Head of Business - South Asia

JOB BAND: F
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, Full-time DEPARTMENT: BBC News – Business and Operations LOCATION: Delhi

Any offer of employment with the BBC will be conditional upon you having the legal right to work in india.

As Regional Head of Business & Operations (India), you’ll ensure our bureaux across the region are safe, resilient, and strategically aligned to support our world class journalism. You’ll be responsible for leading business operations across a diverse and often complex region, including areas affected by conflict, ensuring our teams, infrastructure, and systems are robust, agile, and fit for purpose. Your work will directly support the BBC’s editorial and commercial ambitions, helping us reach audiences with trusted and impartial news wherever they are. Travel, potentially to high risk areas, will be a requirement of the role.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

The BBC reaches a global weekly audience of 450m and is ranked first by those audiences for trust, reliability, and independence amongst international news providers. Our global journalism includes the BBC World Service, which operates across 42 language services and is one of the main drivers of our success. Its journalists deliver vitally important impartial news and current affairs across video, audio, and online output. We constantly battle against a growing wave of disinformation in an increasingly polarised international media landscape. This is a rare and exciting opportunity to take on a new senior leadership role at the heart of the BBC’s renowned international news operations.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

• Strategic Leadership – Provide strategic leadership across the region to ensure delivery and performance of core business services.
• Drive property and location strategy – ensuring our global offices footprint is effective, efficient and supports editorial goals and future needs.
• Operational Alignment – Partner with the Regional Director to align operations with editorial and commercial priorities.
• Efficiency & Value – Drive operational efficiency and value for money, ensuring resources are focused where they matter most.
• Digital Transformation – Lead digital transformation and innovation in how we work.
• Governance & Risk – Embed strong governance, risk management, and compliance across all bureaux.
• Team & Property Management – Support teams in high-risk environments, manage regional property portfolio, and oversee vendor contracts.
• Collaboration & Sustainability – Build strong relationships with stakeholders, champion sustainability, and lead diverse, geographically dispersed teams.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• A strategic, resilient leader who can bring clarity and direction in complex environments. Confident working across cultures and geographies, and comfortable navigating ambiguity and change.
• Understands in detail the BBC’s international footprint, technology and editorial priorities.
• Significant experience in business operations, ideally in a global or media setting. Experience managing property, infrastructure, and supplier relationships
• Experience of leading international teams including in difficult and challenging situations, with strong leadership and people management skills, particularly across dispersed teams.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to lead through crisis and support teams in high-pressure situations
• A sound understanding of financial planning and budget management with deep expertise in governance, compliance, and risk management
• A commitment to inclusion, sustainability, and wellbeing in the workplace. Cultural awareness and sensitivity to regional contexts
• Fluent understanding of an Indian Language, both written and spoken.

If you can bring some of these skills and experiences, along with transferable strengths, we’d love to hear from you and encourage you to apply.