AI Creative Production Lead

IMI; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 420,000 - 640,000; Full time

Job summary

IMI is seeking an Operating Lead to run CLIENT's AI Creative Hub, an in-house, AI-augmented production unit. You will own output, people, pipeline, and costs, combining studio head, producer, and transfer owner roles. Ensure provenance, AI disclosure, and brand compliance across all assets.

You will lead a team, coordinate with Marketing and Governance, and drive on-time delivery while controlling costs and ensuring transfer readiness within a 12-month Build–Operate–Transfer program.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in broadcast, agency or brand content production, including 5+ years leading a production or studio team.
• Recent delivery of AI-generated or AI-assisted content to broadcast or client standard with a full cut.
• Dual capability: authored creative direction and hands-on production management on the same project.
• Experience setting up a new studio or in-house agency with transfer outcomes.
• Deep working knowledge of generative image, video and voice platforms and model routing.
• Advanced skills in Premiere Pro, After Effects and DaVinci Resolve; familiarity with Frame.io and project tracking tools.

Responsibilities

• Convert briefs into treatments, scripts, boards and production plans.
• Set creative standards across brand content and approve concepts and masters.
• Own delivery calendar, shot tracker and review cycle; maintain single truth of status and approvals.
• Set generation budget per project and escalate before overrun.
• Flag scope creep and convert into costed changes.
• Run end-to-end pipeline: intake → brief → generation → QA → delivery → archive.
• Apply model-routing standards and evaluate new tools in R&D slots.
• Collaborate with AI Systems Developer to automate steps and maintain SOPs.

Skills

Leadership

Production management

AI content production

Budget management

Stakeholder management

English fluency

Brand governance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Film/Media

Tools

Premiere Pro

After Effects

DaVinci Resolve

Frame.io

Airtable

Job description

IMI is a privately owned global media group that aims to bring the world closer by sharing stories that open minds, connect people and enrich lives, empowering audiences through trusted journalism, knowledge and factual entertainment.

IMI is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with operations across 15 countries. Our portfolio includes leading media brands such as Sky News Arabia, The National, Al-Ain News and CNN Business Arabic, in addition to our training arm, IMI Media Academy.

Our investments span some of the world's leading media, entertainment and live experiences businesses. Through RedBird IMI, our joint venture with RedBird Capital Partners, we invest in companies including Banijay Entertainment, the world's largest independent content production and distribution company, EverWonder Studio, Media Res Studios, Front Office Sports, BrightNorth Studios and Hidden Pigeon Company.

Other IMI Ventures include a minority stake in Euronews, as well as a stake in MARI, a live events and experiences company established with Ari Emanuel to develop and produce premium events for global audiences.

Together, IMI's operating businesses and investment portfolio reach audiences across news, entertainment, sport and live experiences worldwide.

Role Summary

The Operating Lead runs CLIENT's AI Creative Hub: an in-house, AI-augmented production unit that produces brand and marketing content for CLIENT from approved briefs and cleared brand assets. The Hub is stood up under a 12-month Build–Operate–Transfer programme, with IMI providing architecture, workflows and governance, and CLIENT employing the team from day one.

The role is the single accountable owner of the Hub's output, people, pipeline and cost. It combines three mandates: studio head (quality, throughput, team), producer and transfer owner (absorbing IMI's operating model so CLIENT runs the Hub autonomously by M12).

The Lead holds the human quality gate before CLIENT's brand-compliance approval, enforces provenance and AI-disclosure standards for sovereign-linked publication, and is measured on on-time delivery, cost per finished asset, cost avoided against external agency spend, and transfer readiness.

Key Responsibilities

Creative & Production Ownership

• Convert CLIENT Marketing briefs into treatments, scripts, boards and production plans before any generation begins.
• Set and hold creative standards across brand films, campaign assets, social, event and corporate content; approve concepts, cuts and masters.
• Own the delivery calendar, shot tracker and review cycle; keep a single source of truth on status, version and approval state.
• Set the generation budget per project (credits, render hours, retake allowance) and **escalate** before overrun, not after.
• Flag scope creep at intake and convert it into a costed change.
• Run the pipeline end to end: intake → brief → reference and prompt build → generation → post → human QA gate → CLIENT brand approval → delivery and archive.
• Apply the model-routing standard per shot type rather than defaulting to one platform; evaluate new tools only inside sanctioned R&D slots.
• Work with the AI Systems Developer to automate repeated steps, maintain the prompt and reference library, and keep the SOP set current from live production.

Governance, Rights & Responsible AI

• Act as the human quality gate: no AI-generated output leaves the Hub without authored review and sign-off.
• Enforce CLIENT brand, editorial and data-classification rules; no operational, HSE, commercially sensitive or personal data enters generative platforms.
• Apply C2PA provenance and the agreed AI-disclosure wording; keep records so any delivered frame traces to its model, prompt and reference.

People, Stakeholders & Value

• Lead, task and develop the team; set objectives, run reviews, manage contractor and remote contributors within their access limits.
• Act as the Hub's interface with CLIENT Marketing, Group Communications, brand governance, IT/security and procurement.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the line manager.

Key Requirements

• 12+ years in broadcast, agency or brand content production, including 5+ years leading a production or studio team.
• Recent, demonstrable delivery of AI-generated or AI-assisted content to broadcast or client standard, with a portfolio showing continuity across a full cut, not isolated hero shots.
• Proven dual capability: authored creative direction and hands‑on production management (schedule, budget, tracker, delivery) on the same project.
• Experience setting up a new studio, unit or in‑house agency, ideally with a defined handover or transfer outcome.
• Deep working command of current generative image, video and voice platforms (e.g. Midjourney, Veo, Runway, Kling, Higgsfield, ElevenLabs) and of model routing, reference‑driven consistency and post‑based rescue.
• Advanced working knowledge of Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, DaVinci Resolve Studio, and review platforms such as Frame.io; shot tracking in Airtable, Notion or Wrike.
• Experience managing production budgets and reporting unit economics such as cost per finished asset or cost avoided.
• Working knowledge of AI governance: copyright, likeness and voice rights, platform commercial‑use terms, content provenance (C2PA) and data classification.
• Experience working within enterprise governance: brand compliance, procurement, IT security review and data residency.
• Senior stakeholder management in a large corporate, energy, government or sovereign‑linked organisation.
• Fluent English essential; Arabic a strong advantage.
• Bachelor's degree in Film, Media Production, Digital Arts, Communications or a related field; an exceptional professional portfolio may be considered in lieu.