Director of Production

The Director of Production leads production strategy, delivery, and operational excellence for software and media projects from discovery through support. They serve as the client's production lead and own end-to-end project scoping, in partnership with the Account Director, who owns the overall client relationship. They manage production budgets and capacity across internal teams, freelancers, and vendors, and hire, mentor, and lead a team of producers. Partnering closely with the COO, Operations, Account, and New Business, they ensure tight cross-departmental alignment to deliver exceptional work on time and on budget. (please include cover letter)

The Director of Production serves these primary functions:

    Client Leadership & Scoping — Serves as the client's production lead and owns end-to-end project scoping, in partnership with the Account Director, who owns the overall client relationship and account growth.

    Production Delivery — Leads end-to-end production of software and media projects from kickoff through delivery and support, including prototyping needs in partnership with Operations.

   Budget & Resource Management — Manages production budgets, including overhead and staffing strategies, and directs workflows, resource allocation, and capacity planning across internal teams, freelancers, and vendors, in partnership with the COO.

    Vendor & Partner Leadership — Sources, negotiates with, and manages external producers, designers, vendors, and freelancers through delivery.

    Team Leadership — Hires, mentors, and leads the producer team, representing Production within the broader cross-functional organization.

Responsibilities

Client Leadership & Scoping

    Serve as the client's production lead on key accounts, partnering with the Account Director, who owns the overall client relationship and account growth

    Own end-to-end project scoping, overseeing producers on deliverables, approach documentation, pricing, and partner selection from a media and software perspective

    Support new business pitches led by the Account Director and New Business, ensuring potential work is scoped, priced, and feasible to produce from a media and software perspective

Planning, Delivery and Support

    Collaborate with project teams on production approaches, applying media, software, and AV expertise to lead the team and route tasks to the right expert

    Partner with Operations to define in-studio prototyping requirements and priorities

    Create and execute project plans, estimates, and budget burns reflecting creative, production, and scope changes

    Develop and manage production-level budgets, including overhead and staffing strategies; the COO owns fee estimates and studio-wide resourcing targets

    Direct production workflows, weekly resource assignments, and capacity planning across internal teams, freelancers, and vendors, providing utilization data to the COO

    Communicate clearly and proactively with project teams and vendors on agendas, deadlines, and priorities

    Partner with Creative Technology on delivering post-open support and maintenance offerings

Production Leadership

    Source, vet, negotiate with, and manage external producers, designers, vendors, and production partners through delivery, and nurture a vendor and freelancer network to fill personnel gaps, contributing to the shared database

    Write scopes of work, staff scopes, and vendor contracts; manage subcontractors and track change orders

Supervisory Responsibilities/ Discipline Leadership

    Establish and iterate on production processes, protocols, tools, and templates within Production, applying studio-wide standards set by the COO, and ensure the team applies them consistently

    Recruit, interview, hire, and train internal production staff in collaboration with HR, making the final hiring decision within studio-wide policy

    Manage team growth through reviews, regular 1:1s, and professional development planning, and recommend compensation adjustments

    Manage department admin for production staffing, resourcing, PTO approvals, and disciplinary or termination actions in accordance with company policy

Requirements

Skills/Abilities

    Proven ability to scope, budget, and deliver complex projects

    Strong people management and team leadership skills

    Excellent verbal and written communication skills

    Ability to identify problems, develop solutions, and escalate appropriately, working within timelines

    Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail

    10+ years of experience leading production for client projects, ideally in an experiential, exhibit, or built-environment agency

    Track record leading multidisciplinary production teams and managing external vendor relationships

Preferred

    Client or account leadership experience alongside hands-on production

    Breadth across both software and media production

    Background in production within physical spaces

Additional Requirements

    Able to travel domestically and internationally for installs, client meetings, vendor coordination, and pitches

    Must work on site at our NYC Studio as needed (hybrid)

    Must hold a primary residence in NY, NJ, CT, DC, VA, or MD

Salary: $150,000–$180,000 commensurate with experience

Benefits

Local Projects offers to its Full-Time staff Health/Dental/Vision, FSA, 401k, access to short-term and Long Term Disability Insurance and Life Insurance, as well as a generous PTO package.

Local Projects is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based on sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, citizenship, veteran or military status, or any other characteristic protected by law. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics.