Script editor (River City - 12-month FTC)

Closing date: 24th February 2025

Salary: £33,000 - £34,000 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

Contract type: 12 Months Fixed Term Contract / Attachment

Location: Dumbarton, Scotland, G82 2AP

Working pattern: The successful candidate would be required to primarily work from the Dumbarton office.

Are you an experienced script editor with a background in TV Drama? Join the team behind the long-running Scottish soap, River City.

BBC Studios Drama Productions sits at the heart of the UK as our slate of award-winning soaps and dramas continue to bring audiences together week after week. EastEnders, Casualty, River City and Pobol y Cwm remain a constant source of gripping entertainment, with addictive storylines and loveable characters year on year; as well as award-winning crime drama Silent Witness and our fabulous cosy crime shows Father Brown, Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Detectives and Sister Boniface Mysteries.

At BBC Studios Drama Productions, we’re passionate about developing and nurturing a creative and diverse workforce. We pride ourselves on providing some of the most supportive, hands-on editorial and production training opportunities across the whole of the UK.

The successful candidate will generate creative and story ideas of the highest standard consistent with River City and ensure that commissioned scripts are of the required standard, conform to the editorial brief and are available for use at the appropriate time as well as advise on all script related matters associated with the production, and to manage the relationship between the writer and the production.

Responsibilities

• Throughout the production, to represent the interests of the writer to the production team and vice versa
• To preserve the quality of the working relationship between the Production team/Director and writer
• To ensure that writers are sufficiently aware of the financial implications of editorial decisions
• To be responsible for providing writers with sufficient information to enable the editorial brief to be met in respect of style, content, form and any other special considerations
• To ensure the consistent treatment of established characters and continuity within the story line and episodes
• Where necessary to restructure and generate new storylines within your scripts
• To generate creative ideas and long term story ideas
• To turn drafts around quickly and creatively and to ensure all deadlines are met
• To co-ordinate and communicate all script changes to those concerned
• To manage communication with the researcher and assistant script editor to ensure accuracy of content within episodes.
• To seek new material and take steps to identify and encourage new writing talent. To maintain an up-to-date awareness of emerging talent
• To ensure that scripts are prepared in the appropriate format
• To be aware of the full extent of the financial and purchasing authority of the post, and to ensure that this authority is exercised in accordance with BBC financial arrangements
• To ensure that writers are sufficiently aware of editorial values and standards, and that scripts are developed in a manner consistent with the BBC’s editorial policy guidelines

Knowledge, skills and experience

To be successful in this role you will need to demonstrate the following:

• Extensive experience of Script Editing, ideally on a TV Drama Series
• Experience of working with new and experienced writers
• Proven ability to persuade and influence and resolve differences in professional opinions.
• A thorough and demonstrable understanding of character, story and structure
• Enthusiasm, demonstrable interest and understanding of the Continuing Drama genre, especially River City
• A demonstrable understanding of Copyright Law, Writers Guild Agreements, Contracts and the Legal implications for production processes
• Ability to write clear, concise and unambiguous prose in keeping with the River City in-house style
• A thorough knowledge of script sources and the availability and potential of emerging talent
• An awareness of the financial implications of editorial decisions

What will you gain from working at BBC Studios?

• We offer a competitive salary package
• Parental leave for new parents, regardless of gender, of up to a year with 18 weeks fully paid
• 26 days holiday (plus an additional day 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 
• A comprehensive Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Excellent career progression – access to courses, webinars, workshops and the opportunity to work in different areas of the organisation

Life at BBC Studios

We don’t focus simply on what we do – we also care 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.

The BBC is committed to building a culturally diverse workforce, that represents the audiences we serve, and encourages applications from candidates from any background, especially people from diverse communities. Equity of opportunity is important to us, and we endeavour to make our processes equal, fair and meritocratic for everybody. More information on our D&I plan can be found here.

BBC Studios puts sustainability at the heart of everything we do both onscreen and offscreen, including delivering against the BBC Group’s science-based Net Zero targets. More information on sustainability at BBC Studios can be found here.

As a Level 2 Disability Confident employer, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview. If you require any reasonable adjustments in order to apply please contact us on reasonable.adjustments@bbc.co.uk

Please state in your application that you found this role through Creative Access.