Job Introduction

***You must be legally authorized to work in the United States in order to be considered for this role.

This role is responsible for overseeing the communications strategy and securing fantastic press coverage for BBC News in the Americas, with a particular focus on the US.

Role Responsibility

Principal Accountabilities:

This is an exciting opportunity for a first-class, digital-savvy communicator who knows how to create a buzz around world-beating online and on-screen news, sport and features content.

The successful candidate will be responsible for promoting and protecting the reputation of BBC News in the Americas by identifying ways to communicate its values and unique position within the US commercial news media landscape.

Working independently in New York, the role will report to the Senior Head of Communications for Global News in London and play a vital role in the global news communications team, which also has bases in the UK, Japan, India and Singapore.

Scope & Impact:

The successful candidate will be responsible for promoting and protecting the reputation of BBC News in the Americas by identifying ways to communicate its values and unique position within the US commercial news media landscape.

They will create opportunities to showcase the qualities and values of BBC News, including by writing briefings and press materials, securing speaking opportunities, pitching stories to media and developing digital assets. They will also provide advice to senior stakeholders on press issues and manage potential reputational crises in their market, as part of the wider communications team. 

In addition, they will support the sales teams by highlighting the work they do with commercial partners.

Relationships:

This role involves working alongside colleagues from across the business, including the digital, editorial, marketing and advertising/distribution sales teams.  It also requires good relationships with US media contacts and the ability to deal effectively with stakeholders at all levels.

The Ideal Candidate

Behaviors:

• The ideal candidate has a head full of ideas, a passion for news and lives and breathes all things digital. 
• They are a great team player but are also able to work independently. 
• They are creative, resourceful, proactive, enthusiastic and able to juggle numerous deadlines and projects at once. 
• They are also organized, cool under pressure, resilient and able to both plan ahead and react to rapidly changing situations.

Knowledge & Skills:

• The right candidate will be able to demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills and have extensive knowledge of the US media landscape and news industry, so they can spot a story and instinctively know which journalists to call and how to pique their interest.
• They will understand the digital comms landscape and know how to create impactful traditional and digital press assets to generate interest in BBC News.
• They are adept at spotting potential reputational issues, thinking strategically, turning corporate messages into quotable soundbites and dealing with people at a wide range of levels, including the most senior internal and external contacts.

Professional Experience:

• This role requires strong media relations experience, which includes devising and implementing digital-first publicity strategies, ideally for a digital / media organization. 
• The ability to brief and advise senior stakeholders on press issues is essential and experience of dealing with reputational issues would be beneficial.

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.