Role design and job descriptions for Television production houses: who does what across floors and units
A serial runs on hundreds of small tasks done daily. Written roles keep them from falling between the unit manager, the assistant director and the production office.
Not sure what you need? Tell us about your business in six short steps and we will come to the first meeting prepared.
Share your requirementsWhy role design and job descriptions matters in television production houses
On a long-running show, roles grow by habit. The assistant director arranges transport because the previous one did. The spot boy collects food orders because the manager once asked. A new unit manager does not know what the old one handled, and the job is half-done on the first day.
Role design writes down the actual duties. A short page for each role: unit manager, assistant director, continuity, wardrobe, set supervisor, editor, script coordinator. It states what the person decides, what they must report and what they hand over. Pages are short enough to be read on the floor and useful for hiring and rate setting.
How to set it up
1. Shadow one shooting day per unit
Note who does what, from first call to wrap, including small tasks nobody lists.
2. Group tasks by role
Decide which role owns each task. Move tasks that sit in the wrong place, such as transport booking sitting with the director.
3. Write one page per role
Purpose, daily duties, decisions, who they report to and who covers when they are away.
4. Test the pages with the people in post
Ask each person whether the page matches the job, and amend. Check for gaps at handovers between units.
5. Link the roles to the rate card
Use the pages in hiring and in pay benchmarking, so title, duty and rate agree.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask three people in one unit who arranges transport, meals and props.
- Check whether the last unit manager had any written handover.
- List tasks done on a normal day that appear in no role.
- See whether new crew received a page describing their duties.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach role design and job descriptions in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
One page is enough: purpose, main daily duties, decisions and reporting. Longer pages are rarely read on a busy floor.
Show them the pages are drawn from what they already do, and use the process to remove unfair extra tasks. Agreement grows when people see their load fairly stated.
A short one helps. It states hours, tasks and who they take instructions from, which prevents them being pulled in five directions.