Director, Brand Studio Live Action & Photo (Hybrid)

A+E Global Media•Los Angeles, NY

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Brand Studio Live Action & Photo Production oversees the day-to-day operation of live action and photo productions within Marketing Production. In partnership with the Sr. Executive Producer, the Director provides production leadership across Brand Studio and Storyground initiatives, translating creative and business priorities into efficient, high-quality execution. The role ensures work is strategically planned, appropriately resourced, financially managed, and delivered on time while maintaining creative excellence and operational discipline. Reporting to the Sr. Executive Producer, Storyground & Brand Studio Live Action & Photo Production, the Director leads, coaches, and develops the Brand Studio Live Action & Photo Production team. The Director establishes priorities, allocates resources, reinforces accountability and collaboration, and partners with the Sr. Executive Producer on organizational capacity, resource planning, and strategic risks, decisions, and opportunities. The Director is the primary operational production partner across Production Operations, Design Management, Creative, Account Management, Talent, Legal/Business Affairs, Risk, Finance, Post-Production, and external production partners. The role aligns cross-functional teams and balances creative quality, budget, schedule, rights, delivery, usage, and archive needs. The ideal candidate brings deep live action, video, and photo production experience; strong production and creative judgment; an inclusive production services network; and the ability to select appropriate production strategies, models, and resources. The Director connects daily execution with department priorities and campaign objectives, develops high-performing teams, improves production operations, and implements scalable practices for evolving business needs. A+E Global Media’s Marketing division is an in-house, full-service B2C/B2B brand and marketing team. The company describes its workplace as collaborative and values diversity, representation, flexibility, and kindness. Employees collaborate in the office three times per week, and new hires must be commutable to an office in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Stamford, Connecticut. The position offers an annual base pay range of $145,993–$170,812 and an annual incentive target of 17.50%. Compensation depends on factors including qualifications, skills, competencies, location, and experience. The company states that it offers healthcare coverage, 401(k) matching, and other benefits, and is an equal opportunity employer.

Requirements

At least 10 years of relevant production experience leading live action, video, and photo production within entertainment, media, creative services, marketing, or related industries.
At least 5 years of direct people management experience leading, coaching, and developing direct reports, production teams, and/or freelance and vendor partners, including setting priorities, giving feedback, managing performance, and building team accountability.
At least 5 years of experience successfully managing multiple concurrent productions from creative brief through delivery.
At least 5 years of experience overseeing production planning, budgeting, scheduling, staffing, vendor sourcing, negotiation, logistics, post-production, delivery, asset management, and archive.
At least 5 years of experience working across the full production lifecycle, including creative brief, bidding, production, post-production, delivery, rights and usage considerations, asset management, and archive.
At least 5 years of experience owning production budget oversight, including bids, estimates, actuals, cost tracking, budget recommendations, vendor negotiations, and resource planning.
At least 5 years of experience collaborating across Creative, Marketing, Finance, Legal, Production Operations, Talent, and external partners.
Ability to travel and work occasional nights or weekends when production needs require.

Nice To Haves

Experience producing branded content, creator-led content, influencer campaigns, or client-facing productions is strongly preferred.
Strong creative judgment and understanding of how to produce high-quality live action, video, and photo marketing assets across platforms and campaign needs.
Working understanding of post-production workflows and how production decisions affect editing, design, retouching, finishing, delivery, usage, rights, and asset management.
Strong understanding of video and photo asset-management workflows, including media transfers, transcripts, releases, delivery specifications, backup, archive, and cross-functional handoffs.
Ability to identify the right production model for each project based on creative need, budget, timeline, platform, rights considerations, audience need, and business priority.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to align cross-functional partners, communicate with senior leadership, and clearly present issues, options, decisions, and recommendations.
Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills, including anticipating issues, establishing controls, adapting plans as priorities shift, resolving operational challenges, and escalating strategic risks appropriately.
Proficiency with Airtable, Microsoft Office, related project-management tools, and AI-powered productivity tools for drafting, organizing information, improving workflow efficiency, and increasing visibility is preferred.

Responsibilities

Oversee the day-to-day operation of the Brand Studio Live Action & Photo Production team, ensuring work is prioritized, resourced, budgeted, produced, delivered, and archived effectively.
Lead, coach, and develop team members through clear expectations, accountability, prioritization, feedback, and performance management.
Partner with the Sr. Executive Producer to assess capacity, align production priorities, resolve operational issues, and escalate risks or opportunities.
Oversee live action and photo production from creative brief through final delivery, ensuring appropriate production approach, budget, schedule, staffing plan, vendor model, workflow, and asset-management path for each project.
Lead production across talent, photo, marketing, social-first, digital, and Storyground shoots; press and PR needs; behind-the-scenes capture; pickups; and broader organizational initiatives.
Serve as the primary operational production partner to cross-functional teams, translating creative ambitions and business priorities into practical production plans while protecting creative goals and output quality.
Establish communication mechanisms across teams so issues, questions, dependencies, and decisions are surfaced and resolved quickly; elevate recommendations to the Sr. Executive Producer as needed.
Develop scalable and inclusive production models and maintain a trusted network of production partners, including freelance producers, line producers, photographers, directors, DPs, crews, production service companies, agencies, post partners, and specialty vendors.
Match production models to creative needs, budgets, timelines, platforms, rights considerations, audience needs, and business priorities.
Oversee live action and photo production budgets, including bids, estimates, actuals, cost tracking, vendor negotiations, and budget recommendations in partnership with Finance and Production Operations.
Ensure resources are planned and used strategically, responsibly, and transparently.
Lead workflow optimization and asset-management practices, including planning, approvals, documentation, asset handoffs, media transfers, transcripts, releases, post-production coordination, delivery, backup, and archive.
Identify and implement workflow improvements that increase efficiency, scalability, visibility, and operational effectiveness.
Partner with Legal/Business Affairs, Risk, Finance, Talent, Standards & Practices, and other internal teams to ensure contracts, releases, insurance, vendor paperwork, compliance requirements, and production documentation are handled accurately and on time.
Identify partners, tools, workflows, and production models that improve creative quality, speed, efficiency, and flexibility while supporting the company’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and representation.