Head joined the BBC in 1991, initially working for the BBC World Service international radio network and BBC World (now BBC World News) international satellite and cable television channel, before becoming BBC Indonesia Correspondent in 1996. He became BBC South East Asia Correspondent, based in Bangkok, in 2000, and BBC Tokyo Correspondent in 2003. He reported on the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand, and returned to South East Asia in 2006 to report from a range of countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Burma and East Timor.