Legal Director, Programme Legal Advice

JOB DETAILS

JOB BAND: Senior Leader
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, Full-time
DEPARTMENT: Legal
LOCATION: London 

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

Reporting to the BBC’s Group General Counsel, the Legal Director will lead a team of specialist media lawyers, providing expert legal pre-publication advice across the BBC’s extensive portfolio of television, radio, digital, social and global news services. With a weekly audience of more than 500 million people, the BBC’s content informs, educates and entertains on a global scale.

The role will be responsible for enabling the BBC to achieve its editorial ambitions whilst managing legal risk and directing resources effectively. 

WHY JOIN THE TEAM?

Supporting output ranging from in-depth investigations and breaking news stories to consumer and reality formats, factual dramas and comedy, this role presents an opportunity to lead the provision of legal advice across the BBC’s uniquely wide-ranging content portfolio. 

The team’s work helps ensure the continuing success of our 24-hour news output, established formats such as Panorama and Have I Got News for You, alongside outputs and formats developed for YouTube and other platforms. The department focuses on defamation, privacy, contempt and data protection law in England and Wales, whilst also advising on other areas and undertaking research covering other jurisdictions where required. 

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Essential Criteria

As a qualified and experienced solicitor or barrister, you will bring: 

• The leadership capability to manage and develop a team, provide clear professional direction and act as a role model to colleagues. 
• Deep technical expertise and broad practical experience in pre-publication advice gained at a major news provider.
• Exceptional analytical ability, enabling you to develop innovative solutions to legal problems, evaluate risk and reach sound judgements using the facts and information available. 
• The ability to navigate a wide range of editorial relationships, balancing competing priorities and delivering effectively within timescales.
• Strong and persuasive communications skills, with the ability to influence journalists, editors and senior stakeholders.
• A collaborative approach to building effective relationships across BBC departments and externally where required. 
• A broad and comprehensive understanding of the BBC’s regulatory obligations as they apply to editorial matters. 

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.

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

Before your start date, you may need to disclose any unspent convictions or police charges, in line with our Contracts of Employment policy. This allows us to discuss any support you may need and assess any risks. Failure to disclose may result in the withdrawal of your offer.