Country Lead, Ireland

Job Description

Overview

Discovery's UK portfolio of linear channels and it's SVOD product discovery+ are available to audiences, advertisers and partners in the Republic of Ireland. The Irish business is flourishing and requires a dedicated Dublin-based member of staff to take it to the next level.

The role is a hybrid commercial, partnerships and editorial role and will form a remote part of the wider London-based team. There will be extensive liaison with London teams as well as some regular travel between Dublin and London. The role will be home based at first but may move to hybrid office working as we secure further members of staff.

The individual will develop and grow key business relationships in the region. Our local sales house for the linear portfolio is Sky Media plus there will be a new appointment of a sales house for our soon-to-launch ad-supported service on discovery+. The role will also build strong relationships with key affiliate partners in the region as well as with the BAI, the Irish regulator.

The Planning & Commercial Director, Ireland, will be part of the Editorial Control Committee, chaired by the SVP of Planning & Insights and Entertainment Commissioning and to sit on the Irish Board.

Responsibilities

Editorial:
• Become familiar with the propositions and key content pillars of Discovery's linear network of channels
• Establish constructive and collaborative relationships with the relevant Programme Planning teams in London
• Attend monthly programme acquisition review meetings and make recommendations based on local market content for potential acquisitions
• Attend monthly Content Development meetings with Entertainment and Factual Commissioning teams
• Keep across competitors' for new trends, threats and opportunities in linear and non-linear environments and share with wider team
• Be familiar with the Irish regulatory framework as set out by the BAI.

Commercial:
• Work with UK and EMEA Distribution teams to:
• Strengthen and further existing relationships with contacts at Sky Media, Virgin Media Ireland, Eir, Vodafone IE
• Foster new and develop ongoing relationships with Saorview, the BAI and other potential partners as appropriate and maintain a constructive dialogue with them
• Seek and drive engagement with D2C and B2B2C partnerships for Discovery's SVOD Products
• Leverage local partnerships to identify new opportunities for distribution
• As discovery+ launches an ad-supported service work with the VP of Advertising and the Director of Programmatic and Ad Sales to secure a local sales house and ensure they are supported with key content information and data.

Board:
• A member of the Editorial Control Committee (ECC) which reviews and agrees editorial decisions for the DBI Board (Discovery Broadcasting Ireland). The ECC meets quarterly in Dublin
• Update ECC attendees on key regional trends, events and issues and any competitor intelligence
• A member of the DBI Board which ratifies ECC decisions and meets quarterly in Dublin.

Qualifications
• Experience working in an editorial scheduling or programme planning role
• A track record in partner negotiations and building relationships
• A good understanding of commercial TV sales and digital sales
• Excellent Communication skills at all levels and the gravitas to manage external relationships and partnerships
• An analytical mind with creative flair to identify key facts, trends, and issues.
• High motivation
• Assertive and confident with a tenacious approach to problem solving.
• Resilience to cope with changing priorities
• A self-starter who is comfortable working on their own or remotely as part of a team
• Strong understanding of audience research and usage data across linear and non-linear
• Experience of working in a commercial organization
• Love of non-scripted TV content

IT competence
• Experienced in Gmail and working with Google docs, sheets and slides
• Preferably proficient in TechEdge

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-r074x1-18-188-40-207-42 in your application.