Senior Political Reporter

JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: D
CONTRACT TYPE:
Permanent, Full-time
DEPARTMENT: BBC South Today

LOCATION:

Southampton (Hybrid)
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £41,200 - £50,000, depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

We are happy to discuss flexible working. If you would like to, please indicate your preference in the application – though there's no obligation to do so now. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.

Do you live and breathe politics? Do you thrive on the big political stories that happen on your doorstep and how the decisions taken in Westminster affect us locally?

We’re looking for an ambitious new member of our team to report on the big political stories from across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. We’re proud to be a multi‑platform newsroom, where you’ll be delivering stories on TV for BBC South Today, for our digital services and for our radio stations (BBC Radio Solent, BBC Radio Berkshire and BBC Radio Oxford).

You will be building on the BBC’s strong connections with the communities we serve, where our storytelling is closest to the audience, and you’ll be joining a creative and supportive team, with a strong internal culture. In this role, you’ll be looking to ensure the political stories you report on reach as many people as possible, through our television output, our digital and social media content and through our radio stations.

This role involves varied working hours and may include some evening and weekend working.

• You’ll work as part of a multi‑skilled team, reporting on a range of political stories for television, digital and radio.
• You’ll be able to draw on a wide range of sources for story ideas, and you’ll deliver original stories which surprise and engage listeners and readers in creative ways.
• You’ll need a real passion for creating powerful video by understanding our local audiences and what matters to them. You’ll also have a flair for writing great scripts.
• We’re looking for individuals with a high level of reporting experience across both television and digital platforms.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• If you have a passion for politics and the ability to look at stories from diverse perspectives, and if you’re bursting with creative ideas, we want to hear from you.
• You’ll have substantial experience of journalism and reporting, with strong editorial judgement.
• You’ll have the great people skills needed to collaborate with colleagues across our local platforms.
• You’ll be able to demonstrate an understanding of the key issues in the world of both local and national politics.
• You’ll also have an excellent knowledge of the BBC’s editorial guidelines, a thorough grasp of impartiality as it applies to our output, and good knowledge of broadcast law.

If you can bring some of these skills and experience, along with transferable strengths, we would love to hear from you and encourage you to apply.