Director, Production Finance

Sinclair Broadcast Group; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 148,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Retirement plan

Health insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Dental and vision

Flexible spending accounts

Paid time off

Employee stock purchase plan

Job summary

Tennis Channel is seeking a hands-on Director of Production Finance to lead budgeting, forecasting, accounting, and controls across production activities. Based in Santa Monica, CA, this role partners with Finance & Accounting to support the head of production and programming, driving financial discipline and strategic decision support.

You will build models, manage production costs, and deliver reporting for executive leadership while guiding continuous improvement and governance across

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field.
• CPA preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in Production Finance, Production Accounting, MediaFinance, FP&A, or related disciplines.
• Experience in live production, sports media, entertainment, streaming, digital media, or content businesses preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead Strategic Production Finance & Planning: budgets, forecasts, long-range plans, staffing, and investment decisions.
• Oversee Production Accounting & Financial Controls: job costing, accruals, amortization, closes, costs tracking, vendor obligations.
• Drive Business Analytics & Executive Reporting: KPI dashboards, forecast packages, cost summaries, executive summaries.
• Champion Continuous Improvement: improve budgeting, forecasting, reporting quality, automation and efficiency.
• Manage Financial Governance & Oversight: governance, risk, cash flow, international requirements, compliance.

Skills

Financial modeling

Budgeting

Forecasting

Accounting

Controls

Reporting

BI reporting

Excel

ERP systems

Project costing

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Accounting/Business

CPA preferred

Tools

ERP systems

Production costing tools

Excel

BI reporting

Oracle

Job description

Tennis Channel is seeking a hands-on Director, Production Finance to lead and manage production budgeting, forecasting, accounting, controls, reporting, and continuous improvement across Tennis Channel production activities. This role sits within Tennis Channel Corporate Finance & Accounting and reports to the Controller / VP Finance,servingprimarilyasthefinancepartnerinsupportoftheheadofproduction&programmingandtherelated teamsacrossliveevents,studioproductions,original content,digitalinitiatives,creative,andproduction operations.

Theheadofproduction&programmingownsthedepartmentbudget,includingcreativebudgets;theDirector role supportsthatresponsibilitythroughproduction-related financial management, reporting, analysis, and decision support.

TheDirectorwillworkcloselywithProduction,Programming,Rights&Acquisitions,Creative,Operations, Legal, HRandFinance& Accounting, asneeded, to support the production-related financialresponsibilities.

This role is onsite and located in Santa Monica, CA.

In this role, you will…

Lead StrategicProductionFinance&Planning

• Prepareannualproductionbudgets,quarterlyforecastsandlong-rangeplans.
• Build financial models for productions/tournaments, seasonal coverage plans, and production cost centers to support staffing, resource allocation, and investment decisions.
• LeadPickleballTVjointventureproduction-relatedforecasting,actualization,andvarianceanalysisin coordinationwithproductionleadershipandFinance&Accounting.
• Preparefinancialsupportforgo/no-godecisions,cashflow,productioneconomics,andfinancialrisks.

Oversee ProductionAccounting&FinancialControls

• Leadproductionaccounting,includingjobcosting,accruals,amortization,andclosesupport.
• Trackproductioncosts,commitments,vendorobligations,andtalentcoststosupportaccuratereporting.
• Reviewproductionpayables and purchasingcard activityforpropercoding, approvals,and controls.
• PrepareforecastupdatesandcostvarianceexplanationsforFP&A,Accounting,and Production.

Drive BusinessAnalytics&ExecutiveReporting

• Prepare KPI dashboards, forecast packages, cost summaries, and recurring reports for the Head of Production & Programming to support production planning, cost visibility, and decision making.
• Conduct post-event production cost reviews to explain variances, capture planning takeaways, and recommend improvements for upcoming productions.
• Summarizeproductionfinancialinsightsforexecutivereportingandupcomingproductionplanning.

Champion ContinuousImprovement

• Improvebudgeting,forecasting,accounting,reportingquality, forecast accuracy,anddecisionsupport.
• Developcostbenchmarks,productivitymetrics,savingstrackers,andperformanceindicatorsacrossproductions,vendors,staffing,travel,andoperations.
• Implement automation, AI-enabled tools, templates,andreporting improvements to increase efficiencyand financialvisibility.

Manage FinancialGovernance & Oversight

• Reviewproduction agreements, vendor arrangements, talent commitments,andrelated documents for financial terms, budget impact, cost tracking, and risks in support of the Head of Production & Programming.
• Coordinate with Legal, HR, Treasury, Tax, and Accounting as needed on production-related financial risks,labor costs, international requirements, cash flow, and compliance.
• Supportinternationalproductions,includingforeigncosts,tax/VAT,paymenttiming,currencyexposure,and complianceimpacts.
• Maintainpracticalgovernance,controls,andprocessesthatsupportgrowth,compliance,costdiscipline,and operationaleffectiveness.
• Provide Leadership & Team Development
• Provideday-to-day leadership,coaching,andsupporttothe ProductionFinanceteam.
• Setpriorities,goals,development plans,andoperatingrhythms.
• Fosteraccountability,collaboration,financialdiscipline,improvement,anddata-drivendecisionmaking.

Key Qualifications

• Bachelor'sdegreeinFinance,Accounting,Business,orrelatedfield.
• CPApreferred.
• 8+ years of progressiveexperience in Production Finance, Production Accounting, MediaFinance, FP&A,or relateddisciplines.
• Experience in live production, sports media, entertainment, streaming, digital media, or content businesses preferred.
• Strong hands-on financial modeling, budgeting, forecasting, accounting, controls, reporting, and analytical skills.
• Experience with project accounting, production costing, close support, operational budgets, and cost governance.
• Abilityto partnerwithoperationalleadersandtranslatefinancialdataintobusinessrecommendations.
• Experience with ERP/project costing systems, production accounting tools, Excel, and BI reporting; Oracle experiencepreferred.
• Strongcommunication,leadership,judgment,businesspartnership,andstakeholdermanagementskills.

Tennis Channel is proud to be equal opportunity employer and a drug free workplace. Employment practices will not be influenced or affected by virtue of an applicant's or employee's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

About Tennis Channel

Tennis Channel is the only multiplatform destination dedicated solely to tennis year-round. Together, the Tennis Channel flagship network, Tennis Channel 2, and the Tennis Channel app (tennischannel.com) deliver the most accessible and concentrated single-sport coverage anywhere. As the exclusive U.S. home of the ATP Tour and WTA Tour, Tennis Channel features live coverage of every Masters 1000 tournament — including Indian Wells, the Miami Open, Madrid, Rome, Cincinnati, and more — alongside live studio programming including its premier series, TC Live. Tennis Channel 2, a free FAST channel available in over 100 million homes, brings fans matches from across the globe at every level of the game. The Tennis Channel app brings it all together in one place, delivering live and on-demand matches, original content, and a personalized multi-view experience for fans, available on mobile and connected TV devices. Owned by Sinclair, Tennis Channel is also a co-owner of PickleballTV (pickleballtv.com), a joint venture with the Professional Pickleball Association.

About Sinclair

Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) is a diversified media company and a leading provider of local news and sports. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 177 television stations in 79 markets affiliated with all major broadcast networks; owns Tennis Channel, the premium destination for tennis enthusiasts; and multicast networks CHARGE, Comet, ROAR and The Nest. Sinclair’s AMP Media produces a growing portfolio of digital content and original podcasts. Additional information about Sinclair can be found at www.sbgi.net.

About the Team

The life-blood of our organization is our people. We have a compelling story, a goal-oriented culture, and we take really good care of people. How good? Here is a glimpse: great benefits, open-door policy, upward mobility and a strong desire to see you succeed.

The base salary compensation range for this role is $140,000 to $148,000. Final compensation for this role will be determined by various factors such as a candidates’ relevant work experience, skills, certifications, and geographic location. Full time positions are eligible for benefits that include participation in a retirement plan, life and disability insurance, health, dental and vision plans,flexible spending accounts, sick leave, vacation time, personal time, parental leave and employee stock purchase plan.

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