Job Introduction
We are looking for a Commissioning Editor to lead the Pop Music TV Commissioning team at the BBC.
Under the leadership of Lorna Clarke, Controller of Pop, the new evolved Pop Music TV Commissioning team will solely focus on pop music commissions, increasing its impact across all platforms to deliver a portfolio approach with our radio stations and increase habit with audiences.
The Pop Music team commissions a wide range of much-loved programmes including documentary films, acquisitions, live performance and returning titles like Later with…Jools Holland and Glastonbury. The team is critical to delivering our strategy; responsible for both generating and developing bold ground-breaking ideas and working with independent production companies to commission content based on a deep understanding of audience needs and the genre.
As well as exploring opportunities and telling stories from the world’s most popular artists from the last 70 years, and broadcasting large scale event TV, the Pop Music team will shine a light on musicians who have enjoyed chart success in more recent years and explore subjects that will appeal to younger audiences. We are also keen to broaden our range of documentaries through more investigative styles and documentaries with great access and a fantastic cast both in front and behind the camera, providing true authentic insight our expert audience cannot get elsewhere.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/categories/music/featured
Role Responsibility
You will work closely with the Controller of Pop to construct and deliver the commissioning strategy for BBC Pop Music, building and maintaining a strategic relationship with the supplier base at a senior creative level that generates, develops and nurtures the best ideas. You will deliver maximum impact by developing innovative ideas and exciting content commissions using all the platform tools available, with a sophisticated analysis of target audience needs and in line with agreed budgets and regulatory requirements.
You will develop distinctive talent led music discovery with enhanced choice and control that builds relationships with fans, artists and audiences. You will harness your brilliant working relationships with the music industry and our partners to build genuine creative ambition around talent discovery, breadth of artist stories, refreshing ways of using our great archive, and ambitious music on-demand treatments. The vision for Pop Music across the content portfolio is to deliver the best music for audiences and fostering the BBC’s crucial role in developing new talent. This role will need to utilise the might of the BBC drawing on the scale of Radio 1 and Radio 2 and the specialist audiences on 6 Music, 1Xtra and Asian Network to foster some exciting collaborations across the BBC’s Pop portfolio.
Relationship management is a fundamental part of this role, acting as a key contact for suppliers during the development and production process, offering advice and guidance on our requirements, feedback on pitches and fostering collaborative working relationships. You will also manage and nurture relationships with key on screen and off screen talent and always be looking to identify new, emerging talent.
You’ll encourage risk-taking and innovation, identify key genre trends and seize opportunities to evolve the genre.
The Ideal Candidate
This is an outstanding opportunity for a true expert in the field of Pop Music Television. A creative figurehead with programme making expertise you will bring a track record in attracting the best programme-makers and nurturing new talent (on and off-screen). Committed to our diversity and inclusion objectives you will have a rich understanding of how to reach wider audiences with our pop music offer.
To ensure success it is vital that you have experience in leading creative teams and you will be able to demonstrate your achievements in identifying excellence and driving quality in commissions. Audiences are at the heart of everything we do so you need to have a deep understanding of changing audience consumption patterns (particularly on VOD and SVOD platforms) and show evidence of creating diverse content and developing new on-screen talent.
You will need to have a deep understanding of what audiences want from music programming and the ability to work with big name talent to deliver it. You will need a proven record of strong relationships in the music industry and demonstrable music-related commissioning experience to enable collaboration across the BBC. The ideal candidate will have an understanding of the craft of film making and delivering films out of the edit with the best possible production values.
We'd like to see evidence of your strategic-thinking around linear and on-demand. You will also need to have demonstrable understanding of trends and issues relating to popular music, globally and in the UK.
Package Description
Band: F
Contract type: Continuing contract
Location: Flexible
We’re happy to discuss flexible working. Please indicate your choice under the flexible working question in the application. There is no obligation to raise this at the application stage but if you wish to do so, you are welcome to. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.
- Excellent career progression – the BBC offers great opportunities for employees to seek new challenges and work in different areas of the organisation.
- Unrivalled training and development opportunities – 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.
The situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak is developing quickly and the BBC is keen to continue to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people across the BBC, while continuing to protect our services. To reduce the risk access to BBC buildings is limited to those essential to our broadcast output. From Wednesday 18th March until further notice all assessments and interviews will be conducted remotely. For more information go to https://www.bbc.co.uk/careers/
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
