Senior Broadcast Journalist (Digital), BBC Swahili Service (Kiswahili)

Do enjoy a challenge and would like your work to be seen and heard by millions of engaged daily users? We’ve got just the job for you.

BBC Swahili is part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the world’s largest public broadcaster. In Africa the BBC reaches a weekly audience of more than 90 million people on Radio, TV, Digital, Mobile and Social Media. We currently broadcast to Africa in English, Hausa, Somali, French, Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, Kiswahili and Arabic.

In this role you’ll be leading the BBC Swahili digital effort. So we are looking for an experienced digital journalist to provide the creative leadership and vision needed to deliver a mobile, social and online strategy which ensures that our editorial impact in Africa and beyond remains the best.

Role Responsibility

We are looking for a senior digital journalist to shape digital editorial development and delivery across all our digital platforms. They’ll be expected to help influence the growth of digital skills and approaches across the whole of the BBC Swahili team. Our ambitions are high for BBC Swahili and that includes expanding our digital footprint globally. You’ll be expected to lead our push in our key market, Tanzania were your role will be based.

Above all else, you’re a journalist. One who finds great stories and content that the world needs to know. In this role, you’ll be expected to retain your news instinct and using your skills at digital storytelling, come up with new ways in which our digital audiences can consume that content. That will, more often than not be a mobile first approach. It will be snappy, it will be on demand, it will be intriguing; without ever losing sight of the authority and presence that a BBC news story carries.

We’ll also want you to ensure that your colleagues work in the same way, and truly understand the vision you hold. So influence, authority, creativity and delivery will be essential to your success in this role.

The Ideal Candidate

It goes without saying that you will be an innovator, who is always looking for the next best way that our audiences can consume their media, but you will still need to make sure we are looking after our current digital platforms. How can you visually represent a story in a few pictures? How can you create a quick video that is easy to digest and delivers the facts? You tell us how you can do all that and we’ll give you the tools to make it happen.

You will bring demonstrable experience in a previous paid journalist role, as well as first class written and spoken Kiswahili and English.

You will need sound editorial judgment, understand the African news agenda with particular specialist bias towards the East and Central Africa region. Candidates should enjoy working in a busy newsroom and bring plenty of story and treatment ideas to the role

Package Description

- Continuing contract, local terms and conditions apply

- Role based in Dar el Salam

About the Company

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. You’ll be asked questions relating to them as part of your application for this role.

The BBC is committed to building a culturally diverse workforce and therefore strongly encourages applications from underrepresented groups. We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of their background.