Sr Distribution Operations Manager

Job Summary:

Department/Group Overview:

On any given day at Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology, we're reimagining ways to build magical viewing experiences for the world's most beloved stories while also transforming Disney's media business for the future. Whether that's evolving our streaming and digital products in new and immersive ways, powering worldwide advertising and distribution to enhance flexibility and efficiency, or delivering Disney's unmatched entertainment and sports content, every day is a moment to make a difference to partners and to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

A few reasons why we believe you'd love working for Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology

• Building the future of Disney's media business: DE&E Technologists are building the infrastructure that will power Disney's media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.

• Reach & Scale: The products and platforms this group builds and operates delight millions of consumers every minute of every day - from Disney+ and Hulu, to ABC News and Entertainment, to ESPN and ESPN+, and much more.

• Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms and improve how audiences experience sports, entertainment & news.

Content Operations is ultimately responsible for successfully delivering Disney's entertainment and sports content to millions of people every day. This involves developing, operating, and running a global content supply chain - the myriad of steps involved from taking a finalized TV show/movie, or live piece of content, from inside Disney to audiences around the globe, in their preferred language and format. This team also handles technology operations in Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Job Summary:

The role encompasses a diverse range of responsibilities aimed at ensuring the smooth operation and optimization of schedules across multiple platforms. This includes supervising research, planning, validation, and publication activities for prominent platforms such as Disney+, Hulu, Broadcast, EST, SVOD, and others. Negotiating and providing regular updates to essential team members is a crucial aspect of this role, demanding adept problem-solving skills and a broad perspective to identify effective solutions. Furthermore, the role extends to leading functional teams or projects, serving as a valuable resource for standard processes and quality assurance while building and maintaining relationships with internal clients, particularly with Global Content Planning.

Collaboration and coordination are central to this role as the individual serves as a liaison with regional teams, fostering strong relationships with Distribution Operations and local programming teams. They take charge of projects or accounts characterized by significant resource requirements, risk factors, and complexity, including budget forecasting. Their leadership extends to driving the execution and delivery of multiple high-profile accounts, often categorized as Tier 0 clients, where effective communication of deadlines and expectations across functional teams is paramount. Moreover, they possess an interest in innovation, regularly identifying and proposing creative solutions to sophisticated problems, and communicating these to the senior executive team for consideration.

Operating across diverse territories including US/CA, EMEA, APAC, LATAM, China, and India, the individual performs extensive research across all inventories, systems, and tools used for servicing operations. They orchestrate sophisticated localization efforts for foreign language dub audio and subtitles while handling Tier 0 clients (global platforms) as well as Tier 1 clients (domestic platforms) and Tier 2 clients (local/territory platforms). Their capacity to supervise large volumes of orders weekly, exceeding 500, underscores their pivotal role in ensuring efficient content localization and servicing across various platforms and regions.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

• Handling Forecast, Planning, and Internal Client Communications

• Leading high-profile projects/orders and executive reporting

• Running performance metrics

• Handling collaborator relationship

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training:

Basic Qualifications

• Experience with handling high profile projects with minimum guidance (7+ years).

• Required Education: Bachelor's degree or from an accredited institution or equivalent experience.

• Ability to conduct sophisticated work important to the organization and contribute to measurable team and/or organizational objectives that are largely operational.

• Considered well developed and highly skilled and proficient in leading content distribution related projects with minimum guidance.

• Ability to operate optimally in ambiguity and a willingness to adjust as needed.

• Critical thinking and the ability to focus on long-term scalability and growth of the business.

• Clear written and verbal communication and proven facilitator.

• Communicates Optimally developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.

• A collaborative spirit, especially when getting things done, and a high degree of comfort communicating with executive level business partners.

• Decision Quality, ability to make good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.

• Ability to dissect workflows and make tool recommendations that lead to more efficient and effective processes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Cultivates Innovation, ability to create new and better ways for the organization to be successful.

• Familiarity with production and post-production workflows and UHD, HDR, and Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos technologies.

• Ability to question the way we do things and recommend alternative solutions that drive impact for the business.

• Comfortable using various data management systems and tools (e.g. Google and Microsoft suites, Smartsheet, Airtable, & Tableau).

• Thorough understanding of data security standard processes a plus.

• A personal affinity for the brands and franchises of The Walt Disney Company.

The hiring range for this position in Burbank, CA and Glendale, CA is $111,900 to $136,700 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. 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.