Internship | Job Vacancies at BBC World Service

The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting radio and television news, speech and discussions in 29 languages to many parts of the world on analogue and digital shortwave platforms, Internet streaming, podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays.

Video Journalist at BBC World Service

Job Description

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

BBC Somali is now transforming into a story-led model built around two complementary editorial streams: On the Day and On Demand. Therefore, the purpose of the role is primarily to initiate, gather and produce material for news, current affairs and general programming. Routinely self-shooting and editing complete packages for use across multiple platforms.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

• BBC World Service is creating a new Horn of Africa Language Services Unit in Nairobi, bringing together BBC Somali, BBC Afaan Oromo, BBC Tigrinya and BBC Amharic under a single editorial leadership structure for the first time.
• BBC Somali is one of the most trusted international news services for Somali-speaking audiences in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and across a substantial and highly engaged diaspora. It is a service with strong editorial heritage and, under this new structure, significant opportunity: the transformation to a digital-first, video-led operation that can reach a new generation of Somali audiences who consume news primarily through smartphones, YouTube and social media.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

• Research, write, shoot, edit and deliver high-quality multimedia content across radio, digital, podcast and online platforms, ensuring output meets the highest editorial and production standards.
• Independently produce complete journalism packages, undertaking all aspects of pre-production, production and post-production using a range of audio, video and digital tools.
• Exercise strong editorial judgment to identify, develop and deliver accurate, impartial and engaging stories tailored to the needs of different audiences.
• Present and produce live or pre-recorded content across a range of BBC platforms, including radio, visualised podcasts and online services.
• Collaborate effectively with editors, colleagues and wider BBC teams to share content, avoid duplication, uphold best practice and contribute to successful project delivery.
• Prioritise and manage workloads effectively, delivering high-quality journalism to tight deadlines while making best use of available resources.
• Contribute to team development by leading projects where appropriate, mentoring colleagues, sharing technical expertise and maintaining compliance with BBC health and safety standards.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Significant journalism experience, with strong expertise in multimedia production, including self-shooting, video editing and preparing content for broadcast and digital platforms.
• Sound editorial judgment and a strong understanding of BBC editorial standards, news values, audience needs and current affairs coverage.
• Proven ability to originate, develop and deliver compelling news stories, using a range of technologies to gather and produce content.
• Excellent writing, editing and translation skills, with the ability to create accurate, engaging and audience-focused content across multiple media formats.
• Fluency in spoken and written Somali and English, with the ability to write, sub-edit and present professionally in both languages.
• Strong planning, organisational and relationship-building skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities, meet tight deadlines and work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Adaptable and resilient under pressure, with knowledge of audience analytics and data-led content strategies to optimise performance and drive engagement across diverse audiences.

Apply: careers.bbc.co.uk/job/Video-Journalist-BBC-Somali-Service/53842-en_GB?

Journalist, Focus On Africa at BBC World Service

Job Description

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Focus on Africa is BBC’s flagship news and current affairs program for our audiences in Africa and those interested in African stories across the world. The program, across TV, radio and digital platforms, aims to provide a comprehensive view of the diverse experiences, cultures, and challenges facing African nations and their people. This includes engaging stories on politics, economics, environment, health, and social issues, along with highlighting achievements and innovations within Africa.

Focus on Africa aims to bridge the gap between African societies and global audiences, offering a platform for voices that often go unheard. The program seeks to foster understanding, promote dialogue, and celebrate the richness of African life by presenting high-quality journalism that motivates, educates, and informs viewers.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

• We are looking for a highly successful Journalist to produce impactful content for Focus on Africa TV as well as its digital livestreams and assets. The Journalist will have excellent technical skills, visual creativity and experience of handling breaking news and rolling coverage and good understanding of our audience needs. You will have extensive experience of video making and have in-depth knowledge of digital production.  Demonstrable knowledge of North Africa affairs and proficiency in Arabic would be an added advantage.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

• Shoot and edit high-quality video segments for broadcast and digital platforms, ensuring content is visually engaging and adheres to BBC standards. Ensure content is informative, accurate, and engaging, reflecting the diversity of our audience’s experiences and perspectives.
• Write clear, concise, and engaging scripts for video reports, ensuring all information is accurate and effectively communicates the intended story.
• Attend events, press conferences, and breaking news situations to gather firsthand information and visual documentation.
• Present news stories, reports, and features live on air for both visualized radio/podcast and digital video. This includes adapting style and tone to suit different formats and audiences.
• Ensure that BBC Editorial principles and all relevant legal, contractual and copyright requirements are met, referring upwards in cases of difficulty or doubt. 
• Work closely with editorial colleagues, producers, and field reporters to develop and execute story ideas. Participate in team discussions and contribute to the overall editorial direction of Focus on Africa.
• Oversee the digital presence of Focus on Africa, including social media platforms 

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Demonstrable experience of producing original short and mid-form videos that have been impactful and reached new audiences and knowledge of social media best practice.
• Strong storytelling skills, with the ability to translate complex issues into compelling video narratives.
• In-depth knowledge of the news agenda across Africa and its diaspora; ability to spot an interesting, shareable story – and generate eye-catching headlines and content to go with it. 
• Excellent communication and interviewing skills, with the ability to engage effectively with diverse subjects and audiences.
• Track record of creativity in the use of pictures, graphics and audio to illustrate and explain fast-moving events and complex stories.
• Experience of working under pressure and meeting tight deadlines. A self-starting individual – you will be able to come up with ideas, get them commissioned made and delivered efficiently.
• Excellent writing, editing, and communication skills in English is essential.

Apply: Journalist, Focus On Africa Job Details | BBC

Business Coordinator at BBC World Service

Job Description

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Working in the Production and Business Management Team, the primary objective of the Business Coordinator role is to support the BBC News teams and key stakeholders in delivering world-beating journalism.

BBC World Service is an international news provider, part of BBC News, delivering a wide range of language and regional services on digital, TV and radio. It reaches a weekly audience of around 350 million around the world, helping them make sense of the world we live in.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

• You’ll provide World Service editorial teams in the East Africa hub with a wide range of business management services and support the delivery of impartial and independent journalism to audiences in the region.
• As the BBC News Africa is going through a significant transformation, the immediate priority will be to support the implementation of transformation initiatives, helping keep track of staff movement and recruitment activity.  Ongoing, you will also work with the Regional Head of Business, Business Partner and Business Advisor to ensure that the business management services remain fit-for-purpose, continually adapting to evolving customer and business needs.
• Reporting to the acting Business Advisor based in Nairobi, the Business Coordinator will partner closely with a number of team leaders in Nairobi and across East Africa to support their teams on key business management activities.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

• Support the Business Advisor in monitoring allocated budget, headcount and other activities in your relevant patch.
• Processing payment requests via local finance teams or central payments.
• Carry out delegated business administrative tasks including managing onboarding and offboarding of our staff and freelancers, raising IT support requests, production bookings, organising equipment hire and other tasks as required.
• Support the Business Advisor with the compilation of specific Management Information (MI) reports on deployment spend, staff movement, absence etc., using relevant trackers, templates and formats as directed.
• Provide programme areas with logistical support for their deployments and issuing relevant paperwork where appropriate.
• Provide general guidance and advice to support policy compliance, working with the Executive Bureau Manager, divisional specialists and the wider Production and Business Management community as required.
• Support the business with the delivery of strategic projects and other ad-hoc activities as necessary.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE 

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Demonstrable experience of providing administrative support in an international organisation.
• Highly organised with a proactive approach, an ability to work with limited supervision and to coordinate a busy workload with conflicting priorities and tight deadlines.
• Essential business and finance skills – able to prepare, manage and/or monitor specific output and production resource plans and budgets.
• Ability to understand and translate large amounts of data into a variety of reporting formats, ensuring deadlines are met and information provided is accurate, timely and in consistent formats.
• Experience in building and maintaining good working relationships with stakeholders and professional support functions.
• Strong IT skills and extensive experience of using Office package, Excel in particular (good working knowledge of SAP will be an advantage), as well as the ability to learn BBC systems.
• Flexible can-do approach and ability to communicate effectively with local and remote teams both orally and in writing in English and local language

DESIRABLE:

• Keen interest in news & current affairs or media sector experience

Apply: Business Coordinator Job Details | BBC

Data Journalist, Nairobi at BBC World Service

Job Description

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Join BBC News Africa and help bring the continent’s most important stories to audiences around the world. In this role, you will create engaging, data-driven journalism across digital, video and audio platforms, producing accurate, impartial and impactful content. Working to tight deadlines, you will use strong editorial judgment, innovative storytelling techniques and audience insight to deliver breaking news, live coverage and original reporting that reflects the diverse communities we serve.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

• Produce compelling, data-driven journalism, including stories, live coverage, visual storytelling and special projects for digital audiences.
• Research, write, edit and publish content across digital, video and audio platforms, ensuring the highest editorial and production standards.
• Exercise strong editorial judgement to identify, develop and deliver accurate, impartial and engaging news coverage.
• Create and adapt content for different audiences and platforms, using innovative formats and audience insight to maximise reach and impact.
• Collaborate closely with colleagues across BBC News, sharing content, supporting cross-team projects and promoting best practice.
• Lead or contribute to major editorial projects and breaking news coverage, managing priorities effectively and delivering to tight deadlines.
• Support programme production and presentation activities, including live and pre-recorded output, while maintaining compliance with BBC health and safety policies and editorial guidelines.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Strong experience in journalism, with a track record of producing high-quality digital, multimedia, data and visual journalism for diverse audiences.
• Excellent research, data analysis and storytelling skills, with the ability to turn complex information into engaging and accessible content.
• Sound editorial judgement and a clear understanding of news values, audience needs, and the BBC’s commitment to accurate, impartial journalism.
• Proficiency in using a range of digital tools and technologies to gather, produce and publish content across broadcast, digital and social platforms.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to build effective relationships and work successfully across teams and departments.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, capable of managing multiple priorities, responding to breaking news and consistently delivering to tight deadlines.
• Adaptable and resilient, with a commitment to inclusion and diversity, and an understanding of health and safety responsibilities within a broadcasting environment.

Apply: Data Journalist, Nairobi Job Details | BBC

Assistant Editor, BBC Great Lakes at BBC World Service

Assistant Editor, BBC Great  Lakes

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

BBC Great Lakes (Gahuza) is a highly respected provider of news and information in Kinyarwanda and Kirundi. This includes courageous  journalism that holds the power to account. It also offers engaging stories on politics, economics, environment, health, and social issues, along with highlighting achievements and innovations in Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo and neighbouring countries.

Writers Resources

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

• We are recruiting an experienced Assistant Editor to lead our news team in producing high-quality, accurate, and compelling news content that reflects the diverse voices and issues of the Great Lakes region. The Assistant Editor will play a crucial role in shaping the editorial direction of our broadcasts and digital platforms, ensuring that our reporting is timely, relevant, and impactful. The successful candidate will ensure skills sets in their team support high editorial, production and brand values.
• This is a role for an editor who combines strong  journalistic instincts with genuine digital ambition; someone who can lead a team through a significant transformation in how BBC Great Lakes reaches and serves its audiences, while maintaining the editorial standards and audience trust that make the service matter.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

• Lead the editorial vision of BBC Great Lakes, ensuring that all content reflects the multifaceted nature of our diverse audience. You will set high editorial standards for reporting without fear or favor.
• Lead BBC Great Lakes transformation to a digital-first, video-led service, creating a culture of editorial ambition, personal accountability, mutual respect and continuous learning.
• Develop and implement a data-led video strategy designed to drive measurable digital growth, with a focus on expanding reach among younger and female audiences.
• Use audience insight, analytics and platform trends to inform commissioning, distribution and editorial decision-making.
• Set the editorial agenda, prioritising stories that matter most to target audiences
• Commission, edit and deliver high impact original journalism, including exclusives, investigations, explainers and digital-first content.
• Mentor and inspire a diverse team of journalists, fostering their professional growth and enhancing their storytelling skills. Provide constructive feedback and support a collaborative work environment that values diverse perspectives.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Recent track record in leading content production and output (radio and digital) at a senior level, with focus on the Great Lakes region news
• Demonstrable experience of managing and motivating teams across multiple locations and in fast-paced news environments.
• Proven track record of developing and implementing successful data-led video strategies that delivered measurable digital growth.
• Strong editorial judgment and the ability to quickly identify and develop impactful stories that reflect complex issues and diverse perspectives
• Demonstrable recent experience of launching new digital products or programs that have led to growth in reach and reputation across platforms
• Proven experience in breaking news stories as well as producing features, investigations and original journalism about the Great Lakes region
• Exceptional writing, editing, and communication skills in Kinyarwanda, Kirundi and English are all essential.

DESIRABLE:

• Proven ability to shoot, script and edit video stories using tools such as Final Cut Pro (FCPx) and QEdit, with the ability to deliver polished, engaging, audience-focused content which is optimised for digital platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook

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Senior Journalist Team Manager at BBC World Service

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

BBC World Service is creating a new Horn of Africa Language Services Unit in Nairobi, bringing together BBC Somali, BBC Afaan Oromo, BBC Tigrinya and BBC Amharic under a single editorial leadership structure for the first time. 

The Horn of Africa On-Demand Production Hub is a new, dedicated production unit at the heart of the BBC’s ambitious restructuring of its East Africa language services. The Hub exists to do what no individual service team can do alone: produce high-quality, video-led journalism with the production values, platform expertise and creative ambition that BBC audiences in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and the diaspora increasingly expect.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

• The Senior Journalist Team Manager is the architect and engine of the Production Hub. Your job is to maximise the reach, quality and impact of journalism that originates with the four service teams, and to build the production infrastructure, skills and workflows that allow the Horn of Africa’s editorial ambitions to be realised at scale.
• You will lead a small, multi-skilled team of video journalists and reporters. You will work in close daily partnership with four Assistant Editors, and you will report directly to the News Editor, Horn of Africa. 
• This is a role for someone with a genuine and demonstrable video vision: someone who understands what great digital and video journalism looks like, who can communicate that vision to journalists across four language services, and who has the practical skills, leadership experience and creative drive to make it a reality.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

• Design, build and run the Horn of Africa On-Demand Production Hub from the ground up, establishing its workflows, capacity, quality standards and ways of working.
• Develop and implement a clear production strategy for the Hub, setting out how it will serve all four language services, what kinds of content it will prioritise, and how it will evolve as the cluster’s digital ambition grows.
• Act as the BBC’s lead production expert for the Horn of Africa region, providing strategic advice to the News Editor and the four Assistant Editors on video production, digital platform strategy and audience development.
• Champion the transition from audio-first to video-first production across the HoA unit, working with Assistant Editors to embed video thinking into editorial planning at the service level, not just in the Hub itself.
• Lead the development and production of high-impact video journalism: investigations, documentaries, long-form explainers, data-driven visual stories and social-first short-form content to serve the editorial requirements of the four services.
• Develop and produce new video formats specifically designed to reach young women across the Horn of Africa and diaspora communities, working with Assistant Editors to identify the editorial propositions, storytelling approaches and distribution strategies most likely to grow this audience.
• Manage staffing, rotas and deployment of resources to ensure efficient and effective output.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Demonstrable video vision: a clear, articulate and practically grounded understanding of what outstanding digital video journalism looks like, backed by a portfolio or track record of video content that has reached and engaged significant audiences.
• Substantial experience in video production and post-production for journalism, including proficiency with filming, editing, motion graphics and the production workflows required for high-volume, high-quality digital output.
• Proven experience of managing a journalism or production team, with the ability to set direction, develop people, manage performance and build a culture of creative excellence and collaborative working.
• Strong understanding of digital platform distribution including YouTube, social media algorithms, WhatsApp, TikTok and BBC digital products and a track record of using that understanding to grow audiences.
• Experience of leading significant production projects or transitions, such as launching a new format, transforming a linear programme for digital, or building a production operation from scratch.
• A genuine commitment to reaching young female audiences, with practical experience of designing content strategies, commissioning approaches or storytelling formats specifically aimed at this group.
• Fluency in written and spoken in one of our Horn of Africa languages and English.

Read More & Apply

Journalist, BBC Somali at BBC World Service

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

There is a golden opportunity to become a Journalist in BBC Somali as we seek to extend its trusted reputation across radio and digital for the next generation. By joining the team, you will receive first-class training and can share your stories with millions of BBC’s global audience.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM  

The BBC Somali Service operates a digital first strategy, publishing content online and on social media platforms, alongside producing radio news and current affairs programmes in Somali. A career at the BBC offers you an opportunity to tell stories that can change lives and at BBC Africa it is our ambition to showcase the diversity of ideas and aspirations from across the continent.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

• Create content for a variety of broadcast and digital media platforms, in multiple formats including audio and video. You will use your knowledge of the digital media market to produce interesting news content for our website and social media platforms.
• Present the content on radio and digital. This might be live or recorded.
• Exercise editorial judgment in developing story ideas and producing accurate and impartial journalism.
• Liaise closely with other team members and with other departments in the BBC, to ensure that output material is shared, duplication is avoided, and best practice is upheld.
• Tailor different news treatments for different audiences ensuring that the output reflects the audiences we serve.
• Delivering to tight deadlines while maintaining the highest editorial standards.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Full command and up to date knowledge of spoken and written Somali language as a first language or equivalent
• A good knowledge of English including complete comprehension of written and spoken English and the ability to communicate effectively
• Significant recent experience as a broadcast journalist for the target area, both in originating ideas and material and, with a good knowledge of production techniques
• Ability to write creatively in an engaging manner, adapt, and produce and translate with accuracy, clarity and style appropriate to differing audiences and forms of media suitable for the Service’s multimedia output. 
• Wide, thorough and up to date familiarity with the target area which the service broadcasts and an in-depth understanding of the Somali region’s news and current affairs, history, politics, social issues and culture in addition to good network and contacts with the newsmakers in the region. 

DESIRED BUT NOT REQUIRED

• Ability to shoot and edit videos

Read More & Apply