VP, Current Programming

BBC Studios

BBC Studios, a global content company with bold British creativity at its heart, is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group, creatively and financially supporting the BBC, its partners, and the wider industry. We combine the strengths of the UK’s most awarded producer with a world-class distributor. Taking ideas from thought to screen and beyond, our activities range from content financing, development, production, through to global program sales, branded services, consumer products, live events and ancillaries.

Together with our independent production labels and content sales partners, we deliver thousands of hours of content annually to the BBC and other broadcasters and services, including Amazon, Apple TV, Channel 4, Channel Five, Discovery, Disney, National Geographic, Netflix, Migu, PBS, Sky and YouTube. BBC Studios Productions creates high quality, award-winning content across an extraordinary range of genres and specialisms. Recent credits, made by BBC Studios Productions and its indie labels, include Happy Valley 3, Frozen Planet II, Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing with the Stars, Killing Eve, Am I Being Unreasonable, Grenfell: The Untold Story, Prehistoric Planet, JoJo and Gran Gran, Top Gear, The One Show and Royal and ceremonial events.

Vice President, Current Programming

The Vice President is responsible for executing the strategic and creative vision of the BBC Studios Los Angeles unscripted productions from the greenlight phase through final delivery and broadcast, reporting into the Executive Vice President of Current Programming.

The VP will work on multiple projects concurrently, often large scale and of significant reputational value.

The candidate will be solution-oriented and provide oversight, creative vision, logistical skills, and strong, visible leadership to everyone working on their shows, and play an executive role as part of the wider department. This position is an integral part of BBC Studios' production arm in the US. The VP will liaise with BBC Studios colleagues, networks, and production staff to produce BBCS series, and will work with Indie partners globally to produce shows for the U.S. market.

Key Responsibilities

• Supervise creative and operations of pilots and series in production as assigned by the EVP of Current Programming
• Assist in hiring and managing show Showrunners, Co-EPs, Directors, and other key personnel
• Produce originals and reformats, and ensure projects maintain the level of premium quality and pure entertainment in line with the image and reputation of the BBC
• Provide supervision to the freelance teams to ensure all programs are executed with the highest possible creative standards, deliver on schedule, within budget, and that deliveries to the Commissioner and BBCS Formats are fulfilled
• Ensure Commissioners are satisfied with the programs. This includes hands-on monitoring progress on programs, anticipating problems, and taking appropriate action
• Liaise with all BBC Studios LA departments; including Development, Finance, Business and Legal Affairs, Communications, IT, and Human Resources. Work closely with the
• Production and BLA departments to ensure a successful production process through development, pre-production, production, post production, final delivery, and beyond
• Demonstrate practical judgement and leadership to ensure our freelance teams work to deadlines and are supported sufficiently to deliver their best work. Create and support a positive environment
• Manage talent relations, duty of care, and an elevated talent experience. Track casting, diligence, and talent booking process
• Maintain and grow international production reach. Build relationships with BBC Studios production offices worldwide
• Work closely with BBC Studios Global Entertainment, Indies, and Co-Producers to adapt international series for the U.S. market
• Cultivate and leverage relationships, both internal and external to the organization, to grow and develop a strong portfolio of unscripted content projects
• Take a lead role in driving forward all projects, new and efficient ways of working, and collaborating with other departments
• Maintain thorough knowledge of industry trends, innovations and the evolving market and distribution platforms in order to adapt the business to audience needs
• A commitment to creating both diverse content and teams to reflect our audiences and ensure best practice
• Foster team growth
• Work closely with Global Formats team during development and production of BBC Formats and on site
• On location supervision, as needed, for assigned shows in production
• Liaise with the Business & Legal Affairs team and confer with production counsel on all applicable legal matters such as guild, labor, compliance and immigration advice
• Work closely with post production facilities, clearance teams, and finishing vendors
• Champion show marketing, promotion, social and award strategy
• Assist with brand partnerships, integrations, and sponsorships
• Ensure production and creative teams comply with key BBC policies including Editorial
• Guidelines, The Pledge, Data Security, Anti-Bribery and Corruption, Duty of Care, Ethical Policy, Risk Assessment, Health & Safety and Incident Reporting
• Support BBC's sustainability initiatives and green production practices
• Provide guidance and advice to international BBC Studios territories filming in North America

Qualifications

• 10+ years of producing Unscripted Television that has delivered impact, ratings, and critical acclaim
• Strong track record of delivering high-quality content on schedule and on budget
• Experience overseeing high-profile productions of varying levels of scale across multiple platforms
• Producing experience with a wide variety of unscripted genres (e.g. Game, Competition, Docu-Follow, Awards, Variety, Documentary, etc.). Project expertise across location and studio-based shows, union and non-union, and domestic and international
• Extensive experience producing in the field/on set and a high proficiency across post production
• Places importance on advocating and maintaining a positive working environment for talent and crew
• A strong communicator and track record of developing and maintaining productive working relationships with internal and external partners, including co-producers, network and streaming partners, agents, and talent
• Collaborative working style with the ability to effectively influence
• Proven imaginative and creative thinking capabilities with strengths in decision making and smart risk taking to exercise appropriate judgement
• Effective planning, attention to detail and organization skills
• Ability to concentrate on several areas of work at one time, prioritizing, delivering consistently to deadlines and reacting positively to changes in a fast-paced environment.
• Extensive experience of leading and inspiring production teams in a multi-platform environment and able to demonstrate strong managerial skills and positive behaviors.
• Fierce managerial tact balancing the needs and wants of showrunners, network executives, and BBC
• The ability to identify a range of problems and work alongside the executive team to apply effective conversations and solutions. Able to make sound judgement decisions on time-critical solutions
• A track record of executing the creative vision from conception to reality within the constraints of limited resources and challenging deadlines
• Sound understanding of the media industry including audience trends and how it is developing with new technologies and platforms
• Experience working with compliance and standards & practices
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook), Box/Dropbox, DocuSign, Zoom/Teams/Google Meet

BBC Studios

Vice President, Current Programming

Key Responsibilities

• Supervise creative and operations of pilots and series in production as assigned by the EVP of Current Programming
• Assist in hiring and managing show Showrunners, Co-EPs, Directors, and other key personnel
• Produce originals and reformats, and ensure projects maintain the level of premium quality and pure entertainment in line with the image and reputation of the BBC
• Provide supervision to the freelance teams to ensure all programs are executed with the highest possible creative standards, deliver on schedule, within budget, and that deliveries to the Commissioner and BBCS Formats are fulfilled
• Ensure Commissioners are satisfied with the programs. This includes hands-on monitoring progress on programs, anticipating problems, and taking appropriate action
• Liaise with all BBC Studios LA departments; including Development, Finance, Business and Legal Affairs, Communications, IT, and Human Resources. Work closely with the
• Production and BLA departments to ensure a successful production process through development, pre-production, production, post production, final delivery, and beyond
• Demonstrate practical judgement and leadership to ensure our freelance teams work to deadlines and are supported sufficiently to deliver their best work. Create and support a positive environment
• Manage talent relations, duty of care, and an elevated talent experience. Track casting, diligence, and talent booking process
• Maintain and grow international production reach. Build relationships with BBC Studios production offices worldwide
• Work closely with BBC Studios Global Entertainment, Indies, and Co-Producers to adapt international series for the U.S. market
• Cultivate and leverage relationships, both internal and external to the organization, to grow and develop a strong portfolio of unscripted content projects
• Take a lead role in driving forward all projects, new and efficient ways of working, and collaborating with other departments
• Maintain thorough knowledge of industry trends, innovations and the evolving market and distribution platforms in order to adapt the business to audience needs
• A commitment to creating both diverse content and teams to reflect our audiences and ensure best practice
• Foster team growth
• Work closely with Global Formats team during development and production of BBC Formats and on site
• On location supervision, as needed, for assigned shows in production
• Liaise with the Business & Legal Affairs team and confer with production counsel on all applicable legal matters such as guild, labor, compliance and immigration advice
• Work closely with post production facilities, clearance teams, and finishing vendors
• Champion show marketing, promotion, social and award strategy
• Assist with brand partnerships, integrations, and sponsorships
• Ensure production and creative teams comply with key BBC policies including Editorial
• Guidelines, The Pledge, Data Security, Anti-Bribery and Corruption, Duty of Care, Ethical Policy, Risk Assessment, Health & Safety and Incident Reporting
• Support BBC's sustainability initiatives and green production practices
• Provide guidance and advice to international BBC Studios territories filming in North America

Qualifications

• 10+ years of producing Unscripted Television that has delivered impact, ratings, and critical acclaim
• Strong track record of delivering high-quality content on schedule and on budget
• Experience overseeing high-profile productions of varying levels of scale across multiple platforms
• Producing experience with a wide variety of unscripted genres (e.g. Game, Competition, Docu-Follow, Awards, Variety, Documentary, etc.). Project expertise across location and studio-based shows, union and non-union, and domestic and international
• Extensive experience producing in the field/on set and a high proficiency across post production
• Places importance on advocating and maintaining a positive working environment for talent and crew
• A strong communicator and track record of developing and maintaining productive working relationships with internal and external partners, including co-producers, network and streaming partners, agents, and talent
• Collaborative working style with the ability to effectively influence
• Proven imaginative and creative thinking capabilities with strengths in decision making and smart risk taking to exercise appropriate judgement
• Effective planning, attention to detail and organization skills
• Ability to concentrate on several areas of work at one time, prioritizing, delivering consistently to deadlines and reacting positively to changes in a fast-paced environment.
• Extensive experience of leading and inspiring production teams in a multi-platform environment and able to demonstrate strong managerial skills and positive behaviors.
• Fierce managerial tact balancing the needs and wants of showrunners, network executives, and BBC
• The ability to identify a range of problems and work alongside the executive team to apply effective conversations and solutions. Able to make sound judgement decisions on time-critical solutions
• A track record of executing the creative vision from conception to reality within the constraints of limited resources and challenging deadlines
• Sound understanding of the media industry including audience trends and how it is developing with new technologies and platforms
• Experience working with compliance and standards & practices
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook), Box/Dropbox, DocuSign, Zoom/Teams/Google Meet