Job Description

The Production Supervisor takes responsibility for managing a number of the GSA productions each year, liaising with academics, visiting creatives, technicians and students on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The post holder is responsible for supervising and mentoring production students throughout the production process and supporting the delivery of stage management teaching sessions, providing feedback to academic colleagues. They are responsible for producing production schedules and managing production budgets in conjunction with the Productions Manager. The Production Supervisor manages the props, furniture and scenic fabric stores and plays a critical role in promoting and maintaining safe working practices across our production facilities, and sustainable working practices, in line with the principles of the Theatre Green Book.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee production teams comprising permanent staff, visiting professionals, freelance Production Supervisors and students to deliver productions as part of the GSA production programme.
• Undertake the role of Production Supervisor on an agreed proportion of GSA productions each academic year.
• Work collaboratively with construction, costume and other production departments to ensure the timely, efficient and sustainable delivery of production resources, in line with the principles of the Theatre Green Book.
• Liaise with the Productions Manager, visiting practitioners, freelance staff, designers and technicians to plan, coordinate and maintain  production schedules that support the successful delivery of productions.
• Promote and maintain a safe working environment throughout rehearsals, production periods and performances, ensuring compliance with relevant health and safety legislation and industry best practice.
• Manage the props, furniture and scenic fabric stores, ensuring they are well organised, maintained and developed to support teaching and production activity. Oversee the maintenance of scenic and staging equipment as required.
• Supervise, mentor and support students undertaking production roles, fostering their professional development through practical production experience. Support the delivery of stage management teaching sessions and workshops.
• Provide timely and constructive formative feedback to students and contribute to summative assessment and feedback processes as required.

About you

We are looking for a production supervisor with experience in live theatre who thrives in a busy and demanding environment, and ideally you will have experience of working in the HE sector. You must have experience of managing budgets effectively, of leading a team, and the flexibility to work well with a wide range of people. You will have a good level of stage management knowledge and an understanding of technical theatre, and be an effective communicator with the ability to remain calm under pressure. You should have exceptional attention to detail, with excellent management, administrative and IT skills, and be confident in supervising and mentoring students taking part in assessed production work.

We are actively committed to looking for all kinds of talent to build a diverse staff team at the GSA. We understand creating and maintaining a work environment in which all social groups are represented and moreover, feel safe and respected, is something we must work at. We do not take this for granted. We see anti-racism and anti-discrimination more broadly as a life-long commitment. We are working towards removing all barriers that staff, applicants and students may experience. Steps taken include having gender-balanced and racially diverse panels, undertaking anti-racism training and unconscious bias training and considering all candidates against a clear, realistic and well-defined person specification. We would particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups, such as people from the Global majority, people with disabilities and those identifying as female, non-binary or trans.

How to Apply

If you feel you have the requisite skills and experience and would like to join our team then please do get in touch.

For an informal discussion please contact Suzette Farrier, Productions Manager s.farrier@gsa.surrey.ac.uk

Interviews will be held on Wednesday 14th October.

The University of Surrey reserves the right to close this vacancy early based on volume and calibre of applications.

Apply via jobs.surrey.ac.uk