Senior Journalist Team Manager

About the role

The BBC World Service is establishing a Horn of Africa Language Services Unit in Nairobi, bringing together four language services under one editorial leadership. As Senior Journalist Team Manager, you will shape and run the new On‑Demand Production Hub, ensuring high‑impact video journalism reaches audiences across Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and the diaspora.

Key responsibilities

• Design, build and operate the Horn of Africa On‑Demand Production Hub from the ground up, defining workflows, capacity and quality standards.
• Develop and implement a production strategy that serves BBC Somali, Afaan Oromo, Tigrinya and Amharic services.
• Provide strategic advice on video production, digital platform strategy and audience development to the News Editor and Assistant Editors.
• Lead the transition from audio‑first to video‑first production across the unit, embedding video thinking into editorial planning.
• Oversee a small, multi‑skilled team of video journalists and reporters, coordinating daily with four Assistant Editors.
• Produce high‑impact video content including investigations, documentaries, long‑form explainers, data‑driven visual stories and social‑first short‑form pieces.

Required profile

• Demonstrable vision for digital and video journalism and the ability to communicate it across multiple language services.
• Proven leadership experience managing video‑focused news teams.
• Strong understanding of audience development and platform‑specific storytelling.
• Creative drive and practical production expertise to deliver quality video journalism at scale.

Required skills