Director, Production - Chicago/Virtual

Direct Travel; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Direct Travel in Chicago is seeking a Director of Production Services to lead a team of Creative Group production staff and contractors, driving scalable infrastructure and strong cross-functional collaboration to boost department performance.

You will recruit, coach and retain top talent, build training programs, optimize processes and tooling, and partner with leadership and Business Development to deliver profitable, high‑quality client solutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead, maintain and grow a high-performing and cohesive team.
• In partnership with leadership, develop scalable foundation of systems, tools, processes and technology to further establish production as a core competency within the organization.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to optimize the performance of the production department focusing on driving efficiency, collaboration, consistency, profitability, and service excellence.
• Manage and coach team members for professional development; identify and enable educational opportunities aligned with individual career objectives.
• Attract, interview, hire, train, and retain the best team.
• Develop training curriculum to create consistency and to meet the success pathing and competency benchmark requirements for each role.
• Build and oversee a diverse bench of freelance talent, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, and aligning them with projects and organizational need.
• Measure, assess and regularly analyze overall team performance, initiating any actions needed to close gaps and addressing opportunities for improvement.
• Participate on the Organizational Leadership Council (OLC) to represent the production department internally.
• Create a culture of psychological safety by welcoming feedback, navigating difficult conversations and conflict when necessary.
• Develop and deliver timely and fair performance reviews to direct staff, ensuring employee development and goal optimization.
• Discipline and terminate, if needed, with the approval of the appropriate Senior Leadership Team member, and President.

Job description

The Director of Production Services leads a team of Creative Group production employees and contractors and is responsible for the overall business performance of the department through scalable infrastructure development, team optimization, cross-functional collaboration and sales strategies.

Development of Scalable Department and High-performing Team.

• Lead, maintain and grow a high-performing and cohesive team.
• In partnership with leadership, develop scalable foundation of systems, tools, processes and technology to further establish production as a core competency within the organization.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to optimize the performance of the production department focusing on driving efficiency, collaboration, consistency, profitability, and service excellence.
• Manage and coach team members for professional development; identify and enable educational opportunities aligned with individual career objectives.
• Attract, interview, hire, train, and retain the best team.
• Develop training curriculum to create consistency and to meet the success pathing and competency benchmark requirements for each role.
• Build and oversee a diverse bench of freelance talent, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, and aligning them with projects and organizational need.
• Measure, assess and regularly analyze overall team performance, initiating any actions needed to close gaps and addressing opportunities for improvement.
• Participate on the Organizational Leadership Council (OLC) to represent the production department internally.
• Create a culture of psychological safety by welcoming feedback, navigating difficult conversations and conflict when necessary.
• Develop and deliver timely and fair performance reviews to direct staff, ensuring employee development and goal optimization.
• Discipline and terminate, if needed, with the approval of the appropriate Senior Leadership Team member, and President.

Client Engagement, Revenue Growth, Strategy, and Reporting

• In partnership with Business Development, help enable year-over-year revenue growth by analyzing market trends, customer feedback and voice-of-the client, and competitor activities to inform investment, pricing strategies and go to market positioning.
• Provides market data and analysis to continually improve growth and profitability in alignment with the company’s annual strategic goals; leverages data and analytics to help drive insights.
• Develop accurate sales forecasts, analyze sales data, and prepare regular sales reports. Provide insights and recommendations based on data analysis to drive sales growth and improve profitability.
• Works closely with and supports the Business Development team in selling profitable integrated agency solutions to current and potential clients.
• Works closely with the Director, Strategic Initiatives to negotiate and review supplier contracts and addendums for accuracy.
• Conduct debriefs with team members after all projects to apply learnings for continuous improvement.
• Resolve client escalations proactively, in concert with leadership and Business Development.
• As needed, participate in the conceptual phases of identifying and solving business problems and initiatives with the team and client.
• As needed, consult with clients during pre-sale phase on production solution options, recommendations, and pricing in partnership with business development and design teams.
• Partner with Business Development and Operations leaders to assist in the development of effective and profitable pricing strategies to inform the SOW (Scope of Work) and budget parameters for projects.