Production Manager (Video Specialist)

Youth Beat•Oakland, CA

3d•$75,000 - $90,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Production Manager (Video Specialist) leads the day-to-day delivery of YouthBeat PRO client projects, from client intake, scoping, and estimates through pre-production, production, post-production, delivery, and follow-up. The manager translates clients’ marketing objectives into creative approaches and production plans, keeps clients informed, coordinates creative producers and production crews, tracks schedules and budgets, and ensures projects meet their briefs and quality standards. The role also helps lead YouthBeat PRO’s on-the-job apprenticeship experience. Apprentices and young adult crew members contribute to real client projects, develop professional skills, and receive supervision and feedback as they prepare for media careers. This is a production and client-services management position. It does not own organizational branding or marketing campaigns and is not responsible for lead generation or business development. The manager participates in client conversations and prepares project scopes and estimates for opportunities identified by YouthBeat leadership or a partner. The position reports to the Chief Operating Officer and is based in Oakland, California, in a hybrid arrangement with up to 20% remote work. Starting compensation is $75,000–$90,000, depending on experience.

Requirements

At least five years of professional experience in video production, advertising, creative agency work, or a comparable field, including responsibility for coordinating projects from planning through delivery.
Experience communicating directly with clients, partners, or stakeholders and translating their needs into clear scopes, schedules, and video deliverables.
Strong working knowledge of pre-production, production, and post-production video and multimedia workflows, including crew coordination and review cycles.
Experience tracking timelines, budgets, deliverables, and changes across multiple concurrent projects.
Experience leading, supervising, or mentoring creative staff, freelancers, interns, apprentices, or other early-career team members.
Clear written and verbal communication, strong organization, sound judgment, and the ability to address problems early and constructively.
Commitment to YouthBeat’s mission and to creating supportive, high-expectation learning and work environments for Oakland youth.

Nice To Haves

Experience producing client-facing commercial, nonprofit, educational, or community media.
Experience with youth workforce development, apprenticeships, or other paid learning models.
Familiarity with production budgeting, estimates, contracts, releases, insurance requirements, and production safety practices.
Experience with project-management and production tools such as Asana, Monday.com, Frame.io, Adobe Creative Cloud, or comparable platforms.
Knowledge of Oakland and the Bay Area’s creative community and production resources.
Bilingual or multilingual skills relevant to YouthBeat’s communities.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary day-to-day contact for assigned YouthBeat PRO clients from project kickoff through final delivery.
Lead discovery and scoping conversations to understand client goals, audience, deliverables, timeline, budget, approvals, and production needs.
Translate client objectives into scopes of work, estimates, production plans, and schedules using YouthBeat’s pricing and approval guidelines.
Explain proposed creative approaches and production options to clients, confirm expectations, and document decisions, approvals, and changes.
Support presentations of scopes, estimates, and creative solutions for opportunities brought forward by YouthBeat leadership or partners.
Keep clients updated, identify risks early, respond professionally to feedback, and coordinate reviews, revisions, approvals, delivery, and project closeout.
Gather client feedback and identify opportunities to improve service and project practices.
Manage workflow across pre-production, production, post-production, and final delivery.
Build and maintain project plans, calendars, crew assignments, budgets, and deliverable trackers.
Coordinate scripts, treatments, shot lists, locations, releases, equipment, call sheets, production logistics, and other project requirements.
Lead or assign productions based on project needs, crew capacity, and learning goals, and provide hands-on production support when appropriate.
Coordinate editors, producers, freelancers, vendors, and internal staff to maintain progress and continuity across project phases.
Review work at key milestones for alignment with the approved brief, technical quality, accessibility requirements, and YouthBeat PRO standards.
Track project costs, staff and apprentice hours, change requests, and scope; communicate budget or schedule risks and recommend solutions.
Maintain organized project files, footage, releases, client approvals, and delivery records in designated systems.
Lead post-project reviews to capture lessons, client feedback, and examples of completed work where client permissions allow.
Supervise and support creative producers and project crew, establishing clear roles, expectations, and communication practices.
Plan apprentice participation to support client needs, production safety, and meaningful learning experiences.
Give apprentices assignments and preparation, explain workflows and professional standards, and provide timely feedback.
Coordinate with workforce and education staff on apprentice readiness, learning goals, attendance, performance concerns, and support needs.
Connect project assignments to apprenticeship learning goals and help apprentices develop skills for future creative employment and independent work.
Promote respectful, inclusive, safety-conscious set culture, with clear conduct expectations and appropriate adult supervision.
Contribute to hiring, onboarding, crew development, and performance feedback for YouthBeat PRO production staff in coordination with organizational leadership.
Maintain project-management practices, templates, checklists, and handoffs from initial scope through final delivery.
Monitor workload and production capacity and recommend staffing, scheduling, or workflow adjustments when demand exceeds capacity.
Provide leadership with timely, accurate information about project status, resource needs, delivery risks, and service patterns.
Support continuous improvement in client service, production quality, crew coordination, and apprentice integration into client work.
Follow YouthBeat policies and applicable requirements for contracts, insurance, releases, youth protection, workplace safety, data handling, and recordkeeping.