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Do you have experience as a Costume Designer? Passionate about Drama? Then this is the role for you!

It's an exciting time to be part of our team with all of our award-winning Continuing Dramas that brings audiences together week after week. From EastEnders, Doctors and Casualty to River City and Pobol y Cwm, our programmes remain a constant source of gripping entertainment, featuring cliff-hanger storylines and much-loved characters with whom our viewers have grown up.

EastEnders is the multi award winning soap broadcast four times a week on BBC ONE. It currently ranks as one of the most watched TV dramas in the UK tackling many controversial and taboo issues previously unseen on television in the UK. Through great writing and attention to detail the show manages to successfully balance gritty realism with high drama and entertainment to keep its millions of dedicated viewers coming back for more, on-screen and on-line, every week.

Working to the Series Costume Designer, the Costume Designer is responsible for designing, creating, acquiring and hiring costumes whilst liaising with Directors and Production Managers to plan specific style and requirements of episodes.

You key responsibilities include –

• Help to create and maintain the look of the costume design for BBC EastEnders
• Deputise for supervisors and assist with managing and leading the Costume Team and Department. Able to step in to cover the HOD when they are on leave, etc.
• Work to help create and establish the look for the programme
• Meet, discuss and plan with directors any specific requirements for creative looks
• Liaise with production managers to plan any specific requirements to facilitate scheduling of episodes, or any particular needs or requirements for the team
• Assist with the recruitment of Costume Supervisors, Dressers and the maintenance team, and the scheduling of teams, and ensure that working time leave is scheduled appropriately
• Research costume styles, designs and construction methods suitable for the programme
• Choose and hire suppliers and, if applicable, costume makers
• Responsible for return of hired outfits and the sale or disposal of remaining costumes
• Collaborate with colleagues to fulfil production requirements taking into account the skills of individuals balanced against production requirements
• Costume provision and management for regular cast members plus all associated supporting cast and extras
• Responsibility to help the Head of Department in the supervision and welfare of freelance/staff costume team
• Aid the creation of a character by careful consideration of how the actor is dressed according to the Producer’s creative vision and the character’s personality, social position and psychological development
• Work collaboratively with the Production team and Creative HODs (e.g. Make-Up) to agree costume recommendations and to build and develop characters as time and story dictate
• Manage an extensive costume stock, taking into account the balance between current/future need, space and cost
• Build relationships with costume team and cast members to ensure that any costume issues are quickly dealt with or referred upwards to the Head of Department, who can then escalate problems to the line manager

It’s really important you have the necessary skills we’re looking for. Can you demonstrate:

Essential

• Qualification in management or experience in a managerial role
• Record of working within TV/film/theatre design
• Should be able to demonstrate a wide-ranging knowledge of television production processes, preferably gained within drama, and an understanding of the jobs of programme and resource personnel engaged to complete the production
• Experience in costume breakdown processes
• Knowledge of styles of performance and dramatisation in film and broadcast genre
• Experience to work to and manage a given budget. Competent use of Excel for expenses
• Ability to influence and resolve differences in professional opinions, particularly where conflict may exist
• Knowledge of the internal and external resources/facilities market, sufficient to enable informed and cost-effective contractual decisions to be made
• Experience with constructing effective design teams, taking into account relative strengths/weaknesses
• Ability to transform original or unusual ideas/impulses into practical reality
• Can look at existing situations and problems in novel ways and come up with innovative solutions
• Ability to anticipate the factors likely to cause problems to the production and formulate appropriate contingency plans
• Awareness of the skills and abilities of professionals within the costume design/fashion industries
• Able to work in a fast-paced environment with multiple teams working at the same time
• Able to work with children
• An ability to move between blocks of episodes, multi-tasking
• Confidence and quick decision making
• Possession of a valid driving licence

Desirable

• Qualification/certificate in fashion or costume

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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 programming or our wide range of non-production roles. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity.

We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles, unless operational requirements prevent otherwise.

To find out more about Diversity and Inclusion at the BBC, please click here

Contract - Expression of Interest Only

Band - D

Location - BBC Elstree

*Please note that this is a standard Studios Production contract and potentially can involve up to 55 hours per week*

We are really proud to share that we are a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer and so if you require any reasonable adjustments in order to apply please do contact us on [email protected] with ref: BBC/TP/224227/66164 in the subject.

We advertise all our roles on Evenbreak, the specialist job board for disabled candidates.

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