Purpose of the role

As a Senior Production Manager (SPM), you will work within your team to provide excellent production delivery services for our clients.

The SPM manages the end-to-end production of high level spend and strategic projects while facing clients directly supporting both strategy and satisfaction. The SPM will also be expected to mentor and upskill the Production Managers and, at times, manage the project traffic among PMs.

Key responsibilities include:

Relationship Management – Client Relations

• Take the lead in overseeing day to day client interaction and briefings
• Maintaining regular client contact with key clients to build awareness of delivery and account status.
• Proactively manage client expectations by providing regular activity updates, advice and recommendations to enhance delivery and campaign performance.

Strategic Thinking

• Create a collaborative environment and stimulate discussion on upcoming projects and requirements in the production space
• Confidently demonstrate your knowledge as a subject matter expert and are happy to field questions and find solutions.

Customer Focus

• Encourage client adoption of key process initiatives including rate cards, order windows, etc.
• Pro-actively propose continuous improvement initiatives to client, as well as provide advice on strategic campaigns

Communications

• Proactively provide visibility on day-to-day topics to your line manager and wider team in the spirit of finding synergies and opportunities for further collaboration and harmonisation.
• Ensure to tailor your messages to your respective audience to get feedback and output you require.
• Be the point of escalation within the delivery team – all the while acting as the bridge with the client services team where required

Campaign Management

• Be comfortable with managing low to high complexity briefs directly with the client
• Be comfortable questioning a client brief to ensure you can clearly communicate the requirements to the production teams.
• Hold discussions with your clients about their brief requirements and add your thoughts, insights and knowledge to help define their brief.
• Provide regular campaign updates and proactively communicate next steps to clients in advance.
• Produce clear campaign plans and manage client expectations confidently throughout the delivery of a project.
• Ensure all activity reports are accurate and deliver value to your client based on their reporting requirements
• Provide the adequate support to the Client Services team when required from thorough spec completion and follow the required ways of working

Analytical Skills: Data Quality, Reporting and Insights

• Understand the importance of data quality and its business impact – follow compliance processes to ensure data accuracy at all times.
• Present monthly review of savings and projects delivered highlighting key achievements, challenges and progress against reciprocal KPI’s
• Understand why savings are up/down and proactively take steps to collaborate with key stakeholders to improve performance and ensure data accuracy and completeness

Negotiations Management

· Manage client, team and supplier conversations to find mutually beneficial outcomes, be it in terms of savings, value engineering, quality, etc.

Skills, knowledge, experience, and exposure

• The Senior Production Manager will likely have a minimum of 5 years of print/POS production management experience. Relevant project management experience will be also considered positively.
• Strong industry background will be mandatory.
• Fluency both written and spoken English

Mindset to navigate the role

Managing production projects and facing directly final clients requires:

• Clear and effective communication skills at all levels in the hierarchy
• A solution orientated and resolution mindset, where problems are just the starting point for finding solutions.
• A problem-solving mindset, as the nature of the role will require to navigate different types of challenges and new scenarios.
• A technology-oriented mindset, as you will have to use different technologies in your daily job
• Attention to detail is critical in the Senior Production Managers role
• Strong mediation skills, as you will act as one of the links between Indicia Worldwide, the suppliers and the client
• A customer-centric mindset, as you will be the production expert consultant with our clients, being also able to identify new production opportunities based on their needs.

Temperament for the role

Senior Production Managers work in a very fast, changing and ambiguous environment. For the SPM to succeed, we expect:

• A positive ‘can-do’ attitude at all times, setting an example for team members
• A high level of energy when delivering and the ability to face challenges in a serene manner. The SPM will be expected to manage all parties when complex situation arise and find a calm resolution that all can agree on
• A curious mind, i.e. wanting to know all about internal operations, listening to client challenges. This is the fuel needed to unlock our proposition.
• Accountability: you are a professional and we will treat you as such. You will be expected to manage your workload and to raise your hand when you need team support
• Collaborative spirit: use we, not me. If someone is in trouble, you will do your best to support.
• A strong communications skillset with both internal and external teams
• Exceptional prioritisation skills
• A strong ability to work under pressure and to comply with deadlines

Role Requirements

• The PM could be required to be present on client site if any, or our local Indicia Worldwide office, a minimum of 2 days per week based on client requirements.
• Travel to conferences or client events might be required on occasion.
• Whilst the contracted hours for the role are 9.00am to 6.00pm, Mon –Fri, the project-based nature of the role requires that some days you will have to work outside of these hours, and you will recover that time in other moment.

We are an equal opportunities employer and as such, will make any reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of all candidates. If you have any such needs or requirements in the context of your interview, please notify us so that we can make the appropriate arrangements.