Director, DC Bureau Operations

Job Description

About the Role & Team

The Director, DC Bureau Operations is responsible for leading an exceptional
operations team that oversees all bureau operations, field operations, media management, logistics and studio operations for the ABC News Washington Bureau and ABC News platforms from the nation's capital.

This is a highly collaborative role that integrates with various partners across the news division. The ideal candidate must be well-versed in all aspects of television news production, with a proven ability to lead in a dynamic team environment. This role requires soft skills, a consultative mindset that will work effectively to support unique regional responsibilities of our Washington DC bureau and strong leadership abilities to operate as a single unit. This role is expected to leverage the best people, technology, and workflows to deliver the highest caliber live production for all ABC News programs and platforms.

The Director will lead an operational and technical team comprised of union and non-union positions.

What You Will Do

Responsibilities of this role will include:
• Promoting an inclusive and collaborative working environment and being a culture change agent.
• Manage and prioritize capital budgets for the Washington DC bureau.
• Oversight of the media operations team and the DC News Acquisition Center.
• Oversight of the DC logistics desk and crew assignments.
• Collaborating with the global operations team, research and develop field technologies. for use in breaking news and planned events, focused on DC centric events.
• Anticipate the needs of a dynamic news operation and execute creative, timely solutions. 24/7 readiness to respond to breaking news anywhere in the world.
• Occasional travel based on business and production needs.

Expertise and understanding in the following functional areas are vital to success in this role:
• Managing a union and non-union workforce and maintaining knowledge of collective bargaining agreements, including NABET/CWA, WGA and DGA.
• Experience in the full field remote technology and operations workflows, including transmission, audio/video signal flow, intercom, IP based production systems, and redundancy.
• Detailed and advanced knowledge of the US Network Pool in Washington, DC.
• Flexibility and preparedness to adapt to unplanned requests and events.
• Define key metrics, business and technical requirements, design, and roadmaps to drive project initiatives.
• Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to provide innovative leadership.
• Create and present technical strategies to various audiences including ABC platforms, executives, peers, and staff.

Required Qualifications & Skills
• Minimum 10 years industry experience in live news production, field, remote and studio production, and management of a large team.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and experience in interacting with technical and non-technical leadership.
• Schedule flexibility around the 24/7 news cycles.

Preferred Qualifications
• Strong industry contacts across media/production technology/systems, vendors, and industry groups.
• Experience working with Labor Relations, Human Resources, and Finance business partners on complex matters.

Required Education
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience

The hiring range for this position in Washington, DC is $148,700 to $199,400 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.

About ABC News:

The Disney Entertainment Television 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 we call ABC News.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-g3qp89-216-73-216-165-42 in your application.