Managing Producer, Media Studio - REI

**Overview** This job contributes to REI's success by managing a team of producers, plus independent contractors including producers, photographers, art directors, stylists, assistant stylists, and models. This position collaborates with Creative, Operations, Project Management and other internal stakeholders to guide, interpret and execute REI's creative vision. The Managing Producer leads the location producer team while embodying REI's guiding values, establishing work priorities, fostering team culture, using business knowledge, innovative thinking, and sound judgment in solving challenges or opportunities. This position is a primary liaison between the REI creative marketing and project management team and Media Studio team, assesses upcoming project volume, assigns producers, manages resources and drives schedules and logistics for media projects. This position cultivates a culture of creative problem solving, and consistently looks for ways to optimize the co-op's investments in content. The Managing Producer leads production for all campaign and location shoots, still and video, serves as a liaison and resource between REI and freelance crew, talent, production companies, agencies, negotiating the talent/crew contracts and image usage to REI's approved guidelines. This role develops and maintains partnerships in the industry with an eye on opportunities to innovate both quality and quantity of content. This position verifies, manages, processes, and documents all expenditures associated with each campaign shoot, adjusting budgets as necessary to accommodate required creative vision. This position also is responsible for the video and photography production schedules and meeting image delivery deadlines for each project. Models and acts in accordance with REI's guiding values and mission and embodies the co-op way. **Leading the Way** + Identifies and communicates key responsibilities and practices to ensure the organization promotes a successful attitude, confidence in leadership, and teamwork to achieve business results. + Supports the implementation of company programs, procedures, methods and practices to promote REI key messages. + Leads the team to operate as one cohesive and supportive unit no-matter the shoot location, place or production type (photo, video, in-studio or location) + Challenges and inspires employees to achieve business results. + Ensures employees adhere to legal and operational compliance requirements. + Oversees sourcing, hiring, onboarding, training and development of a diverse set of employees and contractors directly and indirectly managed and makes effective staffing decisions and recommendations. + Conducts and ensures the completion of performance reviews. + Provides coaching, direction and leadership support to employees in order to achieve department, company and member results. + Establishes and maintains visibility within the department and helps to promote media studio achievements. + Monitors operational statistics, reports trends, variances, and issues, and takes appropriate action. + Stays abreast of industry trends and practices and works to continuously evolve our ways of working and expand opportunities for the co-op and keeps the creative and production teams updated and inspired by sharing the latest trends in practices and technology. **Your Planning & Navigating Requirements** + Proactively creates and maintains timelines, budgets and quarterly forecasts for all production activities. + Partners closely with the Brand Lab creative team, Project Management, Marketing Partners, Co-Op Brands and Merchandising to understand strategy, business goals, visual content needs and timelines, as well as creating a feedback loop to ensure studio teams are always delivering their best work for the business. + Provides oversight of the day-to-day work, both in-studio and on-location from concept to completion, ensuring the work is on brand and that production teams are able to surprise and delight partners with creative executions that lead to more content for the investment. + Communicates brand strategy and seasonal campaign concept to staff and independent contractors for media production to support marketing initiatives. Partners with creative teams to develop photo and video guidelines as needed for production crews to execute upon. + Collaborates with marketing and creative team to ensure that all media meets the creative vision, using resourcefulness to bring it to fruition, on time and within budget. + Works closely with the production team, on short- and long-term seasonal planning while creating a supportive and collaborative work spirit and culture where the team can thrive and achieve goals. + Works cross-divisionally (Social Media, Public Relations, HR, REI Gear & Apparel, Online, REI Adventures, etc.) on project and process strategies and creates a feedback loop for partners. + Manage, mentor and lead a team of producers and builds capacity of individuals and teams through effective employee development, involvement, communication and supervision efforts. + Effectively manage a team of internal producers, holding regular 1:1's with your reports, providing feedback and helping them develop both their soft skills and tactical skillset, guiding them in their career development and advocating for their needs. + Produces, executes and manages personally or delegates to production team for location shoots, internationally and domestically for REI. + Anticipates, embraces, and responds appropriately to unanticipated changes before, during or after a shoot. + Serves as day-to-day point of contact for vendor and internal staff for information relating to production and planning. + Enables producer team to successfully cast and hire models, athletes and members for specified assignments, matching each to their skilled sport, for both studio or on-location photo shoots. Provides input and options to creative for talent and manages and maintains a database of talent, crew and locations for creative partners to select from. + Negotiates contracts for locations, talent, hotels, etc. for each photo and video shoot and works with the legal team to generate vendor agreements. + Develops, interprets, manages and communicates budget, schedule, and key project metrics to photo team and Art Director and Sr. Manager, Media Studio. + Documents all expenditures to ensure accurate reconciliation, documenting estimates vs. actuals and tracking performance of spend. + Resources, maintains, and supports freelance talent pool, including photographers, stylists, art directors, models and assistants for use in photo and video shoots that are able to support multiple production types both in-studio and on location. + Assists in the planning and management of REI's annual production budgets and balancing of the monthly general ledger, ensures all invoices are submitted and paid in a timely manner, prepares bid packages and reports estimates and actuals to leadership and partners as necessary. + Shares information proactively. develops feedback opportunities and finds opportunities to collaborate successfully with partners in marketing and across divisions, as the studio's internal customers and clients. + Partners with MarTech team and IT partners to advance tools and systems to support and streamline production work. + Updates and maintains in-studio and location shoot information and timing in REI internal systems and provides visibility to partners as needed. **Responsibilities and Qualifications** + 8+ years of experience of producing media shoots both on location and studio production + 5+ years of experience in a position demonstrating skill and capability in project and process management in a retail or advertising media studio environment. + Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience in advertising, marketing, media production or related field preferred. + Proven ability to meet the creative and logistical challenges of planning and producing extended location shoots for both stills and video + Proven ability to manage and supervise media production crews on location and in-studio, maintaining positive team collaboration throughout. + Experience in creating and managing large media production budgets with success in adhering to them. + Ability to provide valuable input to the creative team on location and talent resources for consideration for future shoots. + Ability to multi-task in the face of tight deadlines, and stay aware of important details. + Strong seasoned negotiating skills. + Excellent planning, organizational, and communication skills. + Willingness to travel and work flexible schedules to meet deadlines. + Actively participates and collaborates with others on one's own team and across REI for the achievement of business goals. + Flexible in one's viewpoints and positions to support the direction taken by others at REI. + Creates a strong, mutually supportive work spirit and culture where people can do their best. + Builds capacity of individuals and teams through effective employee development, involvement, communication, and supervision efforts. + Establishes trust and inspires others. + Makes effective organization and people decisions in a manner consistent with REI's values and ethics. + Delivers on commitments and holds others to same. + Uses business knowledge, innovative thinking, and sound judgment in the solution of problems or the pursuit of business opportunities. + Fosters change in company direction. + Works smart by setting effective work goals, establishing priorities, and planning well in order to produce quality work. + Executes effectively by using resources efficiently, meeting deadlines, and keeping others informed of work plans and progress toward goals. + Builds rapport with collaborators inside and outside the organization. + Acts upon opportunities and involves and influences others in the accomplishment of worthwhile organizational goals. + Challenges the status quo, champions change and influences others to change. + Willing and able to be in the Sumner, WA studio as needed. **Closing** **At REI, we believe the outdoors is for all.** We are committed to becoming a fully inclusive, anti-racist, multicultural organization. We know that there's strength in our diversity - that each employee brings unique skills, experiences, and perspectives. Every day you are driving change, fostering a culture of respect, and knowing you're backed by benefits that support your whole life. To work towards this commitment and fulfill our brand promise of inspiring and enabling a life outside for everyone, we seek employees who demonstrate different ways of working, create a sense of belonging, and actively listen and learn. **Pay Transparency** We are committed to practices that promote pay equity and transparency. As required by applicable Pay Transparency laws, REI provides a range of compensation for roles that may be hired in locations under these requirements. Factors that may be used to determine your actual salary may include a wide array of factors, including: your specific skills and experience, geographic location or other relevant factors. REI offers all regular employees a generous employee discount, access to health benefits, a retirement savings plan and accrued time off. Click here (https://foryourbenefit-rei.com/) for a detailed overview of benefits plans by employee profile. **Pay Range** $96,400.00 - $154,300.00 per year