Assistant Editor, Politics - Edinburgh

Job Introduction

BBC News Scotland is hiring an Assistant Editor to run its daily political news output across all platforms. The role is responsible for editorial leadership, commissioning and engagement with our output and content teams to maximise our storytelling and impact. With just over a year to go until the 2026 Holyrood election this is an exceptional opportunity to shape the world class coverage that our audiences expect.

Reporting to the Senior News Editor (Politics), you will directly lead a team of correspondents, reporters and producers and will be part of the wider news management team. The job is based in Edinburgh although we would expect regular travel to our largest centre at Pacific Quay in Glasgow, as well as other locations.

Main Responsibilities

Working to the Senior News Editor, Politics, the Assistant Editor will lead our day to day political news coverage and is responsible for assigning stories and deploying the political newsgathering team for on the day and pre-commissioned news coverage. This will involve collaboration with the leadership of the Content and Output teams. The role is responsible for multi-platform newsgathering and planning. The position must ensure the highest possible editorial standards as the team delivers content to the news website, main TV bulletins (Reporting Scotland, News at Seven), as well as Radio Scotland News programmes and bulletins. We also expect regular content to appear on our Network News programmes and services.

You will lead a team of producers and correspondents and create impact driven journalism that delivers value to all our audiences. The job will prioritise digital audiences first while ensuring we leverage our broadcast offering. The Assistant Editor needs to be a decisive figure and a great communicator who understands that people are at the core of our business. The role will require collegiate leadership skills which promote a positive culture.

You will have direct responsibility and influence over the selection of stories and treatments, prioritising resources on a daily basis in an efficient, practical and sustainable manner. You'll decide on longer term editorial priorities, have budgetary accountability, and will help set the tone for the culture of the Edinburgh based team.

Are you the right candidate?

The right candidate is passionate about news and demands that our journalism is the best it can be. It requires a resilient character who is looking to modernise how we gather and produce our coverage. Those interested in applying should be creative, be organised and have experience of running teams. You should have a strong understanding of the Scottish political news agenda and how we engage our audiences to turn to BBC News Scotland for their content. Candidates should be able to react to breaking news and know how to deploy; whilst also having strong original story ideas. Although this is a senior role within journalism - it's more important to be a good leader who understands staff and listens as well as being decisive.

• You will need considerable experience in a high-level news environment.
• You will need to be decisive, creative and have keen understanding of the Scottish political news agenda.
• You should have a bold editorial vision and a strong background in people management.
• You should be able to demonstrate resilience and a high degree of collaboration across a complex news environment.
• You will be recognised as a subject specialist expert both internally and demonstrate a capacity to use that expertise through external engagement.

Package Description

Job Reference: 21543

Band: E
Contract type: Permanent role
Location: Office base is the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh.
Salary: £55,000 - £65,000 per annum, depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

We're happy to discuss flexible working. Please indicate your choice under the flexible working question in the application. There is no obligation to raise this at the application stage but if you wish to do so, you are welcome to. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.

• Excellent career progression - the BBC offers great opportunities for employees to seek new challenges and work in different areas of the organisation.
• Unrivalled training and development opportunities - our in-house Academy hosts a wide range of internal and external courses and certification.
• Benefits - We offer a negotiable salary package, a flexible 35-hour working week for work-life balance and 25 days annual leave with the option to buy an extra 5 days, a defined pension scheme and discounted dental, health care and gym.

If you need to discuss adjustments or access requirements for the interview process please contact reasonable.adjustments@bbc.co.uk. For any general queries, please contact: bbchr@bbc.co.uk.

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We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to be part of the BBC - whether that's to contribute to our programming or our wide range of non-production roles. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity.

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