Job Details
Director of Production
Director of Production
Summary
Chicago Shakespeare Theater: Reporting to the Artistic Director and Executive Director, the Director of Production serves as a member of the Theater’s senior management team and oversees all production department operations. Salary Range $130,000.00 - $150,000.00 Salary/year
Category
Production Manager
Production Services
Project Manager
Location
Greater Chicago Area
Time Period
Full Time
Posted Date
Oct 13, 2022
Start Date
N/A
End Date
N/A
Job Description
This position provides direct supervision and oversight of the following positions: Technical Director, Properties Supervisor, Costume Shop Manager, Sound Supervisor, Lighting and Video Supervisor, Production Manager, and Production Office Manager. As a member of the senior leadership team, the Director of Production works collaboratively with other organizational leaders to define and optimize strategy and direction for the theater. The Director of Production is responsible for providing innovative and human-centered leadership in the Production department and for managing the production process including long-range and season planning and scheduling; budgeting and allocating financial and staff resources; contracting employees and designers; monitoring progress of all production elements; ensuring resilient and stable run-of-show operations; and maintaining high artistic standards for all productions. They will embed the Theater’s commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility into their leadership philosophy, and center, model and champion the Theater’s core values of Service, Ingenuity, and Collaboration.
Role and Responsibilities
Project Management
Role and Responsibilities
Project Management
- Oversee the execution of all production elements to support the vision of artistic teams.
- Ensure that the resources and support available to production departments are managed to successfully and responsibly realize the artistic goals of the theater.
- Create season performance schedule models in conjunction with other departments.
- Establish and manage the production schedule; coordinate rehearsals, installs, strikes, performances, and other events on all CST stages in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders.
- Facilitate timely communication among all departments, including regular consultation with the artistic department and other department heads throughout the theater.
- Ensure creative teams receive all relevant production information, including design due dates, clearly defined parameters, and production schedules in a timely manner.
- Seek to understand the artistic goals for each project, and negotiate and coordinate achieving them within the parameters of budget and staff capacity.
Team Communication
- Facilitate timely communication and, in collaboration with the Production Manager, ensure regular design and production meetings are held with directors, designers, and production department heads.
- Collaboratively drive design process to on-time deliverables while monitoring resources, staffing, and scheduling constraints.
- Foster positive labor relations and ensure compliance with collective bargaining agreements. Participate in negotiations with IATSE contracts. Ensure that the Theater is in compliance with national collective bargaining agreements.
Operations and Administration
- Create, maintain, and monitor a variety of complex budgets that contribute to the fiscal health of the theater, including appropriate forecasting, maximizing efficiencies, and controlling costs.
- Act as a key participant in the season planning process.
- Develop and maintain annual production budgets. Oversee all production-related expenditures and establish methods of maintaining budget control.
- In collaboration with the senior management team, assist in strategic projects and analysis.
- Attend full Board and ad hoc board committees as requested.
- Direct safety programming for all Production Department operations and develop and implement systems to ensure best practices related to employee safety.
- Coordinate production facilities improvements and capital project management as needed.
- Complete other duties as assigned.
Team Leadership
- Lead, manage, and supervise Production Department heads and a department of union and non-union personnel.
- Ensure that the Theater’s commitment to IDEA is embedded in the daily practice of the Production Department, and foster a culture of respect and community among staff and guest artists.
- Recruit, engage, and retain staff members to ensure high quality realization of the Theater’s work.
- Run Production Department head meetings to ensure that communication proliferates throughout the department and that needs are being represented and responded to.
- Coach and develop staff members by monitoring employee productivity and providing constructive feedback; facilitating conflict resolution among employees; ensuring adherence to legal and organizational policies and procedures; undertaking disciplinary actions if the need arises; and completing performance evaluations.
- Maintain and approve direct report timesheets, time off requests, and other personnel records.
Senior Leadership
- Serve as a member of the senior management team and as a conduit for information between senior management and production staff.
- Develop and refine long-range staffing plans and long-range operating budget, including strategies for equipment upgrades and obsolescence planning.
- Establish positive relationships with board members and donors.
JOB QUALIFICATIONS
Traits and Characteristics
The Director of Production will be a compassionate, approachable, and inspiring leader with the ability to manage people, resources, tasks, and systems to obtain results. This individual will be a transparent, emotionally intelligent leader with professional maturity as measured by the ability to build trust, inspire action, and define strategy through strong internal and external partnerships. The Director of Production will actively seek out opportunities to collaborate with individuals and teams representing diversity across race, gender-identity, sexual orientation, religion, ability, age, class, and immigrant status. Leading with humility and a sense of humor, the Director of Production will have the capacity to coordinate multiple projects, conflicting priorities, and complex programming while establishing a culture of open communication and collaboration. This person will have the capacity to skillfully communicate in writing, and at the interpersonal and group level. As a valued member of the leadership team, they will have the professional acumen and aptitude to think strategically in support of organization-wide initiatives.
Qualifications
Traits and Characteristics
The Director of Production will be a compassionate, approachable, and inspiring leader with the ability to manage people, resources, tasks, and systems to obtain results. This individual will be a transparent, emotionally intelligent leader with professional maturity as measured by the ability to build trust, inspire action, and define strategy through strong internal and external partnerships. The Director of Production will actively seek out opportunities to collaborate with individuals and teams representing diversity across race, gender-identity, sexual orientation, religion, ability, age, class, and immigrant status. Leading with humility and a sense of humor, the Director of Production will have the capacity to coordinate multiple projects, conflicting priorities, and complex programming while establishing a culture of open communication and collaboration. This person will have the capacity to skillfully communicate in writing, and at the interpersonal and group level. As a valued member of the leadership team, they will have the professional acumen and aptitude to think strategically in support of organization-wide initiatives.
Qualifications
- At least 5 years of progressively increasing management responsibility in a complex theatrical production setting.
- Proven experience in managing production and design processes on large scale productions.
- Skilled in creative problem solving to bridge limited financial and material resources with production designs within budget and schedule.
- The ability to read and assimilate design/technical information from renderings and drawings into three-dimensional spatial relationships.
- Knowledge of AEA, AFM and IATSE collective bargaining agreements
- Aptitude to craft and oversee budgets
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word) and Google Suite, and the ability to navigate and distill information from AutoCAD drawings.
- The position requires flexible work hours and days reflective of the dynamic schedule of a theater.
Job Type
Full Time
Weekly Limit
N/A
Shift
Day, Evening
Attached Files
N/A