Production Technology Lead

PXP/Publicis Production South Africa is looking for an experienced Production Technology Lead to join the team. In addition to leading the technology innovation and implementation for key SA operations, the candidate will support strategic transformation and scale project taking place over the next 6-12 months (“Project Core”).

You will report into the Production Practice SVP, with oversight from other key South African executives. You will have a working relationship with Publicis Production Globally, PXP Global Team and Re:Sources teams to drive successful growth and innovation.

As a technology expert, you will:

• In partnership with the Managing Director(s) and other key business stakeholders, lead the production technology study, development, design, implementation, ecosystem, and innovation for the South African studio operations. This role will expand over time to cover Publicis Production offerings across the Publicis Groupe Africa structure across the Continent.
• Evaluate the technology needs at all levels of the studio organization, creating viable and competitive short and long-term solutions to meet the needs of a fast-growing, scaled organization in the production industry.
• Build and lead the production technology support team within and outside Re:Sources, as required to meet the business’ needs.
• Lead the effort to evaluate, design, introduce, monitor, and continuously improve an integrated end-to-end production business processes and technology solution.
• This roadmap should consider tapping into all technology options available internally within Publicis, with the right mix of cloud-based solutions vs on-prem production file management infrastructure.
• Take full ownership of the Project Core technical design and change.
• One of the main objectives of Project Core is to enable Publicis Production to scale up, by standardizing and unifying tools & technologies.
• Work closely with the Global Production Technology Sponsor, Business Process Design Lead and Business Process Manager to gain understanding of the overall end-to-end process.
• As required, participate in interviews and workshops with various key stakeholders, such as from production hubs, media, data, and other capability teams, to gain understanding of ways of working.
• Work with other Project Core Workstream Leads to develop the technology backlog, priorities, timelines, and costs.
• Refer to the Publicis Production Cloud capabilities to meet the requirements for Project Core, evaluating the pros and cons of technology options and propose the most suitable one considering the priorities of the project.
• Provide ongoing technology leadership to the SA & Africa Production teams, including being the ultimate sign off for all required technology changes and advancements.
• Establish relationships and gain understanding of capabilities and technology platforms available internally within Publicis and how they could support our production operations, including but not limited to capabilities available from Global, PGD, PXP and Re:Sources teams.
• Interact with Groupe internal IT support, Publicis Re:sources for on-prem infrastructure, workstations, network, and security purposes.
• Identify and engage with external vendors in case new technology solutions need to be considered.
• Partner with clients on a needs basis to assist the production practice in developing and adopting their technologies.
• Identify automation opportunities and propose solutions.
• Other responsibilities, as required and assigned.

Where our collaborative technology stack “Publicis Production Cloud” is rolled out, you will also:

• Engage with the Global Production Technology Sponsor to decide on the most accurate and efficient selection of tools to fit the business needs. Own the relationship with the SA & Africa production teams, to ensure the technology ecosystem and platforms meet the business needs.

• You have 10 to 15 years of experience in leading and designing technology ecosystem in production at scale. Experience in production infrastructure, ideally cross media including video, digital and print, DAM (Digital Asset Management), production workflow management, rights management, and analytics.
• Experience in the production industry for advertising is a key requirement.
• You are perfectly fluent in English.
• You are based in SA, preferably Johannesburg.
• You need the ability to lead and influence, be dynamic and proactive, with team spirit and excellent organizational, presentation and interpersonal skills.