Director, Culture & Engagement

Job Description

About the Opportunity

WarnerMedia Studios is full of creative, passionate craftspeople who help WarnerMedia's brands make moments that fans never forget. An essential part of WarnerMedia Studios' success is our culture, as led by The Director of Culture & Engagement. This role serves to create and protect the conditions that sustain our great people's best work. A lot goes into that, and no two days are alike.

If you're the type of person who thrives when doing for others, keeping a train on the tracks (especially a fast-moving one with lots of buttons), thinks about how to communicate everything we do cross-functionally, cares deeply about making sure the right things are done right, and has a passion for understanding a highly creative environment read on for more details.

What will you be doing?

Strategy + Executive Advisement
• Devise initiatives to ensure people feel heard, seen, taken care of, and creatively inspired and empowered – everything from a speaker series to get-to-know-you coffees to ticket giveaways to a full-blown annual internal creative conference (known as StudiosX). All programs to be implemented across the disparate verticals of WarnerMedia Studios.
• Working alongside the VP, Operations & Business Strategy, synthesize leadership team's vision with employee insights and make clear recommendations with roadmaps, serving as a strategic thought partner to the entire executive team – ''see 3-4 steps ahead'', taking complex issues (change management, staff development plans, etc.) and turning them into actionable recommendations, ultimately translating that vision into powerful presentations
• Lead the establishment of Studios' first cross-departmental Studios' first Culture Council – a team designed to centralize the best ideas from highly engaged staffers across Studios and create a first stop for feedback that helps to inform employee-led change.
• Work with people managers to utilize our talent development platform Ripple and offer guidance on structuring and deploying data-informed learning + development resources to our people
• Advise and support our leadership team on all people-related matters, especially with regard to managing change with great care for people's experiences

Communications
• Establish and iterate communications strategy + tools to streamline sharing of information, processes, and best practices
• Be the ''Voice of Studios'', infusing a distinctive tone into all communications from the Culture team and our GM while also establishing and socializing consistent principles and practices for how we talk about ourselves, especially to partners and prospective talent
• Write all executive communications for Studios leadership, partnering with our News & Sports internal communications team to ensure messaging is consistent
• Handle all Partner-related communications and develop a system for managing and updating distribution lists (both for our partners and our employees)

Culture & Engagement
• Build on the best of the distinct creative culture we've built over the years (in order to create a sense of cohesion between the breadth of cultures and workflows of all the brands we support) and use that to nurture new norms for our hybrid work environment
• Ensure equity and inclusivity are infused into decisions and daily practices throughout Studios, starting with streamlining our hiring and onboarding (A strong passion for equity and inclusion is an absolute must in this role, and experience building it in your organization(s) is a big plus)
• Lead tours of Studios and manage messaging for them – pre-pandemic, we led more than 150 tours per year through our facilities, and we expect guest traffic to resume as activity returns to campus
• Work with the Studios leadership team to keep up the aesthetic of our building, highlighting what makes this building our own – especially as we combine Atlanta campuses over the next few years

People Management
• Lead a small but mighty team of Associate Managers: provide vision and direction for them to implement, guide the development of their skills and relationships across Studios and WarnerMedia, and rely on their insights and intel to continuously improve initiatives and processes

What do we require from you?
• Big, connective thinker. (You're a ''student of the game'' always thinking about and refining culture vision and connecting dots [between ideas, initiatives, people, etc.])
• Relationship-building skills. (You have a rapport with people from all walks of life, you're a good listener who works hard to understand others, and you can thoughtfully and maturely handle tough situations with lots of gray area.)
• Direct communicator. (You don't hesitate to [thoughtfully and respectfully] offer candid constructive feedback to senior leaders or peers in the moment.)
• Peerless communication skills, both in writing and in person. (You get ''you're so good with words'' a lot – people ask you all the time to edit things for them. In particular, you're experienced and comfortable writing for other people's voices.)
• Bonus points for superior ''creative director'' sensibilities. (You don't necessarily have to be an ace designer, but you can direct aesthetic details to perfection with thoughtful, clear feedback. In particular, this would apply to developing top-notch presentations for high-level executives.)
• Problem-solving mindset. (You don't bring anyone problems; just solutions. You always think through ''What would I do if I were in charge?'' and have a course of action in mind before taking the challenge back to the team.)
• Extraordinary passion for seeing great ideas all the way to completion, all in the name of making a difference. (Our mission is clear, but our road isn't. If you're looking to show up and be told what to do every day, this is not the job for you.)
• Track record of agility, adapting to ambiguity and thriving in a fast-moving environment. (When the going gets tough, you go with the flow, and you have a great sense of humor all the while.)
• 7-10 years' experience in people / communications / strategy-related roles – creative / media industry experience strongly preferred
• BA/BS degree, or equivalent work experience

What you will gain from this role?
• A unique role at the center of the rapidly changing media business, in a modern media company that's redefining the industry landscape
• Potential to become a known connector and go-to person with a wide variety of relationships across WarnerMedia, including senior executives
• Opportunities to progress your career within WarnerMedia Studios or in other parts of WarnerMedia

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-r7k95q-3-15-229-189-42 in your application.