WHAT YOU’LL DO

Nurture Healthy Relationships
As an Executive Project Director at Storyland Studios, you’ll be responsible for three crucial components of the studios overall health—nurturing healthy relationships, driving tangible results, and building healthy relationships. Yep, we said the relationship thing twice! We’re a relational organization that relies heavily on a healthy partnership between our Senior Leadership and Project Directors with the common goal of establishing long-term relationships with clients all while delivering exceptional work.

Steward the Story
Project Directors ensure that the story’s consistency and integrity are kept front and centre for everyone on the project. This is an exciting challenge as the expanse of our work is unique— combining 3 dimensions of storytelling—strategic, interactive, and spatial. Those dimensions cover everything from architecture to Intellectual Property management, from bluesky concept phase to boots on the ground construction, from engineering integrations to guest experience narratives.
No matter the project phase or complexity of scope, you’ll advocate for each team and every output to reflect the story.

Build Client Confidence
It’s often said that an Project Director is the “second smartest person in the room on every topic”. Great project directors have a strong project management base, a working knowledge of each discipline and understand how to lean on the specific expertise of the wider team. As the producer, you’re “in-charge” of the project and take ownership of the final outcome and solution. That means you’ll need to become familiar with the client’s industry, business, customers, and pain points. You need to know each phase of development and which disciplines are integral along the way. This “been there, done that” knowledge, enables you to field questions on the fly and respond in a way that produces confidence and reassurance.

Grow Forward
We’re hiring someone who will roll up their sleeves and add value on day one, but we also believe in the potential of every employee. We want you to grow, we want you to have a growth mindset, and we’ll look to support that growth with the opportunity to work with industry veterans on a wide scope of projects. Storyland Studios continues to shepherd the growth of our European and Middle Eastern client base, and we also have our eyes on further expansion into Southeast Asia. We want you to grow and we want you to help us as we do too.

THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THIS ROLE

With a wealth of experience in the place-based design and/or themed entertainment industry, you will be used to running immersive design and architectural projects of all shapes and sizes. Your portfolio and CV will demonstrate that you have successfully lived, worked and installed beyond the concept phase of major projects. You will be skilled at assembling and managing project teams, including freelance and sub-contractors. Ideally you’ll have an established network of resources in which you can call upon to potentially augment the internal Storyland project teams. Finally the right person for this role is someone who relishes the opportunity to work on international projects and familiar with the challenges of navigating design and construction projects in emerging markets, like the Middle East.

WHAT SUCCESS WILL LOOK LIKE

For day-to-day success, you will…

• Exhibit flexibility, kindness, and a willingness to learn. Yep, that’s the top of the list!
• Be comfortable in ambiguity and shaping “something” into something extraordinary without paint-by-number instructions.
• Serve as the day-to-day client contact and work to constantly build relational equity and trust with clients, and strategic vendors.
• Ensure the story, big idea and design intent is carried through all layers and phases of the design, build, install process.
• Direct, coordinate, and oversee the planning, administration, staffing, operations, and finances of one or more major projects (dependent on scope, scale and project phase).
• Assure that the goals or objectives of the project are accomplished within the prescribed time frame and funding parameters.
• With project team support, monitor and assume responsibility for the overall quality, profitability and management of the project.
• Develop and implement strategic objectives for the project, and consistently seeking to mitigate risk.
• Ensure the team successfully develops, reviews, and manages scope, contract documents, cost estimates, scheduled, strategies and work plans to achieve the
  desired result.
• In collaboration and supported by the design documentation team, you will ensure every phase of design, production and installation is properly developed and contract scopes, close-out documents and Quality Standards align with the project intent.
• Act as the owner’s rep on architectural/development and themed entertainment projects, guiding clients through the design and build process.
• Act as the voice of the client to ensure Storyland teams understand the client’s priorities, vision and project intent at all times.
• Facilitate strategic and solutions-oriented conversations, bringing in the right studio experts or external partners to help collaborate when needed.
• Manage client and company expectations through regular meetings, checkpoints, and project workflow/process education.
• Set up a regular cadence for feedback with Senior Leadership, as appropriate, all along the project timeline.
• Support sales growth by constantly looking at the client’s needs and what comes next.
• Within reason, you’ll demonstrate an ability to work on multiple projects concurrently, with the confidence to multi-task and delegate as required.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING TO THE PARTY

Skills and Qualifications

• 7 years of experience in theme park design, development, planning and programming preferred. 5-7 years of themed experience, or exhibit, or attractions, or RD&E or architecture required.
• Demonstrate project leadership of a minimum of 3 large, complex projects delivered through opening day.
• You have a full grasp of each phase of a complex project and how each discipline integrates for a successful and profitable delivery from contract to opening day.
• Knowledge of design management and a possess a solid design aesthetic and strong grasp on project controls and financial tracking
• The ability to develop collaborative relationships across multiple-disciplines that lead to successful results, within the studio and externally – with clients, consultants, and other key participants in the concept, design and delivery process.
• Knowledge of theme park technologies including ride systems, A/V, robotics, engineering, & show systems.
• Knowledge of theme park related architecture, project management, organizational, and construction management practices
• You’re responsive in serving others and anticipate what’s next.
• You’re undaunted by ambiguity. You love shaping solutions to problems, you’re at home in the midst of change and embrace continual improvement.
• High degree of adaptability. You shift gears easily and thrive in a setting where you juggle multiple things at once.
• You have an EQ that matches or supersedes your IQ — we hire just as much, if not more, based on values than strictly intellect or ability. If you’re humble, hungry, and servant-hearted—you’ve found your people!
• You see feedback as a means to growth, rather than criticism.
• While this role will not have a concentrated focus on this market, you’ll be right at home working with or alongside those who do work with cause-based and Christian, faith-based clientele (for projects under our sister studio, PlainJoe).
• You have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
• You’re willing to relocate for an advanced period of time should a project require it.
• You’re fluent in English – equally able to write or present.