SVP, Development

Description

The Role

WildBrain is look for an SVP, Development (12-Month Maternity Leave Contract).

The SVP of Development is responsible for overseeing the development of WildBrain’s diverse slate of original animation and live action IP and expanding our existing brands. WildBrain’s slate covers multi-genre from preschool to family programming and appeals to domestic and international buyers. A key focus of the slate is building properties to become strong brands and activate the expertise of each division across the company to create successful franchises. Creative excellence will be achieved by working in close collaboration with the Chief Content Officer to ensure all divisions within WildBrain are active across our key development initiatives.

The SVP of Development has the responsibility of inspiring and guiding the development team to achieve creative excellence, continuously innovate and maintain deadlines and goals for a slate of 35+ projects. Strong relationships within the television industry are a must including; broadcast executives, artists, showrunners, coproduction partners, etc. while forging new relationships within the creative community to ensure our slate remains innovative, timely and commercial.

This role is open to candidates located in Toronto, Vancouver, LA or New York.

Find a job that lets your imagination run wild!

WildBrain is made up of a team of innovators and creators who bring industry-leading kids’ content and brands to families globally. We inspire imagination, put creativity first, and believe in the power of storytelling. We are constantly connecting the powers of our global team, making WildBrain a collaborative, openminded and passionate environment to work in.

To work at WildBrain means you get to create stories that lets imaginations run wild. Join our team today to become part of the story!

Responsibilities

Manage the animation and live action development team to build a creative and diverse slate across multiple genres and demographics
Oversee the casting of key talent on each project
Ensure both the animation and live action development slates hit short and long-term goals, and clear priorities are set for the day to day team to achieve
Expand the overall slate through traditional and non-traditional sources
Liaise between Partners, Producers / Executive Producers, Network Executives and Creators/Showrunners on each project, as needed with the day-to-day lead dev executive on the project to ensure a smooth and positive development process for all involved
Communicate with domestic and international broadcasters regularly, alongside the distribution team
Pitch the slate internally across all divisions and provide key updates frequently
Pitch the slate externally to buyers and potential partners, ability to comfortably pitch is essential
Oversee projects with lead development executive and SVP of Creative and Production as they move into production to ensure a smooth hand off to the production team and creative leads on the project
Communicate with SVP of Creative and Animation Production regularly to ensure studio timelines and goals are clear and discuss innovative approaches to visual development
Collaborate with SVP of Creative and Animation Production on all trailers and specific initiatives/projects
Oversee freelance development executives on Feature initiatives
Attend major television markets (Mipcom, Kidscreen)
Lead and provide creative feedback on key stages throughout the development process and attend all major partnership meetings

Qualifications

A creative individual with a track record developing kids and family television series with commercial appeal and strong understanding of the business overall (how shows get financed, how to lead a large team, work within a 1000+ person organization, etc.).
Extensive contacts within the production and broadcast industry
Proven leadership ability and confidence to inspire a team to keep pushing for excellence
10+ years’ experience developing and executive producing Kids and Family Content
The confidence to believe in your gut reaction to a project and fight for it, and ultimately a love for what we’re making, kids and family tv!!!

Personal Characteristics

A team player, personable and an ability to work effectively within a small and larger team
A leader who is able to manage up and manage down equally well
A relationship builder, patient and assertive, with a strong creative vision and orientation

What We Offer:

Working at WildBrain is more than a job — it’s the opportunity to join forces with extraordinary, insightful and imaginative people who will recognize your talents and encourage your professional growth and development in a work environment that promotes creativity and individuality. We offer competitive family-focused benefits, we invest in our people and their future with generous RRSP matching, plus bonus time-off, because you deserve it!

Our Commitment:

Diversity and Inclusion are in our DNA. As a global leader in kids and family entertainment, we strive to reflect and honour the diversity of our audiences around the world. We believe that creating diverse and inclusive content & brands begins with fostering a culture of belonging at WildBrain. To us, a culture of belonging is one where we celebrate and welcome the diversity of all employees, stakeholders, and external partners and strive to create an environment where every individual feels valued, respected, and brings their authentic self to work.

We demonstrate our commitment to this by striving to provide a supportive work environment and a corporate culture that welcomes and encourages equal opportunities for all employees. We recognize that people bring experience and talent that goes beyond the technical skills and requirements of a job. If you possess similar experience that is close to what we’ve listed here, we encourage you to please still consider applying. We strongly believe that diverse experience, transferable skills, and passion are key! WildBrain accommodates people with disabilities throughout the recruitment and selection process. Applicants are encouraged to make their needs known in advance if accommodation is required.

About WildBrain:

At WildBrain we make great content for kids and families. With approximately 13,000 half-hours of filmed entertainment in our library – one of the world’s most extensive – we are home to such brands as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Caillou, Inspector Gadget, Johnny Test and Degrassi. Our shows are seen in more than 150 countries on over 500 telecasters and streaming platforms. WildBrain’s portfolio spans all areas of the entertainment industry: WildBrain Studios, where we develop and produce hit animated and live actions series; WildBrain Television, which is composed of prominent kids’ television channels in Canada (Family Channel, Family CHRGD, Family Jr. and Télémagino); home to Peanuts Worldwide; brand management to some of the world’s most-loved kids brands; celebrated global licensing and distribution teams with WildBrain CPLG, and a leading children’s YouTube network in WildBrain Spark, one of the largest networks of kids’ channels on YouTube, with over 168 million subscribers.

WildBrain is headquartered in Canada with offices worldwide and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: WILD). Visit wildbrain.com to learn more!

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