Senior Project Executive

The Walt Disney Company; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

An international entertainment leader is seeking a Senior Project Executive for the Deal Management team. This role involves supporting content sales and ensuring effective distribution strategies are followed. You will manage pre and post-sales support, maintain prompt communication with sales teams, and contribute to an efficient workflow in licensing and deal negotiations. This position requires strong commercial acumen, excellent communication skills, and a background in media distribution. The role is office-based in Hammersmith, London with a hybrid working schedule.

Benefits

25 days annual leave

Private medical insurance & dental care

Free park entry for family and friends

Disney discounts on selected products and services

Excellent parental and guardian leave

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a rights management role, preferably studio-based.
• Strong commercial understanding of marketplace changes.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Support commercial strategy and achieve revenue targets.
• Provide sales support and accurate deal information.
• Manage sales administration and post-sales processes.

Skills

Commercial acumen

Content sales knowledge

Excellent communication skills

Ability to manage client relationships

Critical thinking

Education

Minimum 5 years experience in media distribution

Financial and legal competence

Experience in international environments

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Overview

The Deal Management team exist within Disney Entertainment to support all end-to-end operational processes for TWDC Platform Distribution and sits within the Content Sales Distribution team. The role of Content Sales is to best monetise series and features content through the distribution licensing to third party platforms (primarily Broadcaster and SVOD services) while working in tandem with Disney+, Studio Theatrical and Media Networks. The Deal Management team work alongside Content Sales identifying opportunities for content licensing, navigate windowing and dates and timely entering of all deal information from negotiation stage through to the final contracted position. The Senior Project Executive, under the guidance of the Deal Management Senior Management, provides pre and post Sales support for Content Distribution line of business across all media, working to provide accurate availability and deal information to front line sales, to clients and internally as need to support other lines of business. Independently providing and supervising provision of accurate availability and deal information to frontline sales and clients (where applicable). Interpretation of deal terms, creating and maintaining territory frameworks, accurately recording deal information, and collaborating closely with team members and other departments to trigger all post-sales activities. Interpreting regional guidelines to adjust and implement holdbacks and windowing strategies as necessary at each stage of the content lifecycle on behalf of the territories. Have the ability to manage basic commercial activity with clients supervised by the Commercial team. This is an office-based role. 4 days working in the Hammersmith, London office with 1 day working from home. The Opportunity & Responsibilities: CONTENT STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

Responsibilities

• Maintain a strong understanding and knowledge of the Disney Entertainment content distribution strategy and sales priorities by market and strategies for Disney's key clients.
• Thorough and extensive knowledge of the content catalogue and timing and distribution strategy of new releases /upcoming features and series releases
• Assist Sales team in how to shape and incorporate company\'s windowing plans and for new releases, library, expiring titles into the presales process and planning.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of and adhere to company\'s platform distribution guidelines and processes - accounting, content security, finance, budgets and content licensing parameters. How these categories are to be treated in relation to D+ distribution and the Content Sales guidelines.
• Maintain a commercial understanding of changes in the marketplace and internally and anticipate the commercial needs of the business and changes may be to the process.
• Proactively ensure the availability for non-branded content ready to be presented to clients aligned with the company's content and windowing strategies - identifying options and additional commercial opportunities for the business to consider exploring.
• Commercial lead on select accounts as needed and supervised by the Commercial team.
• In partnership provide sales support to commercial team to reach Content Distribution revenue, commercial and strategic targets.
• Track sales restricted content as required by Sales Guidelines and ensure company's windowing, IP strategy content sales parameters and restrictions are strictly adhered to.
• Independently and proactively provide pre-sales support to content sales deal negotiators to optimize pitches, negotiations and deals including: providing information on programmes & product availability to Sales, other internal team members & external parties; producing targeted avails reports for clients that focus on creating commercial and franchise opportunities; producing/implementing trackers and windowing grids.
• Provide post-sales support and deal administration.

Internal and Cross-Functional Activities

• Set up and take ownership of workflow processes. Examples include but not limited to; co-ordinating and gathering data across the markets for budget and global planning purposes; lead standing calls with support teams to advise up upcoming licenses, deal requirements, deadlines and knowing when to escalate any material issues as they arise.
• Works effectively with departmental colleagues and cross-functionally with members of the Territory Cluster.
• Work with Sales colleagues and support customer relationship as in territory. Work with Sales colleagues and support customer relationship as required in territory to help sustain and develop strong relationships with established and nascent clients through appropriate levels of regular client contact.
• Adheres to defined business processes, taking opportunities to improve such processes where available.
• Drives to continually develop knowledge of the product slate, media types & the territory environment (including customers & market dynamics).
• Provide cover when for transactional deals. Duties would include but are not limited to: managing end-to-end transactional deals for the territory, including timely notification of amendments/avails to clients for all deal types, deal renewals, rights reviews, additional licensing as applicable.
• Use expertise relating to deals closed in territory, aid annual and quarterly forecasting/budget processes for Nordics, identifying missing deals, checking revenue phasing, help to manage forecasting for contractual commitments.
• Supervise the intern on all transactional new releases and reporting, ensuring they are trained to a high standard and that accurate documents are sent to clients.
• Help executives prioritise tasks to ensure territory deadlines are met and sales are sufficiently supported.

Leading Pre-Sales Coordination

• Create availability lists for Sales, manually adjusting system output to reflect current parameters and title specificities alongside specialist requirements for the territories.
• Identify outstanding client selections, Life of Series commitments and TBA availability dates, independently managing and communicating Life of Series confirmations to all clients.
• Partake in and lead fortnightly calls with tech servicing in relation to availability, alerting them to pipeline deals and upcoming releases to ensure timely materials delivery, addressing and/or escalating to sales any materials issues as they arise.
• Together with Sales, co-host clients at meetings and screenings where appropriate, building a strong client relationship both online and in person., Provides accurate updates of new clients and new deals and existing deal amendments into the rights management systems and liaising with legal.
• Participate in UAT process for new systems and enhancements. Feedback to project stakeholders with their findings working to tight deadlines and contributing to the problem solving process.
• Deal Administration: Manage windowing across multiple medias or territories, managing split and shared (multi-client) windowing in territory. Inputting deals as required into the relevant system(s), based on information supplied by Sales and/or Legal. Working with Sales team members to gather information about deals, accurately interpreting the information recording details of the deal in the system
• Liaising with tech servicing in relation to availability of dub/sub tracks and materials that meet Client technical specification
• Identify outstanding selections and ensure client licensing obligations are met
• Record any amendments in the systems for accurate up to date data is shared on the integrated systems across internal teams.
• Timely notification of amendments/avails to clients as contractually required
• Upkeep of all data for transactional deals (i.e., rate card, pricing levels, age ratings (where applicable), client specific data)

Stakeholder Management

• Support Commercial Executives - accurate rights information to ensure commercial and strategic targets are achieved.
• Conduit to Support Functions - reliable timely and accurate communicator for example to finance, legal, tech, and to the appropriate level of detail internally to lines of business such as Disney + programmers and other commercial activity.
• Ensure that processes are adhered to for legal, commercial and auditing purposes e.g. tracking MERFS, Residuals, consultation approvals etc, Reports directly to Deal Management with accountability to Commercial Sales Executive responsible for the market. Building and maintaining active partnership relationship with Sales team and working to commercial success of the Platform Distribution is critical. Relationships with sales support functions essential to be successful in the position. Ability to work responsibly, with foresight and agency at a professional level.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in the media industry in distribution / rights management role (preferably studio based)
• Knowledge of content sales media landscape ideally across Nordics and UK.
• Experience of working with broad and high-volume content portfolio, both library and evolving slate
• Experience using multiple databases and business intelligence rights management systems
• Ability to work in cross functional matrix organisation including stakeholders in legal, finance, IT, technical servicing and sales
• Financial, legal and technical competence in addition to strong commercial acumen.
• Proactively engage in supporting commercial activity
• Ability to apply critical thinking
• Team player who is willing and able to assist colleagues during busy periods.
• Excellent level Word and Excel, Powerpoint useful Outlook/internet skills
• Proactive and flexible approach with ability to react quickly
• Ability to work in a pressurized environment
• Ability to multi-task and prioritise their own workload and of others
• Ability to anticipate requirements and act accordingly
• Calm and organized
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Being problem solving/solutions oriented
• Diplomacy and tact when liaising between parties with differing viewpoints and conflicting goals
• Budgeting and forecasting experience useful
• Appreciation and adhering to confidentiality internally between business units and externally with clients
• Resilience and adaptability to new systems and evolving business priorities
• Experience of working in an international environment, preferably Broadcast and SVOD distribution
• Knowledge of media rights licensing, preferred in content distribution
• Knowledge and appreciation of Content Distribution deal structures
• Ability to quickly pick up detailed product information knowledge
• An understanding of Availability Lists would be beneficial
• Excellent communications skills, both verbal and written
• Experience in timely maintaining ongoing reports (including manual) and their distribution as
• Strong IT skills/database experience in order create Deal Profile Summary Production
• 25 days annual leave
• Private medical insurance & dental care
• Free Park Entry: You will have the opportunity to enter any of our parks with your family and friends for free
• Disney Discounts: you are entitled to discounts on designated Disney products, resort F&B and ticketing
• Excellent parental and guardian leave
• Employee Resource Groups - WOMEN @ Disney, Disney DIVERSITY, Disney PRIDE, ENABLED, and our Mental Health & Wellbeing Group, TRUST.

EEO Notice

The Walt Disney Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strive to be a diverse workforce that is representative of our audiences, and where all can thrive and belong. Disney is committed to forming a team that includes and respects a variety of voices, identities, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.