Co-Script Writer (Children’s Cartoon Production)-BBC Media Action Retour vers les opportunités

Job title: Co-Script Writer (Children’s Cartoon Production)

Location: Tunis, Tunisia (with travel across the Middle East as required)

Reports to: Senior Projects Manager 

Salary:  Competitive

Duration: 6 months / part-time (with possible extension) 

Start date: As soon as possible, October 1st the latest

Special requirements: The right to live and work in Tunisia. Fluent Arabic (perfect written and spoken) required; familiarity with Levantine dialect is a strong advantage. Willingness and ability to travel to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and other countries in the region when needed.

Closing date: 17 September 2025 

To apply, send your CV and a short covering letter  (in English, PDF or Microsoft Word format) , setting out how you meet the knowledge, skills, training and experience requirements listed in the job description, to: khadija.maalej@TN.bbcmediaaction.org  – please include the title of the position applied for in the subject line and send by September 17th 2025, COB (Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so early submission is strongly encouraged).

BBC Media Action:

BBC Media Action is the BBC’s international development organisation, and we believe in the power of media and communication for good. We work in more than 20 countries around the world, supporting the independent media essential to democracy and development. Each year our projects and programmes reach over 100 million people facing poverty, inequality and insecurity with information they can trust, helping to improve health, bridge divides, challenge prejudice, and save and change lives. We follow the editorial standards and values of the BBC, but we rely on funding from donors and partners to carry out our work.

Job purpose:

BBC Media Action’s award-winning Zaza & Zuzu project provides mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and educational entertainment for children aged 5–10 years old living in conflict-affected settings. In its first phase, the project successfully designed and delivered 52 episodes, offering children safe, creative spaces to play, imagine, and process their experiences through storytelling, humor, and song. Building on this success, the project continues to nurture resilience, creativity, and hope among children and their caregivers.

We are seeking an experienced Co-Script Writer to co-develop scripts for Zaza & Zuzu and to support coordination with production and management teams. This is a part-time role, combining creative writing with coordination duties, and will play a key role in shaping the next phase of this flagship children’s media project, deepening its MHPSS impact and reach across the region. (More details about the project)

Main duties and responsibilities:

• Co-write engaging, age-appropriate scripts in Arabic for Zaza & Zuzu episodes (Levantine dialect knowledge a strong advantage).
• Develop characters, dialogues and storylines that resonate with children in conflict-affected settings and war zones.
• Collaborate with the Director / Head of Production, management, and production teams to align scripts with project objectives and editorial guidelines.
• Assist with script review, revisions, and adaptations for multiple dissemination platforms.
• Uphold and promote safeguarding standards, ensuring all script content, production activities, and interactions with children meet BBC Media Action’s safeguarding and child protection policies.
• Support the adaptation of programmes for the Levant region and other contexts, ensuring cultural and linguistic sensitivity.
• Undertake ad hoc creative and coordination tasks as required to support production and project delivery.
• Coordinate with storytellers, voice actors and production teams, supporting smooth delivery.
• Design and deliver training sessions on scriptwriting and lead workshops to build the capacity of project and partner teams.
• Contribute to outreach activities, engaging with partners, communities, and stakeholders to strengthen the project’s impact.
• Support the dissemination of media outputs to ensure wide reach and engagement among the target audience of children and caregivers in Gaza, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt.
• Travel within the Middle East to contribute to workshops, co-production activities and audience testing as needed.

Ideal candidate: 

The ideal candidate will be a highly experienced creative professional with a proven track record in children’s scriptwriting and storytelling. They will bring at least 15 years of professional experience in scriptwriting for cartoons, animation, or other children’s creative productions, with strong expertise in Arabic writing (perfect written and spoken). Familiarity with Levantine dialects will be considered a strong asset.

They will have demonstrated experience working in conflict-affected settings and war zones, with a deep understanding of how to design content that is engaging, safe, and sensitive to children’s psychosocial needs. Experience integrating mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) into creative productions is highly desirable.

The successful candidate will be skilled not only in writing but also in training and mentoring others, leading scriptwriting workshops, and collaborating with diverse creative and production teams. They will also have a strong understanding of the Middle East media landscape and the ability to navigate authorizations, approvals, and operational requirements across the region.

They will be adaptable, able to take on ad hoc creative and coordination tasks, and contribute to both outreach activities and the dissemination of media outputs across the target countries: Gaza, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. Strong teamwork, intercultural communication, and flexibility to travel across the Middle East are essential, as is the ability to balance creative excellence with production and project support.

Safeguarding

This role may involve working with groups of vulnerable children, youth, and adults. For the successful candidate, mandatory training will be provided on BBC Media Action’s safeguarding policy and staff code of conduct. BBC Media Action operates a zero-tolerance policy concerning all forms of abuse and exploitation of vulnerable people. A police background check may form part of the recruitment process.