Associate Vice President (AVP) of System Operations

Distro; Burbank (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401(k) Plan

Paid Time Off

Job summary

Distro in Burbank, CA seeks an Associate Vice President of System Operations to lead the entertainment payroll and workforce platforms, ensuring reliability, testing, and SOP governance. You will manage a team of Support Specialists and System Experts, aligning with executives and driving compliance and operational excellence.

Responsibilities include scalable service models, front‑line support, incident escalation, UAT and production readiness, and cross‑functional collaboration with

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field and 5+ years in system operations or payroll tech.
• Experience leading managers and multi‑tiered support teams in a high‑volume environment.
• Proven ability to develop SOPs, perform audits, and ensure production readiness.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive oversight for entertainment system operations and support.
• Establish scalable service models aligned with production schedules and episodic employment cycles.
• Define priorities, SLAs, and metrics to ensure compliant, reliable operations.
• Oversee system testing, UAT, regression testing, and rollout readiness.
• Lead cross‑functional collaboration with Technology, Product, Compliance, Legal, and Client Services.

Skills

Leadership

System Operations

Payroll Systems

Incident Management

Training & SOPs

Education

Bachelor’s degree or higher

Tools

HRIS

Payroll Software

Job description

Position Summary

The Associate Vice President (AVP) of System Operations provides oversees systems, support, and operational infrastructure serving entertainment industry clients within a PEO environment. This role leads teams of Support Specialists and System Experts, ensuring stable system performance, effective troubleshooting, rigorous system testing, standardized operating procedures, and comprehensive training that support complex entertainment payroll and workforce needs.

The AVP partners closely with executive leadership, technology, compliance, client services, and external vendors to drive operational excellence, mitigate risk, and support growth across entertainment verticals.

Compensation

The compensation for this role is $80k-$90k USD.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Provide executive oversight for entertainment system operations, including system support, issue resolution, testing, documentation, and training functions. Establish scalable service and support models that align with production schedules, touring demands, and episodic employment cycles. Define operational priorities, service levels, and performance metrics to ensure reliable, accurate, and compliant system operations. Ensure teams are structured to provide timely front‑line support, advanced troubleshooting, and system expertise for high‑volume, time‑sensitive entertainment clients. Oversee day‑to‑day and escalated system support for payroll, timekeeping, onboarding, and workforce management platforms. Act as an escalation point for critical, high‑impact, or client‑sensitive system incidents. Ensure comprehensive system testing strategies are in place, including user acceptance testing (UAT), regression testing, and productio.n readiness validation. Partner with Technology and Product teams to validate functionality against entertainment‑specific operational requirements. Oversee the creation, maintenance, and governance of standard operating procedures (SOPs) related to system support, payroll processing, exception handling, and compliance workflows. Ensure documentation is clear, current, and standardized across entertainment clients and operational teams. Ensure system support, testing, and operational processes comply with labor regulations, union/guild requirements, and PEO standards. Partner with Compliance, and Internal Audit teams to reduce operational risk and support audits or regulatory reviews. Identifies training needs and ensures proper training is developed and provided. Oversees the daily workflow of the department.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Deep knowledge of entertainment industry workforce and payroll operations, including film, television, live events, touring, and episodic employment models. Strong understanding of PEO operating models, co‑employment structures, and regulatory responsibilities. Expertise in enterprise payroll, timekeeping, onboarding, and workforce management systems, including system integrations and data flows. Working knowledge of union and guild agreements, complex pay structures, fringes, residuals, and multi‑jurisdictional labor requirements. Knowledge of system support operations, incident management frameworks, testing methodologies (UAT, regression), and release readiness practices. Advanced problem‑solving and troubleshooting leadership skills, with the ability to assess root causes and drive long‑term solutions. Strong system testing and validation leadership, ensuring operational requirements are met prior to production releases. Excellent process design and SOP development skills, with an emphasis on standardization, efficiency, and compliance. Strong cross‑functional collaboration skills, partnering effectively with Technology, Product, Compliance, Legal, Client Services, and Sales teams. Ability to anticipate operational risks related to system changes, compliance requirements, or workforce scale and proactively mitigate them.

Ability to translate business and client needs into system, support, and process requirements. Ability to lead through change, including system upgrades, regulatory shifts, and organizational growth. Education & Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Information Systems, Human Resources, or a related field required; or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience. Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in system operations, payroll operations, HR technology, or workforce support within a complex, high‑volume environment. 5+ years of senior leadership experience managing managers, system experts, and/or support specialists across multi‑tiered support or operational teams. Demonstrated experience supporting enterprise payroll, workforce management, timekeeping, or HRIS platforms, including system support, troubleshooting, testing, and production readiness. Proven experience leading system support functions, including incident management, root‑cause analysis, escalation handling, and service level management. Strong background in system testing and operational readiness, including UAT coordination, regression testing, and validation of system changes prior to release

Experience developing and maintaining standard operating procedures (SOPs), process documentation, and audit‑ready workflows. Experience working with or supporting entertainment industry clients (film, television, live events, touring, or production environments) highly preferred. Prior experience within a PEO, payroll service provider, or outsourced HR services organization a plus.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

Frequently required to sit; occasionally required to stand and walk. Specific vision abilities required include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus. Frequently required to talk and hear. Moderate concentration/intensity, which includes prolonged mental effort. Average memory, taking into consideration the amount and type of information. Noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Benefits

• Health Insurance: Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Retirement Plan: 401(k) with company match
• Paid Time Off: PTO, Holidays, Parental leave and Sick Leave provided as required by applicable state law
• Other Benefits: Life insurance, short term disability, long term disability, employee assistance program (EAP), flexible spending account (FSA), health savings account (HSA), Identity theft protection, critical illness, accident, cancer, hospital protection, legal and pet insurance
• Additional Compensation: [e.g., signing bonus, commission structure] if applicable