Production People Partner

Job Description

Waterloo Road - 1 Year Contract

Your New Role...

The Production HR team is dedicated to providing hands-on HR support to cast and crew working on productions across Warner Bros. Discovery's content businesses. The People & Culture Partners on the Production HR team will work primarily in production environments directly supporting the people that make our content. The goal is to be a recognisable and trusted HR partner to everyone working on Waterloo Road. As a trusted HR partner to production, the main objective is to ensure and support a respectful, inclusive, safe and positive work environment, allowing people to thrive and do their best work.

Your Role Accountabilities...
• Initial HR point of contact for production cast and crew working on Waterloo Road; serves as on-set/on-site HR presence for production
• Working with corporate team and production management, responds to production-related inquiries regarding crew/cast concerns. Is available to production cast and crew to voice any concerns and keeps their ear to the ground to identify potential or existing issues regarding performance, capability, persistent or long-term absence, grievances, misconduct, working arrangements, maternity and any other leave. Responds to crew enquiries regarding policy interpretation and serves as a liaison between production management, production executives and corporate teams
• Provides advice, coaching, counselling, and training to proactively create/maintain an inclusive, respectful and safe work environment with accessibility and mental health and well being needs met for all personnel
• Provides guidance and advice to Line Producer and Series Producer as well as production executives in handling day-to-day production concerns. Ensure compliance with company policies and procedures as well as local employment legislation, PACT guidance and drama production industry best practice
• Plays an instrumental role in embedding new processes, ways of working and building up the HR function in collaboration with the existing HR team with sensitivity to the damands production personnel face on a busy drama production.
• Develops and maintains a solid understanding of our business, the production and operation to provide commercially focused guidance to the senior management team
• Determines how to handle and escalate employee and worker relation matters, working closely with the management team and employment legal to determine next step actions, including the transfer of cases to People Relations for handling as necessary; this will be across employees, freelancers and those production personnel working under service companies
• Develops, delivers and facilitates training for productions on topics related to a respectful and harassment-free work environment
• Embodies our culture through behaviour and interactions, and champions inclusion and diversity on the set
• Conducts surveys to gauge cultural climate and makes recommendations for appropriate action based on findings
• Supports the Production HR team in policy and process development across the UK ensuring consistency of approach across all productions in-territory
• Partners with People Relations and Employment Legal to deliver HR solutions on people related issues
• Keeps abreast of HR trends/practices, legislation and requirements to effectively manage and communicate to production management
• Creates presentation decks, charts, graphs, and various materials, as needed
• Manages special projects, as assigned
• Fosters good working relationships with the necessary unions as matters arise whilst having a good awareness of the PACT/Bectu TV Drama Agreement 2023.
• In conjunction with production management, support those production personnel with special requirements and reasonable adjustments whether that be physical, neurological or related to mental health

Qualifications & Experience...

The ideal candidate will be flexible, focused, with a 'can-do' attitude and the ability to thrive in a fast-growing and fast-paced, challenging environment. They will have a collaborative leadership style with the ability to influence others into action and to think creatively about solutions. They will be confident in communicating with all levels of stakeholders and be able to build strong relationships with all production employees and freelancers, crew, background artists, cast including young and inexperienced cast (some working away from home) including, at times, high profile cast.

This role will suit someone who excels in providing hands on operational HR support, whilst being a team player and becoming an integtared part of the production; thus building the trust of production personnel. They need to be agile and adaptable, with the ability to think on their feet, sometimes in high pressurised situations. If you are a HR professional who likes to work methodically through processes, this role is probably not for you. This role is often required to work on unique issues which means that there are not always clearly defined policies and processes to follow in these situations. So, if you are comfortable working with ambiguity and want to be able to use your knowledge and expertise to define the best solutions then this role provides that opportunity.

You will need to have good judgment with the ability to balance the needs of the company and production personnel. A key component of the role is the ability to deliver engaging and innovative training and development for cast and crew so you will need to be confident in your delivery of training. You will have sound knowledge of UK employment legislation as well as the regulations pertinent to production populations. You will have high ethical standards with demonstrated experience handling highly sensitive information.

As this role supports a production in Manchester, you will need to be based at the production's main location (production base in Ardwick) and travel to other near by locations as required, often at short notice.

Generally production work 8am to 7pm, Monday to Friday. Many personnel are tied to being on-set throughout these hours so you may need to be flexible in your work hours should support be needed outside of your core hours. Some weekend working may be required.

Knowledge of drama production and the working conditions, PACT/Bectu agreements and experiences within a production environment is desirable but not essential.

Work Experience
• Experience of partnering with senior management teams in a generalist HR role at a HR Manager level with a heavy emphasis on employee relations (or related experience)
• Experience of applying expert employment legislation and best practice HR within the television or film sector
• Proven track record of advising and tailoring HR solutions within a freelance environment
• Scripted TV production experience strongly preferred

Education, Professional Training, Technical Training, or Certification

Full Chartered Institute of Personel and Development postgraduate education or equivalent experience

Knowledge/Skills
• Must be able to demonstrate operative knowledge of Human Resources policies, practices, and procedures
• Keeps abreast of legislative and industry trends to ensure HR procedures and policies are created, updated and communicated effectively to all production crew
• Proven track record of advising and tailoring HR solutions within a freelance environment
• Must have excellent follow-th

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Jobcode: Reference SBJ-ro0jm1-216-73-216-117-42 in your application.