Job Introduction

Would you like to be a key player in helping to shape the development of the BBC’s digital audio product Sounds?   Or how about understanding how audiences relate to a true jewel in the BBC’s crown – BBC Radio 4?  Then this could be the job for you.  A vacancy for an Audience Research Manager, looking after BBC Sounds, Radio 4 and 4 Extra, has arisen with the BBC’s Radio and Music Audiences team.   You will work closely with a fantastic team of researchers, data analysts and audience planners, while also having responsibility for the task management of one Senior Audience Research Executive.

If you have a passion for speech-based audio and an interest in how digital audio can bring audiences even close to the content that they love then read on!

This is a permanent role based at New Broadcasting House in London.

Role Responsibility

In this role you will be responsible for managing all aspects of audience data, research and reporting across BBC Sounds and Radio 4/4Extra, and for feeding actionable insights back into the relevant strategies. To do this you will be an experienced researcher, able to think proactively of ways to analyse and get the most out of existing data sources. Beyond this, you will be capable of working with a mixture of desk research, commissioned primary research, external sources and internal data, and be able to knit these together to tell a coherent and compelling story.

It would also be highly advantageous if you have experience/an understanding of RAJAR, digital analytics and Compass (BBC only) as well as the associated analysis systems – such as Telmar, Octagon, Advantedge and Asteroid - or that you can demonstrate experience in comparable datasets/systems and a willingness to learn!  You'll need to be proficient in qual and quant research techniques and able to guide research agencies towards the best approach and output for stakeholders. This will depend on being able to think through how insights will be used to make decisions, in order to identify the right research method and outputs.   You'll be equally happy handling big strategic questions as well as those small tactical queries.

In addition to solid research skills, you must be able to take findings deeper within the business, going beyond the researcher’s tools of data and charts to draw out tangible ideas and bring these to life for stakeholders.  Furthermore, you will be a strong collaborator, able to build effective working relationships within and beyond the home teams.    

The Ideal Candidate

Ideally you will have the following skills / experience:

• A broad knowledge of market and audience research techniques gained through first-hand experience
• Experience managing quantitative and/or qualitative research projects
• Experience of working with media industry data sources (eg RAJAR, BARB), or similar large tracker datasets
• Can take research beyond data to insights and action, where necessary weaving multiple datasets into one narrative
• Able to think ahead, prioritise and plan activities, taking deadlines and resources into account
• Able to build close relationships with divisional partners to successfully influence strategic and creative decision making

Package Description

Band: D
Contract Type: Permanent
Location: London - New Broadcasting House (hybrid working available)

• Flexible / hybrid working - opportunities across the business
• Excellent career progression â€“ the BBC offers great opportunities for employees to seek new challenges and work in different areas of the organisation.
• Unrivalled training and development opportunities â€“ 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.

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.

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.

To find out more about Diversity and Inclusion at the BBC, please click here