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Role Overview

The Production Director, Live Experiences is a key role primarily focused on the execution of live events, for projects of various sizes, from initial brief to final delivery.

This role requires a top-tier Production Director with a uniquely wide variety of experience and production skills and the ability to insert themselves into the early creative and conceptual phases of a project and manage it through to successful completion. The Production Director will ensure that all production and technical aspects of the work – from creative realization, fabrication, logistics, and technical execution – meet agreed objectives and exceed clients' expectations.

The Production Director should be flexible and adaptable, capable of building strong and enduring relationships with both colleagues and clients who expect the highest standards of creativity and delivery. While exhibiting a desire to constantly hone efficiency and processes and educate other production team members.

Our Team

In the Production Department, our mission is simple: Be agile. Be respected. Be the best. We adapt swiftly, uphold integrity, and deliver excellence, setting the gold standard for production across the Americas.

Our primary responsibility is delivering connected experiences across channels to help our clients engage with diverse audiences, external and internal. Our clients look to Imagination for breakthrough experiences, whether auto show exhibitions, global product launches, brand destinations, media presentations, investor events or training programs. In addition to producing and managing such experiences, we generate the associated experience strategy, messaging, content, and collateral.

Detailed Responsibilities:

• To come to work each day to support Imagination doing epic sh*t that no other agency is doing!
• Production Management: Lead the production process, often across several events simultaneously - to successfully deliver a wide variety of projects in the live experiences and destinations spaces (e.g. product launches/reveals, brand destinations, corporate announcements)
• Oversee the successful delivery of all projects allocated by the EPD, ensuring they are completed within the agreed timeframe and budget. This includes managing team resources, mentoring team members, and ensuring compliance with company policies and procedures.
• Collaborate closely with the creative team to develop ideas that can be delivered within budget and will provide optimal solutions for clients. This also involves monitoring supplier engineering drawings and ensuring final drawings and any detailed calculations are submitted to organizers and local authorities as appropriate.
• Responsible for integrating all creative show elements– digital, lighting, sound, physical, and content
• Manage all aspects of on-site delivery, briefing crew and heads of department, and running the live show elements
• Collaborate with colleagues on the creative development & production of films, animations, and other digital assets
• Co-ordinate suppliers pre- and post-event
• Negotiating with venues and conducting site visits, analyzing and recommending the most appropriate solutions
• Developing and maintaining relationships with suppliers and ensuring new and innovative products and services are introduced
• Responsible for load lists and packing of shipments at the delivering warehouse, including the creation of international shipping documentation
• When called upon, ensure effective Client Relationship Management: Present budgets to clients, justify cost line items, and collaborate with the accounts department and clients to find the best solutions. This also involves supporting the development of new client relationships to secure new opportunities.
• Maintain administration and relevant reporting and planning systems.
• Monitor all aspects of projects, including proposal, budget, schedule development, and delivery
• Understand and carefully manage the complexities of multi-agency scenarios
• Ensure strong commercial management of projects – focusing on time management and profitability
• Work closely with Account Directors and Managers on relevant 'crossover' projects such as Autoshows
• Financial Management: Oversee financial control, ensuring all aspects of assigned projects are planned and delivered within the agreed timeframe and budget. This includes understanding all projects' financial status whenever called upon and liaising with the commercial department to ensure cashflow objectives are met.
• Team Management: Foster a professional, respectful, and collaborative approach across the team. This includes reviewing team and project resources.
• Present show concepts internally and to clients at all levels
• Take the lead in complying with company policies and procedures, for example (but not limited to) ISO documentation, Information Security.
• Good knowledge of current Health and Safety regulations (training provided to enhance)
• Managing Health and Safety on all projects in conjunction with the Imagination Health and Safety manager

Experience and skills required:

• A proven track record leading the successful conception and execution of high-profile live shows in a corporate setting (for example, product launches, press conferences, or investor days)
• Experience working on 360º experiential campaigns, broadcast events, and high-pressure, high-risk business critical events.
• Excellent knowledge of technical, digital, and logistical aspects of event production, film, animation & digital production.
• Excellent knowledge of broadcast services in relation to living events – especially multi-cam direction & creative production
• Experience in the automotive sector (preferred)
• Be a proven innovative thinker with the ability to originate and deliver on said innovations
• Be a persuasive, compelling presenter and personable.
• Experience working across a range of industry sectors and multiple types of experiential projects, including B2B events/exhibitions, B2C events/exhibitions, product launches, brand activations, sponsorships, PR stunts, virtual events & shoots, capital markets activities and public events
• Must be able to communicate well and build relationships with vendors and other departments, have confidence and the proven ability to communicate face to face with client senior management
• Demonstrate ability to effectively manage a portfolio of projects at one time
• Demonstrate successful onsite management and delivery, ensuring projects reflect the brief and meet client/brand objectives
• Sufficient experience to take sole responsibility for delivering events & projects
• Can write accurate and timely reports as well as brief internal teams
• A positive, can-do attitude along with the ability to work across a wide range of projects, often to tight deadlines
• Intelligent, ambitious, and highly motivated team player with a commitment to quality and professionalism
• Calm in a crisis, extremely organized, and proactive with good interpersonal skills.
• Flexible, patient, able to prioritize, and a good negotiator.
• Be cost/value focused and aware, often put bids to market to ensure competitive pricing.
• Must be able to travel domestically & internationally for periods of up to three weeks at a time.
• Vectorworks / AutoCAD literate (preferred)
• Powerpoint / Keynote literate
• Knowledge of video formats and technical requirements associated with content delivery and ingestion
• Practical experience in technical and staging, including contractor liaison
• Full US driving license, Passport.

Financial / Commercial:

• Involved with the project budget creation process and schedules (working with the relevant commercial, digital, and account teams). Review the project budgets and schedules to ensure they are in line with the overall project delivery timelines and available client budgets and proactively ensure our clients' investments deliver value for money and meet their overall objectives
• Instigate frequent meetings with the commercial department
• Strong financial acumen with proven ability to manage budgets
• Accountable for all project revenue (meet/exceed revenue targets) and ensure effective use of the Imagination team's time.
• Provide real-time feedback on budget tracking and status throughout a project at any time.
• Works closely with the Client Service Director / Business Director / Account Director in the growth and development of their client. Capable of generating and implementing revenue-generating ideas.

Leadership attributes:

• Leads by behavior and attitude, not through position or tenure
• Thinks strategically – knowledge of Imagination and Client's practices
• Inspires creativity and innovation – imagines creative solutions
• Drives result – achieves high levels of customer satisfaction.

Residency Requirements

Candidates must have authorization to work in the US in order to be considered for this position.

Imagination

Imagination is an experience design company founded on the principle of Independent Creativity.

Independent of mind, spirit, and action, we remain free to find the right answers to our client's strategic and creative challenges.

We build strategies, develop ideas and deliver at scale, creating experiences that change the status quo for some of the world's most exciting brands - across our core offers of Consulting, Destinations, Content, and Live.

To get to ground-breaking ideas, we start with unexpected combinations. Research shows that the greatest accelerator of creativity is the diversity of talent in the team, and we actively recruit unique individuals who embody our core beliefs and demonstrate the behaviors that underpin Independent Creativity.

Our Work

2022 Mustang Global Reveal, "The Stampede": https://youtu.be/d8YGKZPz4eE

Accelerating Transformation https://youtu.be/sUljrHwgDBo

F-150 Lightning Global Reveal: https://youtu.be/Yjisj5T0VqE

Aptiv Investor Conference: https://vimeo.com/798734567

Our Core Beliefs

We have identified four foundational beliefs that underpin Independent Creativity. More powerful than generic corporate values, they motivate us to act, to foster the behaviors that lead to success:

• We believe curiosity is the root of original insights and ideas... so we look at the world with fresh eyes, we experiment, invent and up-end conventions.
• We believe rigor results in better choices... so we ask precise, provocative questions.
• We believe bravery tames the unknown... so we demand ambition, confident that together we can meet 'never been done before challenges'.
• We believe respect builds stronger teams and continued success... so we recognize the uniqueness and unique potential in each individual, we are accountable to each other, and we play as a team.

Imagination is an equal opportunity employer, committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION STATEMENT

Imagination believes that diversity, equity, and inclusions are more than just words and more than a legal framework or a moral obligation - they are guiding principles that, when acted upon, make us stronger, more innovative, and more creative as an organization.

We commit to not only significantly increasing our efforts to effect change today but also to ensure that our efforts will be sustained for the long term. To support us on this journey, we have appointed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board to help shape our plans to bring about positive change, to help us learn, and to keep us all moving forward together.

We believe the responsibility for a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace ultimately rests with all of us.

We believe that all employees should feel a sense of belonging at Imagination - regardless of their race, religion or belief, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, disability, or background.

We believe racism has no place within our workplace or our work culture, and we reject all forms of hatred, prejudice, intolerance, and discrimination.

We believe that Black Lives Matter, and it is our expectation that all employees become actively committed to making unbiased choices and are anti-racist in everything they do.

Our Imagination community must share and live these beliefs, as diversity makes us stronger.

Our priority is humanity, and our efforts toward a more diverse, more equitable, and more inclusive workplace are never done.