Lead Automation Director

About Us

GB News is a leading UK news channel delivering breaking news, insightful debate, and diverse opinions. We’re an ambitious, fast-growing organisation looking for passionate, driven professionals to join our expanding team and help shape the future of news broadcasting.

The Role

The role of Lead Automation Director, is to own our flagship programming output from a technical and creative perspective.

You will have vast experience leading control rooms and teams for other broadcasters and be confident executing the editorial vision across a wide range of programming across the full schedule of GB News, including rolling breaking news where you will need to think fast and react to changing events as a story unfolds. You will apply your creativity to enhance the storytelling, making the most of our studio cameras, graphics package and sources coming into the control room.

You will also be confident directing high quality news, magazine, talk and outside broadcast programmes. Leading the team while on air you should have some experience directing in an automated control room.

This a senior role within the studio/creative department and you will be expected to lead by example at all times, and possess team leadership qualities, and come with management experience. The candidate would preferably have a minimum of 3 years’ experience in a lead directing role.

Key Responsibilities And Main Tasks:

• Lead the control room to create slick and professional programmes.
• Direct live shows in an automated environment.
• You will be able to evaluate, adapt and communicate any changes within a live

Programme.

• An understanding of Mosart would be an advantage but not critical.
• Line management responsibilities for junior team members including goal setting and coaching.
• Provide training and support to junior members of the team, ensuring that broadcast knowledge is passed on.
• Maintain the GB News skills Matrix so that skills are documented and updated as they develop
• Rota Management - Ensure that the rota within given timeslots as set by the Head director are filled, and provide solutions for potential changes, or re-assigning individuals with relevant skills to other schedules.
• You will have a good knowledge of multi-camera directing and a broad knowledge of

lighting, sound, and graphics.

• Review show rundowns prior to productions with Producers, and Production teams,

communicating rundown changes, show needs, and script.

• Block studio camera shots to meet the demands of the show, demonstrating a creative

approach and understanding of how a programme looks and cuts together.

• Be able to operate a newsroom computer system – accessing and marking rundowns,

scripts, and communicating changes to the production team.

• Provide pre- and post-show performance feedback and critiques as needed.
• Work effectively with team members to share techniques and skills to strengthen the

team as a whole.

• Develop ideas for programmes. Looking at creative ways of improving all our

Productions.

• Be an ambassador for GB News
• Be committed to Health and Safety requirements of self and others in the workplace.
• Be committed to the equality and diversity values of GB News

What you’ll bring to GB News

• Must have high level communication skills, as well as attention to detail.
• A genuine passion for live TV and familiarity with the GB News brand and ethos
• Possess the ability to work collaboratively with a highly technical team in determining

show and production performance.

• Be able to determine operational configurations of all studio technical systems and

solving complex issues during production.

• Must be available to work a variety of schedules based on production needs.
• Some experience working on outside broadcasts
• Build trusting relationships with production and on-air talent.
• An understanding of editorial guidelines and OFCOM compliance.