BBC Global News staff face cuts in management shake-up

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Senior management roles will be cut as part of an extensive management restructure within the BBC's Global News division, Journalism.co.uk has learned.

Nine senior management posts will close as part of the changes, which will create a saving of £600,000. The standalone post of director of BBC World Service and the positions of BBC Global News' controller Future Media, Technology & Distribution and head of governance and public affairs will be closed.

The two roles of director of BBC World News and director BBC World Service English will also close as part of the restructure, while the three roles of director digital content BBC World News, commercial director BBC World News and controller strategy business and development for BBC Global News will also be cut.

Four new roles assuming some of these responsibilities will be created within Global News, which is responsible for the BBC's World Service output, and as such there will be a net loss of five jobs.

The new posts will include: a controller of digital and technology; a controller of languages, who will bring together all language services; and a business director, who will act as managing director for World News and oversee the division's commercial operations.

A controller of English, who will be responsible for commissioning English-language content across all platforms, will also be appointed. Commissioning for different platforms is currently handled by separate roles.

Each of the new managers will look at their areas to achieve the level of cuts demanded by the BBC Trust, said Horrocks.

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Further restructuring of the Global News division will see control of the existing World Service Future Media team transfer to the BBC's central Future Media and Technology division.

"There is going to be a level of disruption around these changes. The changes will require a significant change of mind-set for many people (...) In a global media landscape that is constantly evolving, we have to work much harder to survive. We need to become more global. And we need to organise ourselves as one team, working together, in a way that really benefits our global audience," Horrocks later added in an email to staff.

Horrocks said the aim of the changes would be to decrease duplication of content and working procedures within Global News and create more chances for journalists and staff "to simply get on with their jobs".

Staff will be "expected to share content even more", added Horrocks, who praised the BBC's current work on its SuperPower season, a multimedia project running across the BBC's TV, radio and web outlets and partnering with external groups such as Global Voices.