General Manager, Pinewood Studios (Director Level)

For over 85 years, Pinewood Studios have made dreams a reality, enabling storytellers to bring their creations to life on the big and small screen. Home to some of the most enduring screen classics, from James Bond, Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to a host of award-winning indie productions, there are no limits to the worlds that can be created on a Pinewood stage.

About the role

The General Manager (GM) for Pinewood Studios is a pivotal senior leadership role responsible for overseeing the daily operations, strategic planning, and overall management of the Pinewood Studios site in Buckinghamshire. In this role you will report to the CEO of the Group, sit on the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and lead your team (30+ employees) to ensure the studio's operational, business and commercial objectives are met.

The Pinewood Studios site is a globally recognised facility, and this role will be at the forefront of ensuring it continues to provide a compelling offering to the production market and our partners. As a member of the SLT, the role will also contribute to other group projects and initiatives and may be allocated group-wide responsibilities from time-to-time.

Principle accountabilities

• Production management: enable the delivery of the right space and operational services for our on-site film and television productions and tenants, maximising our commercial potential and ensuring a great customer experience.
• Studio services: oversee the delivery of smooth running and high-quality key studios services across the site, including but not limited to relevant site-wide communication, customer services, catering, on-site security, car parking and reception.
• Ensure that the customers on the lot are provided with an environment commensurate with a world leading facility for producing film and television content, from the contract and performance management of the cleaning and domestic services to the management of landscaping, ecology, and gardens.
• Provide clear direction, communication, and engaging leadership for a multi-disciplinary team of c30 employees.
• Manage both the cost base and revenue generation for the studio. Create and deliver the annual budget for the studio and ensure sales opportunities are maximised to deliver value for the group and tenants.
• Drive incremental site-wide improvement programmes, identifying creative ways to improve performance and enhance the customer experience, ensure performance KPIs are met, and accurate and timely reporting is delivered to the group.
• Collaborate closely with Group Sales and the other General Managers across the group to maximise commercial opportunities, share availability, leads/intel, sales strategy and instigate ongoing best practice improvements.
• Build strong working relationships with your internal functional colleagues to ensure the effective delivery of central services across your studio (e.g. Health & Safety, Projects).
• Represent and act as an ambassador for the studio and Group externally to ensure the ongoing and positive relationships with our local communities, industry bodies and other external groups.

Skills and experience

Essential criteria

• Degree-level education or equivalent work experience.
• Substantial previous commercial or operational experience in either the film, television, media, facilities management or other equivalent customer-facing large scale/complex operation.
• Substantial previous experience in leading and developing large and diverse teams to deliver results and drive value for the business.
• Track record of defining and implementing process/tech/people changes to step-change performance.
• Knowledge and evidence of commercial and performance contract management.
• Knowledge of sales, finance and budgeting.
• Knowledge of incident management.
• Engaging leader who sets clear standards, motivates and drives performance through their teams
• Ability to find practical solutions, think creatively and overcome obstacles.
• Highly organised with exceptional attention to detail.
• Commercially driven with a sales and customer service mindset.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills and customer focused.
• Adept at dealing with demanding client situations and challenging conversations.
• Ability to plan effectively in dynamic environments to deliver complex programmes of work.
• Values driven personally and professionally.
• This is a site-based role, within limited opportunity to work-from-home and occasional travel.
• Ability to be on-call as required to ensure the smooth operation of the site and delivery to the customer.

Desirable criteria

• Industry or role specific qualifications.
• Experience working in the film, television, and media sectors.
• Facilities Management experience.
• Knowledge of production organisation and processes.
• Knowledge of Health and Safety at Work