We’re on the lookout for a Senior Producer to take the lead on a cacophony of film, video and animation projects so that we can better support our creative teams and keep this train a'chuggin'.
In other words, we need someone to come on board and kick some serious arse. Fancy it?
About the job
You’ll be responsible for the planning and execution of multiple video, film and animation projects from the pitching stage all the way through to delivery. Your value won’t be limited to leading projects, though. You’ll also be tagged in to develop and own areas of the production process to improve our capabilities, make things more efficient, and allow us all to create our best work yet.
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After working with the client service and creative teams to prepare and sign off a project budget, timeline and accurate scope of work, you’ll lead the pre-production phase alongside an Assistant Producer/PA. You’ll ensure that all the elements of a project come together whilst coordinating the status of all your current projects on our project management platform and keeping the production schedule accurate and up to date. You’ll maintain the quality and peer review of all documentation and deliverables within the project.You’ll hand-pick key members of the creative team (be that from our in-house team or selecting freelancers and other companies to work with) to deliver our most strategically important projects. You’ll approve locations and negotiate fees, hire studios, lock shooting scripts, prepare production schedules and ensure the necessary health and safety and insurance paperwork is handled after identifying and managing risks. When required, you’ll use your knowledge of Clearcast/BBFC/CAA guidelines to get swift script clearance for broadcast/cinema.
As the restless guardian of a project’s budget, you’ll track and highlight potential overruns before they occur and be expected to manage any scope creep whilst maintaining the client relationship, making sure client value for money is balanced with the project’s financial goals.
During production, you’ll attend shoots (sometimes jumping into a 1st AD role when absolutely necessary) to keep everything running smoothly and fire-fight any unforeseen issues.
You’ll manage and schedule post-production, working with our in-house team to pull together the edit, grade, graphics and sound whilst overseeing all aspects of workflow to smash those tight delivery deadlines.
We believe that the best support comes from a direct working relationship, so as a senior team member, you’ll be expected to manage and provide guidance and leadership for those on the Production team less experienced than you. You’ll conduct frequent 1:1s, lead performance management, coach, and offer mentorship to upskill and level up your direct reports. You’ll use your experience and knowledge to help your team grow and flourish under your wing, leading with empathy and as a model for growth and resiliency.
About you
Some of the most crucial skills we’re looking for are:
- You can make level-headed decisions under pressure. You’re not afraid to make big plays when needed, but use your experience and intuition to drive the project to success. You understand the interplay between creativity and logical thinking to get the best result in a sticky situation whilst keeping the project on time and on budget.
- You can manage and wrangle multi-faceted projects. Nothing’s ever simple in this world, but you’ve got the knack of managing comms and information with both internal and freelance team members and all stakeholders involved. When the client changes their mind or throws the proverbial spanner in, nothing’s forgotten about; everything’s right where it should be.
- You’re confident in leading people. You understand the complexities of managing and mentoring team members—uplifting and championing the work of those around you as well as tackling difficult situations with confidence and empathy. You’ve got a grip on your leadership style and understand how to get the best out of your team.
- You don’t need a manual for this stuff. Clearcast, APA, CAP, ASA, child licensing and all that jazz is standard vocab for you. You maintain and update your knowledge regularly on industry guidelines and regulations so your productions run smoothly and in accordance with requirements.
A little about the kind of person that would do well in this role:
- You love getting stuck in. You’re not a wallflower nor a backseat driver; you understand the importance of teamwork and providing the gentle guiding hand to push a project along the right way. You’re there on the battlefield with your team in unity.
- You’re pragmatic. You take a proactive approach to getting things done. When there's a lack of process, you create it. When someone forgets to tell you something, you chase them until they do. When you're not sure about something, you raise it directly with the relevant person. You're straightforward and level-headed.
- You’re instinctively supportive. Your approach is finely tuned on the line between being clinically direct and genuinely caring. Your ability to ensure that deadlines are met and everyone’s doing what they should be is done with an emphasis on teamwork and positivity, rather than ruling by force. We’ve no time for negi vibes here.
Some of the key values that we’re looking to share for this role are:
- Purposefully Creative. You bring creative solutions to both team and client problems to both resolve situations and push a project’s output. You solve with the client in mind, but with a resolute drive to deliver the best possible work every time.
- Instinctively Supportive. You don’t need to be told how to support your production staff or your creative team, it’s in your blood. You value providing clarity and answers wherever possible and you’re right there with the team when things take a turn. Things don’t always go to plan, but you seek to understand why before blaming, and work together with the team to get back on the right track.
- Consistently Dedicated. It almost goes without saying in this industry that you need to be committed to delivering the best possible work; we’re only as good as our latest piece. You make sure you’ve got everyone’s ducks in a row and your team is set up for success. You’re the one in control of the situation, and you’re always first in, last out.
This job might not be a good fit for you if:
- You prefer working siloed. Some people find they’re at their most productive when secluded away from everyone with notifications off. Whilst that’s great for some roles, we’re looking for a proactive team member who would prefer sitting with the team on an edit and have regular chinwags to get everything straight.
- You’re allergic to processes and being organised. It’s not easy to get stuff done when things are a mess. We’ve been there and learned that, and hopefully you have too. Info is useless if you tend to have shorthand notes all over the place and can’t make head or tail of them.
- You aren’t interested in managing people. We see this role in being an important part of our management structure and expect this to be an integral aspect of the day-to-day function. Whilst it won’t be the main driver, your team will look to you for guidance and support—tapping into your knowledge and experience to feel supported in making the right decisions.
- You’re not a people person. Tied in with the above, but more so on the client-facing side. We expect Producers here to be the first point of contact with clients, and we’ve got some bloody good ones that have stuck around because of our focus on client servicing. There are no account managers here, so you’ll need to be comfortable with working closely with our clients and confidently able to manage expectations and the inevitable threat of scope creep.
Required
- At least 3 years of experience in a Producer role (or equivalent)
- Extensive experience working with the range of disciplines required to deliver effective video content and commercials
- Experience managing production budgets of £25k–£250k
- Leadership experience within a team
- Solid understanding of on-location production requirements and best practices
- Excellent knowledge of legal/copyright/usage requirements and relevant contractual obligations
- Experience with project management platforms (Asana, Basecamp etc) and collaborative documents (Google Docs and Sheets)
- A full driver's license—you’ll need to be able to travel at short notice
- Not awful at making a cup of tea—truly unforgivable
Nice to have
- Seasoned people management experience
- A relevant degree or qualification
- A Health & Safety qualification and recent first aid training
- Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Able to speak/read/write in the Welsh language
