Production Manager

Job Description

The Production Manager will manage the day-to-day personnel and business operations for production content and personnel. The position is based in Bristol, Connecticut.

Responsibilities:
• Partner collaboratively with Production, other ESPN departments (including, but not limited to, HR, Legal, etc.), and outside entities.
• Responsible for dealing with time-sensitive materials and decisions.
• Responsible for the handling and relaying of sometimes complex or sensitive information (budgetary, fee-related, etc.).
• Oversees schedulers handling the assignments of personnel, tracking overtime and vacation time.
• Works with Production leaders and other personnel to promote T&E policy understanding and adherence.
• Creates and modifies policy and process.
• Works in conjunction with Production leaders to assist with management of external workforce.
• Responsible for training new hires on Production departmental processes and procedures.
• Manages at least one direct report. Provides objective feedback and coaching on performance to staff and shares feedback as required; participates in the growth and development of assigned personnel.
• Has oversight of resource allocation process to ensure fair allocation of production facility needs of assigned sports/shows.
• Advises on compliance questions in accordance with workforce classification guidelines.
• Oversees Coordinators who process hiring requisitions through web Playbook and IQNavigator.
• Responsible for hiring policies and ensuring accurate scheduling of remote production support roles.
• Draft short form contracts for voiceover artists, bureau and field producers, and talent, and periodically evaluates processes to ensure maximum efficiency.
• Enter, track, and manage talent contract information in Playbook (or similar system of record) and process and reconcile talent payment invoices.
• Partners with Production leaders to proactively project or allocate resources to stay within assigned legal classifications and ensure overages are not assumed.
• Attends meetings with stakeholders, as necessary, and represents a neutral party in discussions..
• Participates in managing or scheduling Content Associates or Production Assistants with ESPN Next as needed, and contribute feedback to Pod leaders.
• Trains and guides staff and event temporary workers (exempt and non-exempt) through systematic processes of engaging event temporary workers, non-contractual talent and vendor engagement/payment.
• Oversees employees who approve and reject time cards and expense reports according to Disney timekeeping, travel and expense policy, while organizing and distributing data specific to ESPN's remote employees back to sport and scheduling units.
• Track and analyze data to find efficiencies, ensure legal compliance, and inform stakeholders.
• Create new vendors in the Disney vendor portal and coordinate with Disney Shared Services on troubleshooting vendor set-ups.
• Source, develop, contribute to, and implement enhancements to ESPN proprietary resources (i.e., web Playbook).
• Create schedules and assign personnel to events and shows based on resource availability and programming schedules, as well as track personnel overtime and vacation time.
• Monitor and maintain programming, personnel schedules, and with input from content leaders, ensure there is alignment and accuracy.
• During Production peak times, remains accessible and is often required to work non-traditional days/hours.

Basic Qualifications:
• Excellent team player, who possesses strong interpersonal and organizational skills (i.e. budgeting time and prioritizing workload, accuracy and attention to detail in all tasks, ability to implement systematic processes and organize information flow).
• Must possess strong communication skills (i.e. clear and concise in all forms of communication, ability to handle high-volume email and phone traffic, as well as in-person interactions).
• Has demonstrated ability to react quickly and positively under a wide variety of sensitive production and personnel situations that arise and are subject to continual change.
• Demonstrates consistent ability to take initiative; suggests ideas and solutions to problems that arise or before they occur; possesses ability to recognize when an issue is present and provide rectifying solutions.
• Performs independently with limited guidance from management.
• Strong managerial skills including the ability to provide feedback.
• Has advanced experience and understanding of the operational and logistical aspects of production planning.
• Has considerable knowledge of budgetary demands of stakeholders.
• Has advanced experience in managing contracts; reconciling and submitting invoices; creating, maintaining and distributing personnel scheduling/staffing information; and oversight of hiring.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office programs (i.e. Office 365, Outlook, Excel, Word, OneNote, etc.).
• Understands the value of synergy in a dynamic organization.
• Demonstrated passion and commitment to diversity and inclusion including inviting diverse perspectives, fostering an inclusive work environment and supporting workforce diversity.
• Typically has minimum 5 years of Production or Operations experience.

Preferred Qualifications:
• • Knowledgeable about the sports production landscape.
• Has extensive knowledge of the production of studio shows, remote events, digital, and/or packaged shows.
• Understands the mechanics of reporting and analytics of personnel and scheduling data for trends and metrics.
• Advanced analytical and technical problem solving skills.

Required Education
• High School Diploma or Equivalent.
• Advanced computer skills including traditional Microsoft Office programs as well as other cloud-based and shared platforms (Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, etc.).

Preferred Education
• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent.
• Advanced knowledge of the following systems/tools: Zoom (advanced), Smartsheet, Slack, Microsoft Office 365 programs, Playbook, Concur, Kronos, Autoflow Invoice Management, SAP, and Business Intelligence tools, like MicroStrategy.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-gweqxk-3-131-110-169-42 in your application.