Manager, Production Management - Australia & New Zealand

About the Role

As a leading global entertainment service with over 300 million subscribers worldwide, Netflix offers diverse TV series, films, and games in multiple languages and genres accessible anytime and anywhere. The Production Manager for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) independently guides the daily physical production phases for Netflix projects in this region. This role demands ensuring productions meet schedules, stay within budgets, and maintain high creative and technical quality standards.

Taking a highly autonomous approach, the manager collaborates closely with production companies, line producers, and unit production managers (UPMs) to oversee project execution, reduce risks, and deliver effective solutions throughout production stages.

Key Responsibilities

• Directly manage ongoing productions in ANZ from initial preparation through post-production completion.
• Act as the main Netflix contact for daily execution aspects of productions.
• Work alongside Line Producers and UPMs to monitor timelines, budget adherence, and milestone achievements.
• Ensure productions are supported by comprehensive planning, skilled crew members, and efficient workflows.
• Maintain up-to-date visibility on the health and progress of assigned projects.
• Identify potential risks related to budget, schedule, resources, and technical challenges early in development and address them proactively.
• Independently resolve issues when appropriate and escalate with clear context when necessary.
• Make informed decisions promptly in high-pressure or uncertain situations and act preventatively to avoid disruptions.
• Build and nurture trusted partnerships with producers, production companies, vendors, and core crew.
• Evaluate vendor capabilities to support optimal production decisions and uphold Netflix’s production criteria.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of the ANZ production environment including crew and vendor capacity, incentives, talent pool, and market trends.
• Share insights on regional trends, resource challenges, and potential production opportunities within ANZ.
• Collaborate closely with internal departments such as Content, Production Management, Production Finance, and Business Affairs to translate creative vision into executable production plans and align stakeholders on deliverables.
• Regularly review and track financials including budgets, cost reports, and cash flows while monitoring schedule performance.
• Provide actionable recommendations upon identifying financial or scheduling deviations and partner with finance teams to ensure accuracy.
• Offer on-site support during critical production phases including visits to sets, production offices, and vendor locations to resolve immediate issues.
• Operate transparently using modern collaboration platforms like Slack and Google Workspace, avoiding fragmented communication methods like email.
• Emphasize scalable and efficient workflows with the use of live shared documents and dashboards.

Candidate Profile and Experience

• Proven background in physical production, ideally having served as Line Producer, UPM, Senior Production Manager, or similar roles.
• Hands-on experience managing scripted series and/or feature films throughout their full production lifecycle.
• Familiarity with studio, streaming, broadcasting, or commissioning environments is considered a strong advantage.
• Strong independent decision-making capability and experience handling complex productions with minimal oversight.
• Expertise in managing budgets, schedules, and production workflows.
• Experience coordinating VFX and post-production processes.
• Solid knowledge of the Australian production industry including crew, vendors, financial incentives, regulations, and market dynamics.
• Preferred experience with the New Zealand production market, its incentives, and operational context.
• Management experience involving complex technical workflows such as VFX and virtual production is a plus.

Essential Capabilities and Work Style

• High level of ownership and accountability for production results.
• Excellent judgment to discern when to act independently or escalate decisions.
• Ability to work autonomously with strong prioritization skills.
• Clear, direct, and transparent communication with all stakeholders.
• Resilience to perform effectively under pressure.
• Practical problem-solving focus that prioritizes resolving issues swiftly over escalation.

Success Criteria

• Smooth execution of productions with minimal need for close supervision.
• Early identification and proactive mitigation of risks.
• Stakeholder alignment and removal of obstacles along production timelines.
• Effective management and accountability of external partners.
• Timely resolution of challenges at the appropriate organizational level.
• Capacity for senior leadership to focus on broader strategic initiatives while production management operates efficiently.

Reporting Structure

This role reports to the Senior Manager for ANZ Production.

Diversity and Inclusion

Committed to fostering an inclusive environment, Netflix offers candidates accommodations upon request during the hiring process and does not discriminate based on race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetics, marital status, or military service.