Director - Production Management - Studios

Job Description

ABC News Studios is a non-fiction studio within ABC News charged with producing narrative non-fiction documentaries and news specials for Hulu, ABC Network, Disney+ and National Geographic. We are substantially growing our production output for these platforms and are seeking an experienced production management executive to oversee projects in the portfolio. Reporting to the Executive Director Production Management, the Director Production Management will oversee production management activities working in collaboration with the executive producers for each program and line producers assigned to individual projects. The Director will be familiar with different production models including in-house, co-productions, and third-party commissions and will recommend the best structure for each project. The Director will develop budgets and schedules for narrative non-fiction limited series, recurring series, and feature documentary films. This leader will work in collaboration with individual project executive producers to identify a staffing plan for each project and work with the Director of Production Management and Staffing, HR, and Finance to onboard and manage production staff. The Director will oversee all aspects of production from pre-greenlight through post production and asset delivery, and work in close collaboration with edit operations and delivery teams. The Director will also consult with the teams responsible for insurance, rights and clearances, risk management, and labor issues.

Responsibilities:
• Act as a production management executive across projects in ABC News Studios including internal studio projects and 3rd party work-for-hire productions.
• Directly manage complex productions and ensure network creative, technical and business goals are delivered
• Build initial budgets and associated production modelling, then manage series line producers to oversee all production scheduling, budget revisions, cost reporting and day-to-day management for projects on all platforms.
• Coordinate with Executive Producer and Director of Production Management and Staffing to develop a staffing model for each project and to manage staff as they are onboarded
• Coordinates closely with Edit Operations and Delivery teams to ensure project specifications for each delivery platform are met and schedules and budgets are adhered to.
• Coordinates closely with Finance team on project development and expense tracking.
• Builds or updates production handbooks and communicates requirements to all creative and production teams
• Manages union obligations that are triggered by production and works closely with labor counsel to ensure compliance
• Communicates with risk management, insurance and tax compliance teams to ensure all projects are in compliance
• Coordinates closely with Finance team to ensure transparency of budgets

Basic Qualifications:
• 10+ years of production management experience, including experience as a line producer or executive producer
• Expertise in production models
• Expertise in production methods and the latest production technology
• Expertise in production rates and schedules
• Experience working across a diverse set of project types
• Experience managing a team of line producers
• Experience with labor unions and compliance
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to function in both a quick turn news environment and a longer term documentary production environment
• Calm under pressure and a willingness to be flexible to determine how best to work with different production teams

Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience in a production company or studio
• Experience in a network production management or exec producer capacity preferred
• Understanding of different distribution platforms
• A passion for non-fiction content, with both a news and documentary focus

Required Education
• BA or equivalent work experience

About ABC News:

The General Entertainment Content group creates original entertainment and news content for the Company's streaming platforms and its cable and broadcast networks.

This position is with American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., which is part of a business segment we call ABC News.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-gkv3nq-3-135-209-20-42 in your application.