Director, Awards Strategy & Industry Visibility

Lionsgate; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Vision, and Dental

Work/Life Balance

401(k) company matching

Job summary

Lionsgate in Santa Monica, CA seeks a Director of Communications & Awards to lead awards campaigns for the Motion Picture Group, elevating brand visibility and trade communications across the studio slate.

Reporting to the VP of Communications, you will shape strategy, cultivate relationships with guilds and media, manage budgets, timelines, and executive materials, and collaborate across publicity, marketing and events teams.

Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of experience in communications, public relations, awards strategy, with demonstrated experience in film awards campaigns; studio experience preferred.
• 6–7+ years of experience in corporate communications within the entertainment industry preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong strategic instincts, editorial judgment, and corporate communications acumen required.
• Deep familiarity with the awards ecosystem, including guilds, voting bodies, critics groups, and awards organizations.
• Established relationships across trade media, awards pundits, guild offices, and industry tastemakers strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Drive the development and execution of awards strategies and trade communications initiatives for Lionsgate Motion Picture Group titles across the awards season and on a year-round basis.
• Shape and amplify the overall MPG brand strategy and positioning in the press and industry, in collaboration with senior communications and publicity executives.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with trade media, awards pundits, guild organizations, awards consultants, strategists, critics groups, and key industry tastemakers.
• Drive awards visibility and industry conversation for Lionsgate titles through strategic trade coverage, predictions, roundups, screenings, panels, and industry engagement opportunities.
• Identify and secure strategic opportunities to elevate Lionsgate films, filmmakers, and executives within awards, entertainment, and broader industry conversations.
• Secure high-profile industry opportunities including awards-related roundtables, panels, conferences, screenings, festivals, and speaking engagements.
• Field inquiries and proactively generate coverage in the trade and entertainment media surrounding upcoming projects, studio initiatives, and awards-related campaigns.
• Partner closely with publicity, marketing, and communications teams to align awards strategy, messaging, and campaign execution.
• Collaborate with communications team on announcements, industry issues, leaks, and potential crisis-related matters as needed.
• Draft talking points and executive materials for panels, conferences, presentations, speaking engagements, and industry-facing opportunities.
• Write and develop communications materials including press releases, executive bios, acquisition announcements, and transactional communications.
• Foster and maintain ongoing relationships with guilds, societies, awards organizations, and industry partners to drive campaign visibility, screenings, invitations, and broader awards-related engagement initiatives.
• Develop and manage strategic, targeted awards budgets for titles to ensure spend is efficiently allocated and precisely directed toward high-impact campaign opportunities.
• Drive the execution and management of awards campaign timelines and operational workflows across internal teams, consultants, guilds, agencies, and external stakeholders.
• Oversee overall awards calendar, submissions and eligibility processes across guilds, AMPAS, Golden Globes, critics groups, and awards organizations generally, ensuring deadlines and requirements are managed effectively.
• Manage awards consultants and related campaign budgets in partnership with the VP of Communications and publicity team leads.
• Partner with Marketing and creative teams on awards-related materials including screeners, invitations, mailers, script books, scores, and campaign collateral.
• Oversee the creation, production, and distribution of awards materials and campaign assets to guilds, critics groups, and industry stakeholders.
• Track awards landscape developments, competitor campaigns, industry sentiment, critics awards, guild recognition, and evolving awards-season dynamics to inform campaign strategy and positioning.
• Maintain awards-related historical data, campaign results, and competitive industry analysis for Lionsgate titles and the broader marketplace.
• Partner on executive visibility strategy and participation in key industry and awards-related events, such as screenings, receptions, panels and festivals, including working with events team on tables / tickets

Skills

Awards strategy

Media relations

Strategic communications

Editorial judgment

Stakeholder collaboration

Campaign leadership

Industry fluency

Relationship building

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Studio/Entertainment industry experience

Job description

Lionsgate in Santa Monica, CA seeks a Director of Communications & Awards to lead awards campaigns for the Motion Picture Group, elevating brand visibility and trade communications across the studio slate.

Reporting to the VP of Communications, you will shape strategy, cultivate relationships with guilds and media, manage budgets, timelines, and executive materials, and collaborate across publicity, marketing and events teams.