About The Drum
The Drum is a global media platform and community for the marketing, advertising, media and creative industries. We celebrate creativity, champion innovation and bring together the people and businesses shaping the industry through our journalism, content, events, awards and experiences.
Video plays an increasingly important role in how we tell stories, engage audiences, showcase creativity and deliver value to our commercial partners.
We're looking for an experienced, organised and technically capable Video Production Manager to help us deliver high-quality video content across the business, while continually improving how we plan, produce and distribute it.
About the role
This is a hands-on production management role, responsible for coordinating and managing the day-to-day delivery of video production across The Drum.
Working closely with Editorial, Commercial, Social, Publishing and Events, you'll ensure productions are well planned, efficiently resourced, delivered to a high standard and completed within agreed budgets and deadlines.
The role covers a wide variety of content, including branded and client productions, editorial interviews, documentaries, podcasts, social-first video, promotional films and coverage of major UK and international industry events.
You'll be responsible for organising shoots, managing production schedules, briefing freelancers, coordinating equipment and suppliers, overseeing editing and ensuring all content is delivered to the required standard.
Alongside managing productions, you'll be expected to get hands‑on where needed, including filming, editing and helping to resolve technical challenges.
We're also keen to make better use of technology, AI and automation to improve production workflows, reduce repetitive tasks and increase the amount of quality content we can produce.
This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys the practical and organisational side of video production, is comfortable working across different types of content and wants to help make a busy production operation more efficient.
Key responsibilities
Production planning and delivery
- Manage the day-to-day planning and delivery of video productions across The Drum.
- Coordinate production briefs, schedules, budgets, resources, filming requirements and deadlines.
- Work with Editorial, Sales, Client Services, Social, Publishing and Event Production to understand requirements and agree production plans.
- Ensure projects are properly scoped and achievable within agreed budgets and timelines.
- Organise crews, equipment, locations, filming schedules, editing and final delivery.
- Monitor production progress and identify potential issues before they affect deadlines or budgets.
- Coordinate the production process from initial briefing through filming, editing, approvals and final delivery.
- Keep relevant teams updated on production progress and any changes to schedules or requirements.
Branded and commercial content
- Coordinate the production of branded content, sponsored films, client interviews and bespoke commercial productions.
- Work closely with Sales and Client Services to understand client briefs, deliverables, budgets and expectations.
- Ensure production requirements are clearly understood before work begins.
- Brief and coordinate freelance crews, videographers and editors.
- Monitor production quality and ensure client requirements are met.
- Coordinate feedback, amendments and approvals.
- Ensure all agreed commercial deliverables are completed and supplied on time.
- Identify opportunities to capture additional content and maximise the value of each production.
Editorial, documentary and social content
- Work with Editorial to coordinate video requirements for interviews, news coverage, features and documentaries.
- Help translate editorial ideas and commissions into practical production plans.
- Coordinate filming schedules, contributors, locations, footage, editors and graphics.
- Support the production of longer‑form and documentary content alongside editorial leads and specialist creative talent.
- Develop efficient approaches to social‑first and mobile‑first video.
- Ensure filming is planned to capture multiple content opportunities, including short clips, behind‑the‑scenes material and promotional assets.
- Work with Social and Publishing to ensure content is edited and supplied in the correct formats for different platforms.
- Help speed up the process from filming through to editing and publication.
Events and international production
The Drum covers and delivers a number of major industry events, both in the UK and internationally. The role will help coordinate the video production requirements for these events.
This includes Cannes Lions, CES, Advertising Week and The Drum's own conferences, festivals, awards and live events.
Responsibilities include:
- Organising video production requirements and schedules ahead of events.
- Coordinating filming crews, equipment, locations and production logistics.
- Managing multiple shoots and competing production requirements.
- Working closely with Event Production on technical requirements, AV, schedules and suppliers.
- Coordinating editorial interviews, branded content, social coverage and event filming.
- Organising on‑site editing and fast‑turnaround content delivery where required.
- Establishing relationships with reliable local freelance crews in international locations.
- Ensuring production commitments are delivered on time and within agreed budgets.
- Being available to travel internationally and work outside normal hours, including evenings and weekends, when required.
Production workflows, AI and automation
We want to continually improve how video is produced across The Drum, making better use of technology and more efficient working methods.
You'll be expected to identify practical opportunities to improve existing processes.
- Review production workflows and identify opportunities to improve efficiency.
- Explore AI and automation tools for transcription, editing, clipping, captioning, graphics and content versioning.
- Improve processes for file transfers, footage logging, storage and media management.
- Introduce templates and consistent workflows to reduce repetitive work.
- Explore tools that help speed up editing, approvals and content delivery.
- Keep up to date with new production technologies and developments in AI.
- Work with colleagues to introduce practical improvements that increase productivity without compromising quality.
Editing and hands‑on production
- Have strong working knowledge of Adobe Premiere Pro and professional editing workflows.
- Undertake routine editing, client amendments, social content, interviews and promotional videos where appropriate.
- Understand filming, camera operation, lighting, sound, graphics and post‑production.
- Review and quality‑check work produced by freelance editors.
- Help troubleshoot technical issues during filming and editing.
- Be comfortable filming smaller productions independently where this is the most efficient approach.
- Ensure video content meets the required technical standards and is supplied in the correct formats.
Freelancers, crews and suppliers
- Build and maintain a network of reliable UK and international freelance editors, videographers, camera operators and production crews.
- Source and brief external production specialists as required.
- Coordinate freelancers to ensure they understand production requirements, budgets, deadlines and deliverables.
- Manage supplier relationships and monitor the quality and value of their services.
- Ensure freelancers receive the necessary information, assets and instructions.
- Help establish efficient processes for commissioning, file sharing, feedback and delivery.
- Identify opportunities to use local crews and suppliers to reduce international production costs.
Budgets and cost management
- Manage production expenditure, supplier costs and purchase orders within agreed budgets.
- Monitor project costs and flag potential overspend.
- Obtain quotes and compare production supplier costs.
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