BBC begins search for new director-general following Tim Davie’s resignation

The BBC has started recruitment for a new director-general following Tim Davie’s resignation.

The advert for the top BBC job went live on Monday after Mr Davie announced earlier this month that he would be stepping down from the role.

It comes after a leaked memo on impartiality, written by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, outlined concerns that a Panorama episode selectively edited a speech made by President Donald Trump before the attack on the US Capitol in 2021.

The search will be headed by the leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder, with the deadline to apply listed as December 31.

The job specification describes the role as one of “the most important, high-profile public posts in the UK” and is “ultimately responsible and accountable to the board” for its decisions across the BBC’s editorial matters, output, public service delivery and overall commercial success.

The advert does not specify a salary, however, according to the BBC’s 2024/2025 annual report, Mr Davie earned a base salary of £541,000.

The candidate will need to demonstrate experience leading an organisation through “significant change”, make complex editorial and creative decisions, cultivate a “positive work environment” and deal with a broad range of stakeholders.

In terms of personal qualities the corporation is seeking someone with a “strong conviction for public service broadcasting” able to “cope” with the “significant personal and professional pressures” that come with leading the organisation.

The job vacancy comes after the broadcaster faced a string of criticisms this year for a number of failings including breaching its own accuracy editorial guidelines and livestreaming the controversial Bob Vylan Glastonbury set, as well as misconduct allegations surrounding former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace.

The fallout from the leaked impartiality memo was the final straw which led to the resignation of both Mr Davie and the chief executive of BBC News, Deborah Turness.

The controversy relates to concerns raised in the summer in Mr Prescott’s report about the way clips of the US president’s speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together in Trump: A Second Chance? to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.

The documentary was broadcast by the BBC the week before last year’s US election, which critics have said was misleading and removed a section where the US president said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

The BBC apologised for the edit of Mr Trump’s speech on January 6 2021, which had given the “mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action”.

The US president has since said he would sue the corporation following its apology over the Panorama edit.