Senior Manager, Production Supplier Partnerships – Project Hire (Disney Entertainment Television)

The Walt Disney Company•Burbank, CA

About The Position

At Disney, we’re storytellers. We make the impossible possible. We do this through cutting-edge technology and unbridled creativity to bring stories to life through our movies, streaming content, parks, and media networks. Now is your chance to join a team that delivers unparalleled content to audiences around the world. To remain relevant in a global marketplace, it’s essential for us to have the right people and foster a culture that enables us to surprise and delight our viewers and guests, today and in the future. The Senior Manager, Production Supplier Partnerships will play a pivotal role in advancing Disney Entertainment Television’s commitment to expansive sourcing and equal opportunity for vendors on our productions. This position will serve as a subject matter expert – supporting production teams and supplier initiatives through strategic outreach, relationship building, and data-driven insights. The Senior Manager will develop and implement programs that remove barriers to ensure access to bidding opportunities on productions and align our efforts with both company values and the requirements of California’s Film & TV Tax Credit Program 4.0. Success in this role means more competitive vendor pools for our productions, robust partnerships with external organizations, and seamless collaboration with internal stakeholders to deliver results that are good for business and reflective of the stories our audiences seek. This is a long-term project hire role.

Requirements

7+ years of relevant experience in strategic sourcing/procurement, production management, or community/business outreach.
Experience within media and entertainment or a similarly fast-paced, project-based industry is strongly preferred.
Proven track record of driving expansive procurement initiatives. This could include increasing success of suppliers, or leading outreach efforts that resulted in tangible business partnerships.
Strong knowledge of the supplier landscape in entertainment or adjacent fields – understands typical production needs (equipment rentals, post-production services, crew vendors, etc.) and has insight into where businesses exist in those areas (or how to find them).
Data-savvy and analytical – able to work with procurement data, set goals, and measure outcomes. Experienced in generating insights from data analysis and comfortable defining KPIs and interpreting results for leadership. Equally adept at qualitative narrative-building to illustrate impact beyond the numbers.
Exceptional collaboration and communication skills – can influence and partner with a wide range of stakeholders, from creative executives and line producers to external organization leaders.
Strong project management skills – capable of juggling multiple projects at different stages (planning a conference event, consulting on a show’s vendor bids, updating policy documents, etc.), and delivering results on time.
Comfortable operating in a matrixed environment where success often comes through persuasion and coordination rather than direct authority.
Change agent and problem solver – not afraid to challenge the status quo in a respectful, business-minded way. Can anticipate and overcome objections (for instance, helping a team used to a familiar vendor try a new one).
Resourceful and creative in finding solutions that satisfy both inclusion goals and production requirements.

Nice To Haves

Experience in film or television production environments and understanding of production workflows, so you can credibly interface with line producers and production managers.
Familiarity with California Film & TV Tax Credit Program requirements and compliance – experience preparing workplans or similar reports is a bonus.
Strategic thinker who also enjoys “rolling up your sleeves.” This role requires both big-picture planning and hands-on execution, such as personally coordinating a vendor fair or solving a last-minute sourcing need during production.
A keen mind for business and business performance.
Deep understanding of inclusion and its business impact
A natural orientation to collaboration, entrepreneurship and decision-making
The ability to garner trust from leaders

Responsibilities

STRATEGY Develop and execute a comprehensive supplier strategy for Disney’s television productions in California. Create strategic plans and playbooks that enable each production to proactively engage a broad range of vendors. Ensure these plans are tailored to each project’s needs and timelines (no one-size-fits-all), yet scalable across a slate of productions. Align initiatives with company objectives and incentive programs (e.g., state tax credit requirements) to maximize both creative outcomes and business benefits. Support policies and practices that drive equal access to opportunity for all qualified businesses, without compromising on quality or creativity. Identify opportunities to leverage Disney’s purchasing power to deliver against the company value of inclusion, while maintaining competitive sourcing and cost efficiency. Lead the development of new programs or partnerships that strengthen the pipeline of qualified vendors (for example, mentorship programs, procurement fairs, or training workshops in collaboration with industry groups).
STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT Build and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with key internal and external stakeholders. Internally, partner closely with Production executives and line producers, Studio Sourcing/Procurement teams, Legal/Business Affairs (for contracting policies), and departments across Disney Entertainment Television (creative, production management, finance) to embed expansive procurement practices into workflows. Establish, deepen, and sustain partnerships with organizations and councils to further the company strategy. Act as a trusted point of contact for vendor community inquiries about doing business with Disney, ensuring our engagement is welcoming and transparent.
LEADERSHIP & CAPABILITY BUILDING Provide thought leadership and practical guidance to both internal teams and external partners to build capability around expansive sourcing. Influence the development of policies, standards, and procedures related to procurement, ensuring they are fair, compliant, and forward-thinking. As needed, lead or support cross-functional working groups in related initiatives on productions, to share resources and troubleshoot challenges. Develop and deliver training or toolkits for line producers and department heads on how to conduct outreach to new vendors, evaluate bids expansively, and navigate any cultural or logistical hurdles when onboarding new suppliers.
MEASUREMENT & INSIGHTS Establish clear metrics (quantitative and qualitative) to measure the impact of efforts across productions. Ensure these KPIs are aligned with the segment and company’s overall efforts, and compliant with all relevant legal guidelines Regularly analyze data and feedback from productions to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities. Generate insights and reports for leadership that tell the story behind the numbers: how our expansive sourcing initiatives are contributing to both business outcomes and community impact. Additionally, as needed, prepare the necessary documentation and narratives for any external reporting (such as tax credit assessments or public reports).

Benefits

A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.

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