Director, Planning, Disney Operations, EMEA

Job Title: 

Director, Planning, Disney Operations (DO), EMEA

This role spans the entire EMEA Content Operations workflow – from Vendor strategy and cost management; through to planning, demand and capacity management; and finally operational improvement and quality management. The role holder will identify opportunities for improvement across the chain and establish methods and processes for managing timely, efficient and cost-effective delivery of materials from Production through the Content Pipeline to meet distribution needs. The Director will partner with operations teams within EMEA and Globally, as well as business partners to provide critical information to business leaders to drive decisions related to content planning, localization, and distribution. 

This role will focus on driving towards the following key outcomes: 

• Reliable and accurate volume forecasts for EMEA production and distribution, including Original Productions and Acquisitions supporting Direct to Consumer (Disney+/Star), Media Networks, Theatrical and Content Sales 

• Development of a planning and forecasting process and toolset, including aggregation of information for global demand plan, vendor capacity and system based forecast reporting 

• Cost management through steering the vendor sourcing strategy and identification of cost optimization opportunities 

Identify efficiency through: 

• Timely, accurate, complete and easily accessible information 

• Systems evaluation -development/consolidation/retirement/integration 

• Performance metrics and process improvement  

• Leveraging strategic vendors 

• Managing costs – rushes – penalties – over/under commitments – lateness – defects 

In addition to planning and cost management activities, this role will oversee the Quality Management team, responsible for tracking key quality metrics (Right First Time, On Time delivery), as well as identifying opportunities for operational efficiency.  

As a leader of this group, you will be responsible for: 

• Managing and driving the EMEA Quality Management approach, expanding the set of metrics tracked, and ensuring clear action plan definitions and accountability of actions across both internal and external teams to drive quality to achieve our goals 

• Ensuring accurate tracking and reporting mechanisms are in place for all metrics, driving to maximize automation in reporting by collaborating with our Data Platforms teams 

• Developing performance dashboards that allow for faster identification of issues or trends that require management intervention for resolution 

• Experience in contributing to the design and delivery of planning, forecasting and associated workflow orchestration tools

• Experience managing systems, strategy, people and processes related to complex and wide-ranging planning activity

• Knowledge of content production, post-production, physical, digital, broadcast distribution and localization is preferred but not essential

• Ability to collaborate with, partner with, influence and persuade creative, marketing, distribution finance, legal and operational executives in the Production and distribution arena. 

• Comfortable in fast changing environment, with frequently changing demands, building and managing relationships with cross-functional stakeholders and circumstances. 

• Ability to balance technical and business issues. 

• Ability to communicate with both technical and business experts at all levels within the organisation.