Job Summary:
The Production Finance Manager will play an integral role in providing context for and insight into how animated projects are budgeted, scheduled, managed, and produced. This role reports to the Director of Finance and will be directly involved in the studio’s feature and ancillary production business. This includes working with various production leadership to develop strategies, schedules, and plans regarding the production of our animated content. This role will be relied upon for sound financial guidance and judgement surrounding show plans, schedules, budgets, and forecasts. This is a highly influential role, requiring confidence and a collaborative approach, forging partnerships with associate producers, production managers, studio business partners and the studio’s executive team.

Responsibilities:

Partner with production leadership to create and manage production schedules and budgets that deliver projects on time and on budget
Partner with Associate Producer to create executive presentations illustrating production plans, areas of risk and production tracking metrics
Run production planning scenarios, analyses, and metric reporting functions as needed by the production management team
Understand and report on production progress, collaborating with production department supervisors to understand how production data is captured and how it impacts financial reporting and forecasting
Provide insights to show and studio leadership on key assumptions, levers, and risk, through thorough understanding of drivers of plan, progress against goals, and scenario and metric analysis
Identify, capture, and report on critical show metrics and KPIs
Bridge communication and analyses between show and finance team
Manage the preparation of EFC reports, cash flow forecasts, headcount projections, and production status reports
Demonstrate strong problem-solving skills and ability to effectively communicate / present analyses to show and studio leadership
Partner with Studio Finance Managers to understand key assumptions in production cash flows and headcount, and the risks and implications for the studio run-rate and support groups
Assist and advise production on financial implications of decisions and planning
Anticipate problems, adapt to changing scenarios, strategize, and recommend solutions
Communicate issues and problem-solve using critical reasoning, active listening, and knowledge of animation production processes
Oversee and guide the work and development of a Production Finance Analyst

Basic Qualifications:

5+ years of prior work experience, preferably with a media/entertainment company, consulting firm, entrepreneurial venture, or other applicable environment/role
Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills
Exceptional analytical, organizational, and forecasting skills with a strong background in Excel modeling
Capacity to thrive and grow in a creative, dynamic, results-oriented environment, and to prioritize and manage multiple projects at once
Ability to work independently and to drive projects to timely completion
Ability to balance big picture issues and detailed analyses

Preferred Qualifications:

MBA/CPA or equivalent
SAP or large scale financial system knowledge

Required Education

BS degree in Finance or Accounting or Economics

Preferred Education

MBA/CPA or equivalent