Director, Production and Operations

Job Description

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Director, Production and Operations leads the development, planning, and implementation of production operations for the Sundance Film Festival. Working collaboratively with the Festival Director and Head of Public Programming, this position’s main function is to operationalize the artistic vision of the Festival by leading the Operations team to ensure audience and artist experience is smooth and efficient. The Director will also lead the operations for other Institute events and community programs, while working across functions to support Institute labs and workshops. This role is both strategic and operational and directly manages six employees.

Working closely under Managing Director, on an interim basis, the Director, Production and Operations will lead teams to prepare and execute a wide-range of production elements for the Festival and collaborate with the Associate Director, Program and Guest Operations to successfully manage operations across all annual programs. This full time position is based out of our Park City, UT office in order to work onsite and extended hours, including evenings and weekends, at key points throughout the year. There will be ample opportunity to work from home and travel to other Institute offices and events will be required.

Top priorities include but are not limited to…
• Strategizing and planning operations, logistics, management, and production elements associated with official Institute Festival venues, theaters, Festival temporary office setups and moves, as well as warehouses, storage units, inventory control and transportation logistics.
• Scheduling and conducting meetings with internal departments to set goals, plan procurement, and manage the load-in and out of Festival venues, theaters, offices, and other locations, ensuring effective communication across departments.
• Serving as Institute lead with Park City Municipal on Festival operation plans, signage approvals, permits, and with working with the Managing Director to obtain approval from City Council for the annual Festival Supplemental Plan that provides the overall permit to allow the Sundance Film Festival to occur for the year in Park City
• Leads and facilitates negotiations and contract renewals for Festival venues working closely with the Managing Director and Legal team to finalize and execute.
• In conjunction with the head of the Health Safety team, analyzing and implementing in-person policies and practices to ensure the safety and security of employees and patrons during the Festival and other Institute events.
• Developing, managing, and ensuring adherence to timelines, policies, and procedures related to venues across multiple stakeholders.
• With guidance from the Festival Director, working to create and implement annual plans for improving audience experience, including look and feel of Festival venues.
• Working in collaboration with the Associate Director, Program and Guest Operations to strategize on year-round production scheduling and related resource allocation.
• Overseeing the development of production scheduling and resource allocation of technical exhibition operations for the Festival, Utah Community activations, and Lab programs.
• Managing employees including selecting and training highly effective employees, providing direction, feedback, mentoring, and support to ensure they feel empowered and effective in their roles.
• Setting objectives and goals, developing plans, schedules, and assignments, anticipating and adjusting for problems and roadblocks, measuring performance, and evaluating results.
• Working closely with Department Leadership to build and manage Festival budget strategy; purview may extend to budgets outside of Festival.
• Managing the annual Festival Operations and Production budget and keeping assigned Festival budget managers accountable for completing budgets on time and at budget.
• Approving all invoices through accounting software utilized by the Finance Department.
• Overseeing project schedules with production vendors and official and in-kind providers that provide tents, equipment rentals, shuttles, parking lot attendants, and vehicles.
• Cultivating ongoing relationships with Park City and Summit County, Utah officials, external constituents, partners and vendors, etc. to ensure timely communication and professional working relationships.

You have the following direct or transferable skill sets:
• Legal authorization to work in the United States.
• 10 years of progressive leadership experience in managing large-scale Festival event operations, or related.
• Strong leadership skills with a background that includes managing and mentoring a large team of employees across different functions and locations.
• Strong project management skills with experience in organizing, planning, and executing large-scale projects from design phase through to implementation.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills to communicate effectively, understanding the implications their actions will have on the organization.
• Ability to collaborate effectively and affect change by applying best practices.
• Experience managing a large budget and with contract negotiation.
• Ability to maneuver through complex political situations effectively.
• Valid driver's license and ability to successfully pass DMV check.

You will be successful in this role if you...
• Operationalize the Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming‘s vision of the annual Sundance Film Festival by working and communicating effectively across the Institute.
• Build and mentor a team that works collaboratively to produce successful and efficient event production operations that meet the goals of the organization’s program activities.
• Drive clear communications between programs, departments, and external constituents.
• Successfully managing the Production and Operations budgets throughout the year, interfacing with the Institute Financial Planning and Analysis team.

In addition to an annual salary of $86,000.00 to $110,000.00, this position comes with awesome benefits & perks, including:
• 25 paid holidays
• Health, vision, and dental insurance
• Paid sick, family, and medical leave
• 401(k) with automatic 3% employer contribution after one year of employment
• Sundance Film Festival passes and benefits (varies each year)

*Experience will be taken into consideration when making the final offer.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rjnw22-3-133-12-172-42 in your application.