Head of Storyville

Purpose of the Role

Storyville has been a trusted partner for world-class filmmakers in bringing the globe’s best feature documentary stories to festival, cinema and television audiences for over 25 years. Storyville is where to find the most fascinating international stories, told by the best documentary film makers in the world. Broadcasting engaging, provocative and entertaining films to the broadest audience, Storyville has an enviable reputation for producing award winning, critically acclaimed titles.

Why Join the Team?

We are now seeking a Head of Storyville to lead and strategically direct the continued growth and success of this key strand. 

The Head of Storyville is responsible for developing, directing and deploying the strategy for this genre in line with the BBC's broader digital first strategy, and will represent the BBC within international markets with documentary film makers, ensuring the continued success of the strand.

Your Key Responsibilities & Impact: 

• Development and delivery of strategy, working to and closely with the Channel Controller ensuring that the strategy set for Storyville is aligned to wider digital first strategy.
• Steers the overarching commercial performance for the strand, including deals, frameworks and policies, driving commercial relationships for the strand with our international partners.
• Provides a single-point of Storyville leadership leading and managing the team to deliver the Storyville strategy.
• To have a high profile in the international market, in order to secure future partnerships and ensure value for money. The role holder is required to use their own international experience and profile to attract talent, writers, and producers.
• Collaborates expertly with other BBC stakeholders, leading by example in enterprise thinking and behaviours.
• Ensures best practice across all areas of commissioning activity, positioning the BBC as the commissioner of choice for the market, alongside delivery of our public targets and requirements.
• Ability to leverage curation, the ability to optimise discoverability of single films within the iPlayer Curation plan.

Your Skills & Experience

The ideal candidate will evidence the following key skills and experience:

• In-depth and demonstrable experience in how commercial funding/co-financing works and how funding and budget decisions work in the international documentaries field.
• A highly recognizable profile in the international market.
• Demonstrable experience of leading themselves and others through strategic change.
• An experienced leader with demonstrable leadership and management experience with the ability to build trust, self-motivate and engage their team in line with BBC Values.
• Extensive experience in the international documentaries market, at the appropriate level in production and commissioning.
• Experience in commissioning led by audience and platform insights.
• An in-depth understanding of how the pre-buy market and acquisitions market works.
• Extensive and demonstrable experience in financial negotiations with international partners and proven ability to forge new commercial partnerships.
• Extensive experience in commissioning and slate management of international documentary content - including success in innovative formats and styles, presenter-led pieces, access or archive-driven content.
• Ability to formulate a cohesive editorial strategy that can be communicated to partners and successfully delivered in programme slate management.
• Extensive experience of managing high-risk subject matter in terms of hostile environments, compliance and legal risk.

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.