Jacob's career in BBC Current Affairs and Documentary spanned many award-winning projects before he relocated to Australia in 2009. That same year, he wrote and directed the feature-length documentary "Inside the Firestorm" for the ABC, which told the story of Australia's worst bushfire disaster, "Black Saturday". The documentary won the 2010 AFI Award for Best Direction in a Documentary.
In addition to "Inside the Firestorm", Jacob worked on other notable projects, including the series "Immigration Nation", on which he was both series producer and director, and "Once Upon a Time in Cabramatta", on which he was series producer and writer. The latter won Gold and Silver Medals at the New York Film Festivals International Television and Film Awards.
In 2012, Jacob was the series producer, director, and writer of "Dirty Business - How Mining Made Australia" for SBS. The following year, he joined Blackfella Films' Melbourne office as Head of Factual.
At Blackfella Films, Jacob was the writer and series producer of the acclaimed "First Contact", which won the 2015 TV Week Logie Award for Most Outstanding Factual Program. He also worked on other projects, including the "big science" series "DNA Nation", "How 'Mad' Are You?", which explored mental health in Australia, and a second season of "First Contact".
In 2017, SBS broadcast the ratings hit series "Filthy Rich & Homeless", on which Jacob was the writer and series producer. The show won several awards, including the Silver World Medal at the 2019 New York Festivals International TV & Film Awards and the Gold Trophy for Reality TV at the 2019 Venice Film Awards.
Jacob's other notable projects include the documentary "Deep Water: The Real Story", which he co-wrote with Amanda Blue and won the 2018 NSW Premier's Literary Awards, and the observational series "Addicted Australia" for SBS. He also produced, with Darren Dale, the documentary "Maralinga Tjarutja" for the ABC, which won the 2020 AACTA Award for Best Direction in Nonfiction Television.
In 2021, Jacob wrote and series produced the factual series "Books That Made Us" about Australian literature for ABC Arts, and co-wrote, with Amanda Blue, the feature documentary "Step Into Paradise" about Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson. He is currently working on an adaptation of "Dark Emu" for the ABC and is series producer on the historical series "First Wars" for SBS.
