Business as usual

It's nowt to do with Brexit - but the BBC is looking for a Senior HR Advisor, Immigration.

Having steadily dismantled World Service capabilities in a wide range of support skills, the BBC now has Foreign Office money burning a hole in its pocket as it scales up to recruit bi-lingual staff providing new services to Africa, Russia, the Middle East and North Korea. For a task that will be entirely managed in London, the succesful candidate will, of course, be based in Birmingham.

Meanwhile, James "Sonny Boy" Harding, insouciant Director of News, is back from hols, and still moving at a snail's pace to make the cuts required of him by Lord Hall. He has to keep two news channels going, and, at the same time, deliver the much-vaunted Newstream. So he's hiring two "Resourcing Advisors", to keep an eye on the revolving door of staff in and out. Which might help balance the books. Or not.

And HR chief Valerie Hughes D'Aeth's headcount will soon come under scrutiny, as successive job ads make it pretty plain her department requires more and more staff to preside over fewer and fewer people.