Head of Video Production

The Sun is the biggest news brand in the UK, publishing hundreds of stories a day and reaching over 170m unique users digitally every month. Its exclusives set the news agenda and its campaigns have changed the lives of many. Delivering news, entertainment, and sports coverage to millions of readers every day. With a rich history spanning decades, we are dedicated to providing accurate, insightful, and engaging content across print and digital platforms.

Your team: An iconic, dynamic storyteller with a rich heritage and a global audience in the millions, The Sun is now focusing on an exciting, video-focussed strategy to engage new audiences, putting video at the heart of The Sun’s journalism. 

Your role: As Head of Video Production , you will play a critical role in executing our multi-platform video strategy supporting the Director of Video. You will own the production process from concept to delivery, ensuring seamless execution across all operational aspects. From overseeing the safety of shoots and managing facilities to negotiating payments and rights management, you’ll be the glue that holds our video production efforts together. Your leadership will drive efficiency, quality, and innovation in our video operations.

Day to day you will:

• Lead end-to-end video production, ensuring that projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the highest creative and technical standards.

• Implement streamlined processes for production, ensuring efficient workflows, resource management, and clear communication between teams.

• Oversee the allocation of budgets and set the production schedules across all video production.

• Enforce industry-standard health and safety protocols on all shoots, guaranteeing safe environments for talent and crew across diverse locations.

• Oversee the acquisition, maintenance, and deployment of cutting-edge video equipment, ensuring that all technical needs are met to produce high-quality content.

• Recruit, manage, and lead production teams, from camera operators to post-production editors, ensuring high performance and collaboration on set and in the office.

• Handle payments and negotiate rates with contractors, talent, and suppliers to ensure cost-effective production without compromising on quality.

• Manage content rights, licensing agreements, and intellectual property issues, ensuring that all video content complies with legal standards and maximises monetization opportunities.

• Work with the creative and distribution teams to ensure that video content is optimised for various digital platforms, including social media, streaming, and web-based outlets.

• Stay ahead of the curve with the latest trends, technologies, and regulations in video production, ensuring that the brand remains competitive and compliant.

What we're looking for from you:

• Experienced Video Production Leader: You have deep expertise in video production, including logistics, planning, and execution. You’ve successfully managed large-scale video projects and thrive in fast-paced environments.

• Health & Safety Expert: You understand the critical importance of safety on set and have a proven track record of implementing and adhering to stringent health and safety guidelines.

• Negotiation Skills: Strong experience in negotiating payments, contracts, and rights, ensuring that productions are both cost-effective and legally sound.

• Industry-Savvy: You’re well-versed in the latest trends and regulations in video production, distribution, and rights management, allowing you to navigate complex operational challenges with ease.

• Collaborative Leader: You’re a people person who knows how to bring teams together, manage different stakeholders, and inspire high performance at every level of production.

• Problem Solver: You think quickly on your feet and can troubleshoot issues that arise on set, in the studio, or in post-production to ensure smooth operations.

News UK is one of the leading media businesses in the UK and Ireland. Our newsbrands include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday and The TLS. Our national broadcast brands include talkSPORT, Times Radio and Virgin Radio UK, and we have market-leading local stations across Ireland. Our world-famous brands provide news, analysis, opinion and entertainment to almost 40 million people each month. Spanning print and pixel, audio and video, events and experiences, our multi-format brands are home to a plurality of opinion, representing the diverse communities we serve. Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose, we exist to promote a fair society, freedom of speech and a little bit of fun. Rethinking continually the business of storytelling, we represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter.

At News UK, we embrace a hybrid work model, currently requiring a minimum of three days per week in the office. This approach fosters collaboration, innovation, and team spirit within our workspace. Certain roles may necessitate additional in-office days; please discuss this with your recruiter for specific requirements.

Life at News

Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose. We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter. We inform our audiences so that they can make decisions based on trusted information.

We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter most. To ensure these stories resonate with as broad an audience as possible, it is essential that our organisation reflects the diversity of the people we reach. Whether through age, gender, ethnicity, disability, social class or sexuality, we are committed to representing the rich variety of voices that make up our society. And we champion a culture where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and thrive as we continue to innovate and drive long term sustainable growth. This is done through our Diversity Strategy.

At News UK, we take pride in our exceptional employee-led networks that bring together individuals with shared interests and create a vibrant sense of community. We believe our networks play a vital role in fostering a collaborative and supportive work culture at News UK. Groups that we support include the African & Caribbean Network, Parents and Carers, and LGBTQ+ group News Is Out, and the Apprentice Society.

Benefits

Some of our benefits include:

• Private medical insurance including coverage for pre-existing conditions

• Discounted gym memberships, free ClassPass at Home, weekly in person/ virtual exercise classes

• ‘Bikes for Work’ and ‘Electric Car’ scheme

• Up to 60% discount on Harper Collins books

• Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary & paternity leave up to 2 weeks

• Access to exclusive events and competitions with exciting brands such as talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK & The Times. Weekly virtual panel chats with top journalists and celebrities

• Access to wellbeing benefits such as EAP, physio/massage and counselling

• A generous pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 5%

• Wide range of training available, plus full LinkedIn Learning access

• 30 days holiday plus bank holidays, as well as an extra anniversary day off

• Up to 3 paid volunteering days per year to support causes you care about

We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. If you require reasonable adjustments due to a disability or health condition at any stage of your application or interview, please let us know. You can contact us at [email protected] to discuss how we can support you to perform at your best.