Every great story has a new beginning, and yours starts here.
Welcome to Warner Bros. Discovery... the stuff dreams are made of.
Who We Are...
When we say, "the stuff dreams are made of," we're not just referring to the world of wizards, dragons and superheroes, or even to the wonders of Planet Earth. Behind WBD's vast portfolio of iconic content and beloved brands, are the storytellers bringing our characters to life, the creators bringing them to your living rooms and the dreamers creating what's next...
From brilliant creatives, to technology trailblazers, across the globe, WBD offers career defining opportunities, thoughtfully curated benefits, and the tools to explore and grow into your best selves. Here you are supported, here you are celebrated, here you can thrive.
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Position Overview:
Following the success of the Warner Bros. Studio Tours in London and Hollywood, Warner Bros. Worldwide Tours and Retail division (WWT&R) has built on its experience of visitor engagement, exceptional customer service and innovative merchandise to include experiential retail. In addition to shops within both Studio Tours, the division also includes Harry Potter New York and the Platform 9 ¾ shops at Kings Cross station and Heathrow airport.
The latest addition to the division is Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo, which opened in summer 2023 and is home to authentic sets, props and costumes from the eight Harry Potter films. Visitors are invited to discover 'behind-the-scenes' secrets of film production and see how the books were brought to life on-screen. With the chance to explore Diagon Alley, enter the Great Hall, appear in a moving portrait and even ride on a broomstick, visitors experience the magic of filmmaking firsthand. Since opening, the Studio Tour has achieved high ratings on Google Reviews and is consistently sold out.
The Role:
As Senior Director, Tours & Retail Project Operations you will be responsible for leading and supporting the development of operations projects, in new openings and the expansion and development of existing businesses across all Tours and Retail locations globally. You will lead the projects operations team to ensure that projects (new opening, expansions, updates, new technology and policy/ process changes, are delivered and installed / mobilised ready to operate to WWT&R procedures and standards.
This role will be required to support the management teams at WB Studio Tour London, WB Studio Tour Tokyo, WB Studio Tour Hollywood, and Harry Potter New York. You will be required to build effective relationships with all departments; Visitor Experience, Retail, Commercial, Marketing & PR, Finance, Technical Services, Facilities, buildings and construction teams, quantity surveyor, architects/ designers, and wider internal & external stakeholders. You will need to ensure communication is maintained with quick and decisive actions taken in any complex, commercial, operational or people situation. Duties and priorities will adapt with the business needs as required throughout periods of medium to large-scale projects.
This role will require global travel (possibly many weeks at one time) as needed.
Key Responsibilities
Project Operations and New Openings:
- Represent the WWT&R operation on projects at meetings relating to the design, build and operation of all projects and business expansions
- Lead the project operations team to contribute to the operation, communication, tracking and stakeholder management of projects with clear objectives for the team
- Contribute proactively to the Tours & Retail Leadership team to work on opening new projects and developments which support the growth of the business
- Establish key operational project stakeholders, tasks, define resources, WWT&R budgets, and ensure ownership is maintained to deliver upon timelines. This will include wide communication with all of WWT&R support functions including Technology, construction, show design etc
- Manage and communicate any foreseeable business risks, seek to resolve issues with the required operations/project teams, advising on proposed actions
- Collaborate with internal and external project teams to ensure operational expectations are met
- Maintain visibility and establish actions on construction and design planning, fit out and quality standards from an operational perspective throughout any build or development phase
- Work with Tour teams to support on creative development and operational delivery of new attraction elements, retail upgrades and occasional seasonal features globally
- Support the integration of new technology, contribute to specification with the needs of the T&R operations teams. Support in the planning, creation, and implementation of ticketing and pos/inventory systems for ticket launch schedules for pre- and post-opening periods
- Gain cultural understanding in our locations globally to ensure a wider perspective on labour laws, health and safety management and visitor behaviour is understood for the future development of Tours & Retail
- Support to embed and induct new team members to WBD and Tours & Retail division culture
- Ensure established emergency response processes in line with WBD Business Resilience
General:
- Ensure relevant consistency of values, positioning, procedures, quality across the business
- Identify challenges and business risks in the global Tours & Retail locations, supporting the Directors and General Manager to solve operational issues
- Seek continuous improvement opportunities and identify to WWT&R leadership team
- Maintain operational standards and support management teams to consistently ensure high product quality and brand standards, in conjunction with the Liaison Manager
- Identify consistent global key performance indicators with leaders and track measurable progress
- Champion the visitor and where required, support the development of customer service strategies for improving performance
- Build active relationships with leadership teams to ensure cohesive operations, visitor engagement and effective management
- Support in safety actions in response to incident trends and risk assessments
- Attend Senior Leadership meetings with Heads of Department across all project locations to support development and shared learnings
- Provide support within the organisation as required by senior leadership
Profile:
- Commercial knowledge and ability to strategise on the financial performance
- Proven communication skills, project co-ordination and management ability to report on status to all levels of the organisation
- Ability to problem solve, seek solutions, and drive decision making
- Self-motivated, enthusiastic, and capable of working on own initiative/projects
- Flexibility and adaptability in changing business environments
- Confidence in financial statement appraisal, with an understanding of accounting
- Motivational leader with the ability to inspire other leaders and managers to achieve success across global locations
- Able to effectively prioritise workload, work under pressure and constantly manage and deliver change
- Work both alone and as part of a team with a flexible approach
- Previously held a senior post in a new opening project, ideally in the visitor attractions/ venue / retail market
- Combination of project management, commercial/retail and visitor experience background in international locations outside of the UK
- Project management experience is essential
- Proven complex, multi stakeholder project management plus background in project management or operations
- Experience of working on the installation of new tech systems in areas such as ticketing, inventory control, pos, scheduling etc
- Experience of having worked in an environment where emphasis is placed on service, product presentation and commercial strategy
- Direct leadership responsibility of a team
- Examples of building cross-functional relationships in a large complex organisation
- Business and/or Finance qualifications would be beneficial
- Project Management qualifications are desirable eg. Prince, Lean six etc
- Health and Safety qualifications (IOSH and NEBOSH) would be advantageous
- Knowledge of Retail systems (POS and inventory management) is beneficial
- Advanced level of Excel is required
- Flexible to travel globally and extended international visits
- Prepared to work flexible hours across multiple time zones. The role likely to include early start and later finishes to accommodate meetings in other time zones
- Must be willing to fly, use public transport of all types in all counties, including long haul trips
How We Get Things Done...
This last bit is probably the most important! Here at WBD, our guiding principles are the core values by which we operate and are central to how we get things done. You can find them at www.wbd.com/guiding-principles/ along with some insights from the team on what they mean and how they show up in their day to day. We hope they resonate with you and look forward to discussing them during your interview.
The Legal Bits...
Warner Bros. Discovery embraces the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of our society and the world around us. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit, regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, disability or any other category protected by law.
If you're a qualified candidate and you require adjustments or accommodations to search for a job opening or apply for a position, please contact us at recruitadmin@wbd.com.