Ian Williams

Senior Journalist Reporter Team Leader @BBC

London, GB

Oversee the Sport Africa team\'s digital and linear output, including for BBC Sport/BBC News websites and BBC Africa social media channels. Previously led delivery of weekly programme Sport Africa in three languages (English, French, Swahili) to TV partners across the continent. Team leader for BBC deployments at 2021 and 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Manage staff and freelancers in UK and Africa.Leadership achievements:• Team leader for BBC deployments at the 2021 and 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, producing linear and digital content for all parts of the corporation, coming in under budget and implementing Covid isolation protocols to ensure team health and safety.• Delivered 1.9m cumulative hits for BBC Sport website in first week after leading Sport Africa team\'s pivot from linear TV to text-based reporting. BBC Sport’s Head of Journalism praised “excellent work and collaboration\".• Part of leadership team that planned Sport Africa\'s post-pandemic return to weekly broadcasting, devising a new style of running order to cope with reduced headcount.• Devised and implemented an eight-week workflow tick list for staff that reduced missed deadlines.• Initiated team\'s first use of augmented reality studios, working with design/studio teams to create sets working in sync with presenter scripts.Editorial achievements:• In-stadium and off-tube Afcon and World Cup radio commentaries listened to by millions across sub-Saharan Africa.• Afcon coverage examples also include in-stadium match reports, early radio reporting on the Olembe Stadium crush that killed eight people in Cameroon and TV 2-ways, rants and VTs for BBC News and BBC Three.• Arranged deal to ghostwrite 2023 Rugby World Cup column with former Springbok winner Joel Stransky. Semi-final preview for South Africa vs England received 1.5m hits.