Production Manager (Festival)

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Job Purpose

The Production Manager (aka Production Lead) is responsible for the planning, coordination and delivery of an assigned festival portfolio, venue cluster or operational domain across Arts House Group's festivals portfolio, namely the Singapore International Festival of Arts, Singapore Writers Festival, and other assigned projects.

The role leads production delivery within a defined area of responsibility, ensuring effective coordination of productions, contractors, schedules, resources and operational requirements. In addition to delivering assigned projects, the Production Lead serves as the primary coordination point within the portfolio and provides continuity across planning, implementation and execution phases.

The role reports to the Senior Production Manager, and works closely with Production Managers, Technical Managers, Coordinators, artists, venues and contractors to identify risks, resolve operational issues and ensure successful delivery of assigned programmes.

The Production Lead does not hold responsibility for production strategy, cross-festival prioritisation, governance, resourcing strategy or escalation decisions, which remain under the Senior Production Manager's purview.

Duties and Responsibilities

Festival Delivery

Lead planning and execution of assigned projects and programmes within the portfolio (Portfolio assignments may vary between festival cycles)

• Assess production requirements for assigned productions.
• Develop and maintain production plans and schedules.
• Coordinate venue requirements, rehearsals, installations and operational activities.
• Manage production delivery from planning through close-out.
• Support artist, venue and stakeholder liaison where required.
• Ensure productions are delivered safely, efficiently and in accordance with approved plans.

Festival Coordination

• Coordinate schedules across productions within the portfolio.
• Align resource requirements including manpower, equipment and venue access.
• Monitor dependencies, clashes and operational pressures across projects.
• Coordinate contractors, vendors and production personnel working across multiple projects.
• Facilitate communication between project teams to support delivery.
• Identify conflicts early and implement operational solutions within delegated authority.

Contractor & Team Leadership

• Support onboarding and integration of production personnel and contractors.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to Production Managers, Coordinators and Assistants working within the portfolio.
• Support consistency in production practices and documentation.
• Share operational knowledge and lessons learnt across projects.
• Contribute to continuity of delivery across festival cycles.

Production Planning & Resource Coordination

• Monitor resource utilisation and production requirements.
• Coordinate implementation of production plans developed by project teams.
• Support procurement planning and scheduling requirements.
• Monitor delivery readiness of projects within assigned scope.
• Highlight resource constraints and operational risks to the Senior Production Manager (Festivals)

Operational Improvement

• Identify recurring operational challenges and improvement opportunities.
• Contribute to development of SOPs, templates and production workflows.
• Participate in post-festival reviews and lessons learnt exercises.
• Support initiatives that improve consistency, efficiency and sustainability.

Others

• To carry out and assume any other duties and responsibilities as and when assigned by the Management

Experience

• Minimum 5–7 years experience in production operations, arts management, event operations, venue operations or related fields.
• Experience supporting complex, multi-stakeholder projects or festivals.
• Experience with procurement administration, financial tracking and workforce management.
• Experience working with contract-based, freelance or project-based workforces.
• Experience developing systems, workflows or operational processes.
• Familiarity with performing arts, festivals or technical production environments preferred.

Technical Skills

• Microsoft 365 Suite
• Production Scheduling tools
• Excel and reporting tools
• SharePoint
• Airtable or equivalent database platforms
• Budget tracking systems
• Production documentation systems
• Project administration tools

Competencies & Traits

• Production leadership
• Operational planning and coordination
• Stakeholder management
• Resource management
• Problem solving and initiative
• Strong written and verbal communication and relationship management
• Strong organisational and planning skills
• High attention to detail
• Team leadership and management
• Risk awareness
• Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously
• Able to work independently and under pressure to meet tight deadlines.
• Agile and adaptable in responding to evolving programme and operational requirements.
• Proactive and resourceful in navigating challenges within a dynamic festival environment.
• Able to work on weekends and after office hours as required.

Note – This is a 2-year contract role