Head of Operations
Summer Break Studios is seeking a senior, highly resourceful Head of Operations to help lead the company through its next phase of growth. This is not an assistant role. The right person will take ownership of day-to-day operations across production, post-production, hiring, and team coordination - creating the structure and accountability that allow the founders to stay focused on new show development, partnerships, and revenue.
Summer Break Studios is a nimble media and production company building original, brand-supported programming. With strong advertiser demand, expanded editorial capacity, and multiple new shows in development, the company needs an experienced production operator who can move fluidly between strategy and execution while keeping a lean team working at a high level.
ROLE DETAILS:
Location: Tarzana, Los Angeles, CA; flexible for hybrid work subject to production needs
Compensation: $120,000-$150,000 annually, commensurate with experience. Benefits stipend.
Experience: 5+ years in production, media operations, or a closely related leadership role.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:
Company Operations & Founder Partnership
Serve as the operational right hand to the co-founders, translating priorities into clear plans, owners, timelines, and follow-through.
Take recurring production and personnel matters off the founders' plates so they can focus on creative development, brand relationships, and revenue growth.
Build practical systems for project visibility, communication, approvals, resourcing, and accountability across a fast-moving slate.
Bring a practical, solutions-oriented perspective to balancing creative ambition, partner expectations, budget, and capacity.
Production & Post-Production Oversight
Oversee production operations from development and pre-production through shoot execution, post, delivery, and project closeout.
Coordinate production calendars, crews, editors, vendors, budgets, deliverables, and dependencies across concurrent shows and branded projects.
Manage and mentor junior production staff, including the production coordinator, while establishing clear standards and escalation paths.
Partner closely with editorial and creative leads to ensure quality, deadlines, and business commitments remain aligned.
Own searches for production, post-production, and freelance talent, from defining the need through outreach, vetting, selection, onboarding, and performance follow-up.
Financial & Administrative Discipline
Track production budgets, contracts, invoices, purchase needs, and key administrative deadlines in partnership with the appropriate finance resources.
Create concise status reporting for leadership, highlighting risks, decisions needed, budget implications, and next steps.
Document repeatable workflows and maintain organized production files, contacts, vendor information, and institutional knowledge.
Handle sensitive company, talent, partner, and personnel information with sound judgment and discretion
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
Has 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in television, digital media, branded content, podcast/video production, or a related production environment.
Has led projects and people, with the confidence to manage junior staff, freelancers, vendors, and cross-functional contributors.
Has existing relationships across production, post-production, digital media, branded entertainment, or podcast/video networks.
Understands production and post-production workflows well enough to anticipate dependencies, ask the right questions, and solve issues before they become emergencies.
Communicates clearly, builds trust quickly, and is comfortable working directly with founders, creative talent, brand partners, and production teams.
Thrives in an entrepreneurial environment where priorities move quickly and the team is intentionally lean.
Is proactive, grounded, collaborative, and low-ego, with excellent judgment and a genuine desire to make the people around them more effective.
Strong command of Google Workspace and modern project-management, production-management, and collaboration tools.
Comfort working flexibly around shoots, launches, and other genuinely time-sensitive production needs.
submit resume to cat@catdarlingagency.com