Overview

Associate Department Manager

This is a ‘Work from Home’ position.  All applicants must reside in the United States or British Columbia/Ontario if applying within Canada.

Zoic Studios is an Award winning VFX company made up of accomplished artists and producers who understand story, process and relationships. Partnership, integrity and enthusiasm are our key founding principles. We have three locations, Los Angeles, New York City and Vancouver, Canada. Recent credits include See, Sweet Tooth, For All Mankind, and Superman & Lois.

“Visual Evolution” is our mission; we invest in constantly improving our technological and studio processes so that our artists can focus on being creative even in the lightning fast paced world of visual effects. We apply these principles to our work on some of the most VFX intensive film and television projects out there. We like a challenge. Do you?

We are seeking an Associate Department Manager for our Vancouver studio. This is a full-time position working on a variety of projects and managing one specific VFX Department. The Associate Department Manager reports to the Heads of Operations and works with the Department Supervisor and Artists to ensure shots are being tracked and delivered according to established targets and milestones.

The ideal candidate will have solid experience with the entire VFX pipeline, production and coordination. They will act as a strong communication bridge between show production and assigned department artists. They will work with the department to ensure that shots/assets completed by your team meet the continuity and quality standards for the project. Excellent communication skills and collaborative traits are mandatory.

Responsibilities:

• Manage a team of artists.
• Assign and track progress of work utilizing Shotgun.
• Maintain a Crew Planner of resources needed and report daily/weekly to HOP’s.
• Determine the skill set needed to complete each project and match appropriately with each of your team’s skill sets.
• Work with the supervisor to cast, anticipate potential staffing changes.
• Keep Shotgun up to date with all notes, statuses, calendars and schedules, etc.
• Organize department-specific reviews with show supervisors as needed.
• Participate in production meetings as required and follow up with notes and action items that pertain to your department.
• Check in daily with each artist and follow-up on action items.
• Forecast and flag resource conflicts and keep your department supervisor and show producers updated on assignments.
• Seek out information on upcoming resource needs via Producers, Head of Operations, Heads of Production and available bids.
• Create daily targets to ensure artists are aware of delivery goals and priorities
• Manage render farm priorities for department and communicate those to render team.
• Understand bid hours as it pertains to department specific tasks.
• Manage overtime requests.
• Keep team happy and working effectively with proactive communication.
• Flag performance issues to HR department.

Qualifications:

• Minimum 4 years’ experience as a Project Coordinator, Department Coordinator or a VFX Coordinator.
• Extensive experience with Shotgun and MS Office.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment handling multiple tasks and Projects simultaneously
• Highly organized
• Resilient and adaptable to changing priorities
• Exceptional negotiation and interpersonal conflict resolution skills
• Proven track record of delivering accurate feedback both in writing and in person
• Proven ability to prioritize conflicting tasks
• Excellent communication skills in English; both written and verbal
• Contribute to a positive work environment.
• Able to receive constructive criticism.
• Positive attitude and flexible schedule.

Assets:

• Editorial experience
• Knowledge of Nuke, Maya and other VFX software

Additional information

• Candidates MUST be located in the United States, British Columbia or Ontario. This is a remote (work from home) position
• Zoic does not cover relocation costs
• This job description contains the basic requirements for the position and is NOT intended to be a complete list of responsibilities; other duties may be assigned
• Due to the volume of applications we receive across our different openings we regret that only those selected to interview will be contact