Production Technology Support Manager

Company Description

VERSANT (Nasdaq: VSNT) is an industry-changing media and entertainment business and home to trusted brands that shape culture, inform audiences, and build lasting connections. It operates across four core markets: political news and opinion, business news and personal finance, golf, and sports and genre entertainment. These markets are served through a powerful portfolio of iconic and innovative brands, including CNBC, MS NOW, USA Network, Golf Channel, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Versant's sports division USA Sports, along with complementary digital assets including Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and GolfPass.

Job Description

Versant Media is looking for a talented individual to become the Manager of Production Engineering Support for Versant Media Operations and Technology (O&T) based in Washington DC. Versant O&T supports Enterprise Technology, Broadcast, and Production systems across Versant Media Globally.

The Manager of Production Engineering Support balances day-to-day operations, such as management of a dynamic team providing best-in-class live television production support for Versant, with forward-looking planning and execution around live television production technology strategy, process methodology, architecture, and collaboration with cross-functional business teams and partners. This position will have direct management of the Washington DC based teams supporting live television production control rooms, studios and related equipment for all Versant Properites.

Responsibilities

Team Leadership

• Build and maintain a strong support engineering team.
• Maintain team schedules that allow for optimal facility and production coverage including meeting project deadlines and major events.
• Maintain group documentation including but not limited to task tracking, reoccurring maintenance schedules, and upcoming event calendars.
• Maintain reoccurring training and knowledge share resources keeping the team up to date
• Provide regular employee feedback and performance reviews.
• Develop partnerships across Versant Engineering teams with cross-facility support and engagement.
• Maintain clear communication with leadership on all issues and task the engineering team is actively working on.
• Maintain inventory supply levels to prevent team slowdowns that lead to on-air impacts, must have previous experience with inventory management using a database/automation to track supply levels.
• Develop and maintain standard disaster recovery procedures and drills across various situations.

Television Production Technology Support and Maintenance

• Assume responsibility for the technical performance of Studios, Control Rooms and associated systems for the Versant Washington DC production facility, including:
  • Provide around-the-clock technical support and maintain a complex broadcast production environment consisting of multiple studios and production control rooms.
  • Track and resolve on/off air reliability tickets as well as communicate with leadership on the status.
  • Consistently track and maintain JIRA support instance.
  • Monitor and oversee operational readiness of current facilities, maintaining in-depth understanding of all relevant technical systems.
  • Coordinate the activities of teams involved in the maintenance, support, deployment, and configuration of broadcast equipment.
  • Attend project meetings to ensure the support teams are engaged and proper resources are assigned to the project life cycle.

Desired Characteristics

Collaboration and Technical Communication

• Strong customer service, organization, documentation and professionalism.
• Close collaboration with both clients at the local facilities and peers across O&T
• Strong written and verbal communication, as well as presentation skills for both technical and non-technical audiences.

Proven Leadership Skills

• Ability to provide clear, decisive direction while being prepared to pivot or change course when appropriate.
• Be the leader that your team is excited to follow, both through regular and planned activities, but also when plans change unexpectedly due to outside influence
• Demonstrate a high tolerance for stress, work well with others, and provide a supportive attitude for all colleagues.

Technology Expertise and Ownership

• Demonstrate a high level of expertise with a broad range of technologies, including television production, transmission, wireless audio, intercom, and similar technologies, as well as automation/development and monitoring tools.
• Must have high level of experience with Jira service management software and its processes with the ability to manage day to day and create new features with in
• Must be proficient in broadcasting IP space and have strong background in production environments.
• Have an excitement to grow with the industry, adapting to new technologies as they develop
• Demonstrate a dedication to building and maintaining a stable, high-performance technical environment.

Qualifications

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Film Production, Broadcasting, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related fields, or equivalent work experience.
• 5+ years of recent experience supporting live, television production environments.
• 2+ years of management or supervisory experience, including providing performance feedback.
• Must be willing to work evenings, overnights, weekends, holidays with little or/no notice depending on production schedules.
• Must be available after-hours for team escalations at all times.

Additional Requirements: 

• Onsite: This position has been designated as onsite, contributing from the office five days per week.

This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other discounts and perks. Learn more about the benefits offered by NBCUniversal by visiting the Benefits page of the Careers website. Base salary range: $140,000 to $160,000 (bonus eligible) 

We are accepting applications for this position on an ongoing basis. 

Additional Information

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with a VERSANT Media employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. VERSANT Media's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to candidateaccessibility@versantmedia.com.

VERSANT Media is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. We include a good faith pay range for each position to comply with applicable state and local pay transparency laws and to promote equity across our organization. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, experience, and location and may include additional forms of compensation and benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, etc.

VERSANT Media is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at VERSANT via-email, the Internet, or in any form and/or method without a valid written Statement of Work in place for this position from VERSANT's Talent Acquisition team will be deemed the sole property of VERSANT. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by VERSANT as a result of the referral or through other means.