Showrunner - YouTube

Dhar Mann Studios; Burbank (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Dhar Mann Studios in the Los Angeles area is seeking an exceptional Showrunner to lead the creative vision, writing and production of our flagship YouTube Main Channel. This hands-on leadership role blends storytelling craft with data-driven decision making and business-minded operation.

You will manage a lean team of writers and producers, deliver five production-ready scripts each week, and partner with Production, Analytics and Finance to drive audience growth, retention, and profitability on

Qualifications

• 10+ years proven showrunning or equivalent creative leadership experience.
• Exceptional original scripted writing skills with a strong portfolio.
• Outstanding ideation instincts and engaging concepts.
• Recent hands-on success creating content for YouTube with platform understanding.
• Ability to use analytics to diagnose performance and improve storytelling.
• Financial and operational judgment on budgets and costs.
• Experience building reliable workflows and improving throughput.
• Ability to lead in fast-paced, high-volume production environments.
• Strong people leadership and cross-functional collaboration.
• Comfort with new technologies, tools, and automation.

Responsibilities

• Own the Main Channel creative vision from concept through final edit.
• Be a hands-on writer: originate ideas and rewrite scripts.
• Lead the team to deliver five production-ready scripts weekly.
• Generate fresh concepts and recurring formats for the audience.
• Guide pitches, outlines, scripts, and revisions with clear notes.
• Maintain a forward-looking script pipeline and smooth handoffs.
• Use analytics to improve creative decisions and outcomes.
• Collaborate with Distribution on thumbnails, programming, and packaging.
• Stay current on digital culture and platform changes.
• Manage financial performance with Production and Finance.

Skills

Showrunning leadership

Original scripted writing

YouTube native

Data-driven decision making

Financial and operational judgment

Team leadership

Process improvement

Job description

ABOUT CHANGING LIVES PRODUCTIONS:

Changing Lives Productions is the production company behind Dhar Mann Studios, one of the world's largest creators of scripted digital entertainment. Our inspirational stories about life, family, relationships, and personal growth reach more than 170 million followers and generate over a billion views monthly across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms. Our founding principle is simple: We're not just telling stories, we're changing lives.

BIG PICTURE:

We are seeking an exceptional Showrunner to lead the creative vision, execution, audience performance, and business results of our flagship Dhar Mann YouTube Main Channel. This is not a traditional television showrunner role. We need an outstanding storyteller and hands-on writer who is also a YouTube-native creative leader, analytical thinker, and business-minded operator.

Creative excellence comes first. You must be exceptional at generating original ideas, developing compelling stories, writing and rewriting scripts, and leading a team that consistently creates content millions of viewers want to watch. You will build an efficient creative operation capable of delivering five outstanding, production-ready scripts every week. You will use data to improve storytelling, tools and systems to improve output, and strong partnerships with Production and Finance to ensure the business works financially. We operate at the speed of YouTube and expect you to do the same.

HOW YOU'LL SPEND YOUR TIME:

• Own the Main Channel creative vision and storytelling standards, from original concept through production and final edit.
• Be a hands-on writer: originate ideas, write and rewrite scripts, fix story problems, and elevate the work of other writers.
• Lead the team in delivering five excellent, production-ready scripts every week through a lean, repeatable creative pipeline.
• Generate fresh, high-potential concepts, characters, formats, and recurring franchises that fit our audience and brand.
• Guide pitches, beat sheets, outlines, scripts, and revisions with clear notes on hooks, motivation, stakes, pacing, and emotional payoff.
• Maintain a forward-looking story and script pipeline; remove bottlenecks early and ensure reliable production handoffs.
• Use YouTube analytics, audience retention, click-through rate, watch time, and video performance to improve creative decisions.
• Partner with Distribution on titles, thumbnails, programming, and packaging; turn weekly performance reviews into action.
• Stay current on digital culture, YouTube creators, platform changes, and emerging storytelling opportunities.
• Take a General Manager approach to Main Channel financial performance, working with Production and Finance on revenue, budgets, costs, and profitability.
• Understand and manage the financial implications of creative choices, staffing, locations, sets, production complexity, and shoot schedules.
• Find ways to preserve or improve creative impact while lowering cost and increasing the efficiency of production.
• Recruit, coach, and manage a lean, high-performing team of writers and creative producers, with clear ownership and accountability.
• Build scalable systems for ideation, script development, notes, approvals, schedules, and team communication.
• Apply tools, technology, automation, and AI where appropriate to reduce repetitive work and make the team more effective without compromising quality.
• Collaborate closely with Production, Post-Production, Casting, Analytics, Distribution, and executive leadership.
• Move quickly, communicate proactively, respond promptly, and make decisions in time to keep a high-volume production schedule on track.
• Continuously test new formats, creative processes, and production methods to make better content faster and more efficiently.

WHAT YOU HAVE:

• 10+ years proven showrunning or equivalent creative leadership experience, including leading writers and delivering content on demanding schedules.
• Exceptional original scripted writing skills, demonstrated by a strong portfolio of produced work.
• Outstanding ideation instincts and a track record of developing highly engaging concepts and emotionally effective stories.
• Recent hands-on success creating and leading content for YouTube, with a native understanding of the platform, its audience, and performance drivers.
• The ability to use analytics to diagnose creative performance and translate findings into stronger storytelling.
• Financial and operational judgment: budgets, production economics, staffing tradeoffs, KPIs, and cost-conscious creative decisions.
• A track record of building reliable workflows and improving quality and throughput without automatically adding headcount.
• Experience in fast-paced, flexible, high-volume production environments where resources must be deployed carefully.
• Strong people leadership, sound creative judgment, cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to give direct, actionable feedback.
• Comfort with new technologies, collaboration tools, automation, and process improvement.
• Excellent organization, responsiveness, and accountability; you stay close enough to the details to solve problems promptly.

WHO YOU ARE:

• A storyteller first. You love writing and can personally make a script better.
• A creative idea machine. You originate strong ideas quickly and know which ones can become hit episodes.
• YouTube native. You understand discovery, retention, and audience behavior—not just traditional TV development.
• Data-driven. You test assumptions against actual audience results and adjust quickly.
• A builder. You create systems and develop people rather than depending on heroic effort or oversized teams.
• Business-minded. You take financial results and production efficiency as seriously as creative quality.
• Fast, responsive, and accountable. You make decisions, communicate clearly, and follow through.
• Low ego, high standards. You welcome notes and focus on the best result, not ownership of an idea.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE:

• Consistently excellent, emotionally engaging stories that strengthen our flagship channel and its connection with viewers.
• Measurable performance against agreed targets for views, audience retention, watch time, and engagement.
• Five high-quality, production-ready scripts delivered reliably every week with minimal avoidable revision cycles.
• Financial discipline and progress against approved budgets, channel economics, and profitability targets.
• A lean, effective team with clear ownership, strong talent development, and predictable output.
• Measurable improvements in creative throughput, development speed, production efficiency, and innovation.

WHO OVERSEES YOU:

The Showrunner - YouTube will report to the CEO and work with the Founder on creative vision.

WHO YOU OVERSEE:

You will oversee the YouTube ideation, script development, and writing functions, including creative team leaders and writers.

WHERE IT ALL GOES DOWN:

All the action takes place at our Los Angeles-area studio.

WHEN THE MAGIC HAPPENS:

This is a full-time, in-person role requiring flexibility and responsiveness to a fast-moving production schedule.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE BEFORE APPLYING TO US:

We maintain a high hiring bar for this hands-on leadership role. Candidates will be asked to submit original writing samples and complete creative writing and ideation assessments. Finalists will also be invited to participate in a paid, defined-duration working engagement with our team so both sides can assess creative collaboration, operational leadership, responsiveness, and fit in practice.