Job Requisition ID: 40084

Job Closing Date: Thursday 26 February 2026

London, GBR, W1A 1AA

JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: F
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, Full-time
DEPARTMENT: Drama Commissioning
LOCATION: London - Hybrid
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: Up to £200,000

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 a highly experienced individual to join our team as a Commissioning Editor and play a key part in delivering our strategy. You would be working across the unparalleled breadth of content that the department produces, from recent successes like The Night Manager, Waiting For The Out, and Riot Women to knock out classic ratings winners like Line of Duty, to schedule backbones Silent Witness, EastEnders, Death in Paradise, Call The Midwife and much more.

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.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT

You will work closely with the Commissioning Director to deliver and commission a broad range of diverse and innovative drama content from suppliers, balancing editorial excellence with compliance and budgetary requirements, and ensuring the commissioned content is strategically aligned to the genre/channel's vision and high ambitions.

Selected responsibilities will include:

• Contributing to a focused development pipeline, encouraging a risk-taking and innovative approach to ideas development and to deliver on the concept for the channel/genre.
• Input into the development of the Drama commissioning strategy
• Enabling creativity and fostering an innovative approach to new drama content at the BBC.
• Being the editorial contact for suppliers and/or co-producers on specific titles, responsible for fostering and managing those relationships in line with the BBC's strategy, including monitoring progress, giving constructive feedback, and ensuring timely and cost-efficient delivery.
• Ensuring that editorial content complies with the BBC's editorial standards and guidelines and other key policies.
• Maintaining an awareness of exciting new, emerging and diverse voices across the UK, 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 audiences.
• Building positive relationships with producers, partners and contributors across and beyond the BBC.
• Building strong relationships across the BBC to ensure pan-platform delivery of the channel/genre strategy, and contribute to wider BBC and content strategies.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

This is an opportunity for someone who either has significant experience of commissioning and has been accountable for all aspects of the end-to-end commissioning process - from managing their own slate through development and production to delivery, compliance and marketing, managing complex relationships across multiple projects at any one time - or someone who is an editorial professional with significant experience of either executive producing or producing several shows, being ultimately accountable for delivery and quality within budget. The ideal candidate should demonstrate the following key skills and experience:

• Significant drama commissioning and content making experience - either as a producer, executive producer or commissioner on HETV drama for a streamer or PSB
• A substantial record of realising and leading creative ideas from start through to commission and delivery, working within defined resources and demanding deadlines - juggling multiple ideas at a time, and managing multiple internal and external stakeholders
• Significant understanding of current trends and issues within the broadcasting industry and the drama landscape specifically
• Outstanding communication skills and ability to foster good relationships with a wide range of internal and external contacts, with the ability to deliver feedback to promote creative development.
• Sound editorial judgment coupled with the ability to devise and develop new ideas and foster creativity in others.
• Demonstrable experience of thinking strategically about programmes and their scheduling and the ability to contribute towards strategy for the channel/department.
• Audience focused in approach, aware of trends, topical issues and gaps in our output.
• Evidence of a commitment to creating diverse content and to the BBC's diversity strategy and policies.
• Significant experience and knowledge of managing creative delivery within financial budgets.

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.

Being a leader at the BBC means putting the organisation's interest, goals and values first, ahead of individual team or function needs. The characteristics of an enterprise leader are: Focuses on outcomes over activity, adapts quickly, and simplifies complexity. They balance short-term actions with long-term impact, take full accountability for actions and decision-making, and prioritise capability development to create teams fit for the future.

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