Job Requisition ID: 38954

Job Closing Date: Sunday 8 March 2026

London, GBR, W1A 1AA

JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: E
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, Full-time
DEPARTMENT: Drama Commissioning
LOCATION: London - Hybrid
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: Up to £110,000 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

We're happy to discuss flexible working. If you'd 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.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

We're seeking an experienced Head of Development to join our team and work closely with the Director of Drama to drive the strategic and creative direction of the Drama development slate. Working closely with the commissioners, you would support them editorially on a project-by-project basis, acting as a sounding board more widely & ensuring they are supported in their role within the team to deliver to the overall creative ambition for Drama Commissioning, as well as delivering to the wider BBC Content objectives around portrayal of the UK, representation and diversity both on screen and in the writers and companies that we work with. The Head of Development is a key representative of the BBC Drama team externally, working closely with production companies across the UK.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

The BBC is the home of world-class UK drama, producing a vast array of distinctive, high-quality programming with unrivalled reach across our broad range of platforms. We commission more Drama than anyone else in the UK, nurturing and developing exciting new voices as well as collaborating with the very best household names. We are passionate about portraying the extraordinary variety of life in Britain today and we commission entertaining, thought-provoking and surprising stories that inspire our viewers across the whole of the UK.

Our titles range from smash hits such as Line of Duty, Vigil, and The Night Manager to new titles like Waiting for the Out, This City Is Ours, What it Feels like for a Girl and Riot Women, and much-loved BBC brands such as EastEnders, Call the Midwife and Death in Paradise.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT

You will work closely with the Director of Drama and commissioners to identify and swiftly distil the very best creative ideas for drama content for the BBC.

Selected responsibilities will include:

• Strategic oversight of the drama development slate, keeping an eye to portrayal of the UK, genre balance, representation and diversity - ensuring quality and the best ideas are at the forefront of decision making
• Keeping track of the ever-changing development slate, working with the commissioners and coordinators to ensure timely responses and spotting areas of duplication or oversight
• Engaging with a broad and varied range of producers and writers, managing and fostering relationships, using your own experience to attract the very best of the UK's writers and producers to the BBC to produce exceptional content for our producers
• Drawing upon your knowledge of external global market forces and trends in the drama genre to identify opportunities and threats, anticipating and evaluating audience taste and behaviours

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

This is an opportunity for someone who thrives in a busy working environment where they need to collaborate effectively across a large team, and is able to spot talented writing and potential in an idea at 50 paces.

Key skills and experience are:

• Strong editorial judgment and a proven ability to align projects with strategic objectives.
• A clear understanding of the UK drama landscape and what makes BBC Drama distinctive.
• Proven experience of building and maintaining relationships with a broad range of writers and producers across the UK
• Experience script editing at least one major HETV network drama and/or experience running a development slate at an independent production company
• Skilled at collaboration and communication within a fast-paced, creative environment.
• Fast and accurate evaluation, communication and critique-ing of script and ideas
• The ability to take seeds of a creative vision, help build and articulate that vision to the wider creative community and translate that into content for our audiences.
• A proven ability to spot extraordinary writing and potential in up-and-coming writers
• Fiercely organised and able to juggle multiple priorities and objectives

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

Disclaimer

This job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved.

Please note: If you were to be offered this role, the BBC will conduct Employment screening checks which include Reference checks; Eligibility to work checks; and if applicable to the role, Safeguarding and Adverse media/Social media checks. Any offer made is conditional on these checks being satisfactory.

For any general queries, please contact: bbchr@bbc.co.uk

Redeployment

The BBC is committed to redeploying employees seeking suitable alternative employment within the BBC and they will be given priority consideration ahead of other applicants. Priority consideration means for those employees seeking redeployment their application will be considered alongside anyone else at risk of redundancy, prior to any individuals being considered who are not at risk.

Information at a Glance

This is your BBC

At the BBC you can create and innovate in an inclusive environment while contributing to some of the world's best loved content, and the BBC's mission to inform, educate and entertain.

Find out more about the BBC

Life at BBC

Here you will benefit from:
• Fair pay and flexible benefits including a competitive salary package, a flexible 35-hour working week, 25 days annual leave with the option to buy an extra 5 days, a defined pension scheme and discounted dental, health care and gym.
• Excellent career and professional development.
• Support in your working life, including flexible working which you can discuss with us at any point during the application, selection or offer.
• A values-based organisation where the way we do things is important as what we do.

Benefits may vary if you are joining on an FTC basis or on an orchestra conditions contract.

Learn more about life at the BBC and our values in our candidate pack.

Candidate pack

You belong

We have a working environment where we value and respect every individual's unique contribution, so all our employees feel that they can belong, thrive and achieve their full potential.

We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to join us. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity.

We welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief.

Find out more about diversity, inclusion and belonging in our strategy below.

Diversity, inclusion & belonging strategy

Disability confident

We are a disability confident employer. If you need to discuss adjustments or access requirements for the interview process, or to carry out this role, please contact us via email and we'd be happy to discuss: reasonable.adjustments@bbc.co.uk