Content Editor, Classical Music

We’re happy to discuss flexible working. Please indicate your choice under the flexible working question in the application. There is no obligation to raise this at the application stage but if you wish to do so, you are welcome to. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.

Excellent career progression – the BBC offers great opportunities for employees to seek new challenges and work in different areas of the organisation.
Unrivalled training and development opportunities – our in-house Academy hosts a wide range of internal and external courses and certification.
Benefits - We offer a competitive salary package, a flexible 35-hour working week for work-life balance and 26 days (1 of which is a corporation day) with the option to buy an extra 5 days, a defined pension scheme and discounted dental, health care, gym and much more.

BBC Audio North is the single biggest supplier of BBC radio programmes and podcasts made outside of London. We love audio and make lots of it – a rich mix of content spanning multiple genres including consumer, investigations, documentaries, religion and arts for Radio 2, 4 and the World Service and Sounds. But this job is all about our dedication to excellence in music production – specifically classical in its broadest sense; new music, jazz, world, folk and film music. We’re about to enter an exciting phase of expansion to bring the joy of classical to even more audiences across the UK. We need a leader to help us deliver this new era for Radio 3 and classical music at the BBC.

In the next 12 months production of several Radio 3 titles will transfer from our production base in London to our site in MediaCity. This will double the size of the existing team in Salford to create a hub of classical production in the North of England. Audience reaction to The Proms and mood-based podcasts like Ultimate Calm shows there has never been a stronger appetite for classical content. We want to exploit that by continuing to serve core and new classical audiences with the highest quality music content hallmarked with the range, values and enduring qualities of Radio 3. As important is developing new ways to offer music content digitally via BBC Sounds, when and where listeners expect to receive it.

We already work closely with BBC Performing Groups, particularly the BBC Philharmonic, and other external partners. The expansion of classical production at MediaCity will be a catalyst for new regional partnerships to reflect audiences, music, venues and voices from across the UK. We are excited about the future of classical music production.

If you have the enthusiasm, creative ideas and leadership skills to help us achieve our ambition, we’d love to hear from you.

Please note that there will be two stages in the interview process for this role.

Main Responsibilities

The Content Editor is a key member of the leadership team in BBC Audio North. They will lead multiple programme strands, pitch for new business and support staff development/and the performance of production teams.

They will play a key role in the recruitment of the team in the North, looking for the next generation of classical music programme makers, helping to identify, interview and hire producers and assistant producers.

The post holder will steer production of classical music content across the North of England.

They will inspire and develop teams to deliver outstanding, creative and engaging content, maximising the impact and distinctiveness of classical music with audiences on Radio 3 and beyond, both live and on demand.

They will support and champion staff development, setting a culture with continual feedback where everyone learns from each other and feels valued.

They will work closely with commissioners to ensure their vision is actualised within budget, collaborating with colleagues making classical music programmes across the BBC to ensure maximum value from the licence fee.

They will help forge and develop partnerships with internal and external partners to ensure classical content reaches the maximum number of listeners possible.

This role will include a requirement of early morning and weekend working.

Are you the right candidate?

The successful candidate will have substantial experience in live radio and on demand audio production with a track record in a variety of music/speech programming.

You will love classical music, and demonstrate passion about the BBC’s purpose to delight and inspire millions of listeners across the UK.

You will have boundless optimism and tenacity to embrace and drive change with examples of bringing staff with you. This includes experience of managing teams, presenters, contributors and artists.

You will have a clear communication style with leadership experience of getting things done quickly, fairly and consistently.

You will be familiar with the corporate objectives and have the ability to communicate them clearly and effectively , as well as a proactive approach to Health and Safety, Diversity and a Work-Life Balance.

We are looking for candidates with an understanding of developing content which will appeal to a diverse audience.

You will be able to spot editorial opportunities, develop innovative output, be open to new ideas and motivate colleagues to take creative risks.

You will demonstrate an aptitude for diplomacy; developing and maintaining key relationships with internal and external partners.

About the BBC

The BBC is committed to redeploying employees seeking suitable alternative employment within the BBC for different reasons and they will be given priority consideration ahead of other applicants. Priority consideration means for those employees seeking redeployment their application will be considered alongside anyone else at risk of redundancy, prior to any individuals being considered who are not at risk.

We don’t focus simply on what we do – we also care how we do it. Our values and the way we behave are important to us. Please make sure you’ve read about our values and behaviours in the document attached below.

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.