian stories for a major news organisation, with international and UK expertise an advantage
• A proven capacity to generate original ideas and deliver insightful, high-quality journalism – including through stories you have commissioned
• Demonstrable experience of using social media, search and audience data to improve digital storytelling, reach new audiences and broaden coverage
• Experience and understanding of the formats, tools, and techniques to run rolling digital news coverage in text and video
• The ability to very swiftly write and sub engaging copy for news websites, with attention to accuracy, context and tone
• Highly effective planning and communication skills, especially working with colleagues based in other locations

Package Description

Job title: Senior Journalist
Job reference: 19896
Band: D
Contract type: Permanent role
Location: Sydney, Australia

Local terms and conditions apply

Any offer of employment with the BBC will be conditional upon you having the right to work in Australia.

Diversity matters at the BBC. We have a working environment where we value and respect every individual's unique contribution, enabling all of our employees to thrive and achieve their full potential.

We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to be part of the BBC – whether that’s to contribute to our programming or our wide range of non-production roles. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity.

We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles, unless operational requirements prevent otherwise.