Essential Criteria

• Deep knowledge of digital journalism and experience of driving change in a multi platform newsroom.

• Strong understanding of data and analytics tools, with the ability to interpret audience and performance data to inform sound editorial decision‑making.

• Extensive editorial leadership experience in news, ideally within international, multilingual or public service media.

• Strong understanding of Hausa speaking audiences, regional politics, culture and social issues across West Africa.

• Proven ability to exercise sound editorial judgement on complex, sensitive and fast moving stories.

• Demonstrable experience leading and motivating teams in a high pressure news environment.

Editorial Leadership and Vision

• Set and drive a clear editorial vision for BBC Hausa, delivering high quality, distinctive journalism across digital, audio and video platforms.

• Lead the daily news agenda, ensuring BBC Hausa is strong on breaking news, original reporting, and enterprise journalism relevant to Hausa speaking audiences.

• Apply the BBC’s editorial values and guidelines consistently when making decisions on complex, sensitive and high risk stories.

Standards, Risk and Reputation

Digital Growth and Audience Focus

• Lead the ongoing digital transformation of BBC Hausa, ensuring content is optimised for social, mobile and emerging platforms.

• Broaden the story mix to reflect the full diversity of Hausa speaking communities and reach new and under served audiences.

• Use audience insight and performance data to inform editorial decisions and improve impact.

Leadership and People Management

• Provide inspirational leadership within the newsroom, fostering an inclusive, collaborative and high performance culture.

• Lead on recruitment, development, training and succession planning, nurturing diverse talent both on air and off air.

• Support staff wellbeing, safety and professional growth, particularly in a challenging news environment.

Collaboration and Representation

• Work closely with BBC News Group, other World Service language teams and wider BBC stakeholders to ensure alignment and collaboration.

• Contribute to and deliver wider BBC and World Service strategic projects.

Operations and Governance

• Take responsibility for budget delivery, identifying and managing financial pressures and ensuring value for money.

• Regularly review team performance, set clear objectives and ensure accountability.

• Ensure health, safety and duty of care responsibilities are fully understood and met, particularly for journalists operating in high risk environments.