Researcher

Research & Development
- Fixed Term - Part Time
- Aberdeen, GB, AB9 2ZT
- BBC PUBLIC SERVICE B'CAST
- Job Closing Date: 07/05/2025

**THE ROLE**:
**Package Description**:
**Contract**: 5 months Fixed Term contract/ attachment; Part-Time (3 days per week - Working days would be Tuesday, Thursday and Friday OR Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Occasional weekend work required)
**Location**: Scotland (Office based) - The location of this role is flexible, role permitting the successful applicant can be based at any one of the BBC’s offices in Scotland. The preferred location however would be Aberdeen
**Band**: B

**Job Reference**: 23462

**Salary**: £24,300 - £29,000 pro rata depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

1.** Excellent career progression** - the BBC offers great opportunities for employees to seek new challenges and work in different areas of the organisation.
2. **Unrivalled training and development opportunities**- our in-house Academy hosts a wide range of internal and external courses and certification.
3. **Benefits**:

- We offer a competitive salary package, a flexible 35-hour working week for work-life balance and 26 days annual leave (1 of which is a corporation day) with the option to buy an extra 5 days, a defined pension scheme and discounted dental, health care, gym and much more.

**_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_**

**Job Introduction**:
**Are you passionate about radio and podcasts? And a lover of the outdoors?**

We are looking for a researcher based in Aberdeen to work on the popular weekly show Out of Doors on BBC Radio Scotland which broadcasts every Saturday morning between 6.30 and 8.00 am. We also produce the bi-weekly _Scotland Outdoors Podcast_ which is listened to by people all over the world. The programme and podcast are the only location/package based content of their kind on BBC Radio Scotland. The team travel the country week in week out to gather material which is then crafted into packages and linked live from the BBC car park every Saturday morning.

The three day a week Researcher role is central to the smooth running of the programme, planning the presenter’s interviews and constantly generating ideas for packages and live guests. This requires a highly creative and curious individual with the enthusiasm to ensure that the output is imaginative, ambitious, and compelling.

No week will be the same as we feature such a broad range of stories over the series. From wild swimming to foraging, climbing mountains to beaver re-introductions, we cover anything and everything relating to nature and the outdoors. And it’s the people who tell those stories who are key to the success of the programme. It will be your responsibility to find the most interesting people to speak to our presenters from all corners of the country, so you must have a real thirst for seeking them out.

As you develop, there will also be the opportunity to be involved in live studio production and the recording and editing of audio packages.

**Main Responsibilities**:
As a researcher, some of your responsibilities will include:

- Finding diverse and new stories - and contributors - from around the country.
- Speaking to contributors and taking briefing notes from them.
- Writing briefs for presenters.
- Planning recording trips in particular locations for presenters.
- Working on forward planning content for more in depth specials.
- Booking transport and hotels for presenters.
- **A passion for the outdoors and the natural world.** You will be able to demonstrate a sense of curiosity about the world around you.
- **A passion for audio and how it can be used to tell stories and capture people and place.**:

- Effective planning and organising skills. Ability to manage several areas of work at one time, prioritising, delivering consistently to deadlines and reacting positively to changes and conflicting priorities.
- Ability to prioritise a conflicting workload efficiently and to maintain standards of accuracy and attention to detail when working to deadlines or changing priorities.

**About the BBC**:
We don’t focus simply on what we do - we also care about how we do it. Our values and the way we behave are important to us. Please make sure you’ve read about our values and behaviours here.

Diversity matters at the BBC. We have a working environment where we value and respect every individual's unique contribution, enabling all of our employees to thrive and achieve their full potential.

We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to be part of the BBC - whether that’s to contribute to our programmi