Production Director - Greater London - Heaps + Stacks

Description

The Event Production Director will oversee the smooth delivery of multiple projects and activations across the agency. They'll lead and inspire a team of producers at mixed levels, guiding work across varied clients, budgets, and scopes.

They'll play a key role in resourcing the team effectively, leading on pitches, and working closely with producers on live projects to ensure creative, commercial, and operational excellence.

Success in this role means leading by example, inspiring confidence, anticipating challenges, and driving the team to deliver exceptional, effective work.

ABOUT US

We are a culturally connected, experience agency with Heaps of creative energy and Stacks of strategic thinking and production expertise.

We're not afraid to be bold. We fuse big ideas, cultural insight, and a playful approach to design experiences that mould what's next.

We do not believe in "one size fits all." Instead, we come at every brief with a fresh perspective, underpinned by a deep understanding of trends and consumer behaviour. This ensures our solutions are authentic and land ROI, legacy, and fame.

We don't just create—we collaborate. Our house-style is grounded in long-term partnerships, where we co‑create with our clients, taking on their challenges and delivering seamless experiences that resonate.

We work with commercial brands to produce moments which crescendo their marketing calendars. We love what we do, and that passion shows right through the design process and into all physical touchpoints. We join the dots between an array of talented people to create immersive experiences—whether that's a brand trip, a VIP party, or an all‑singing, all‑dancing store launch

Our clients include big names such as Nike, Estée Lauder, Longchamp, and Selfridges.

Heaps + Stacks is an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment, where all applicants will receive equal consideration regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disabilities.

At the core of our agency are our guiding values:

• Imagination – We think beyond the ordinary, inspiring each other to dream big and challenge the status quo.
• Joy – We understand that play and wonder are powerful tools for creating authentic emotional connections with today's audiences.
• Energy – Shooting for the moon – we thrive in the moment where big ideas are realised. We push the boundaries in search of innovation.
• Care – We are thoughtful stewards of the brands we partner with, fostering kindness within our team and taking a mindful approach to every project we undertake.

WHO YOU'LL BE WORKING WITH:

Internal: The EPD will lead on the day-to-day management of their direct reports, Senior Producers and Producers, supporting them in overseeing Junior team members. They will be accountable for team performance and ensure everyone has clear development goals and ongoing learning opportunities.

External: Various client teams, including senior level clients and directors (EPD may often need to lead on meetings with support from wider team). Suppliers who need specialist and experienced knowledge and who are integral to activation success such as set build, lighting, tech, stylists etc.

Line manager: EPD will report into the Business Unit Director

WHAT'S EXPECTED:

Your duties are included but not limited to the below:

Project Management

• Overseeing and guiding the delivery of large-scale projects and activations across the agency, setting teams up for success from initial brief through to the live.
• Effectively work cross-functionally and build relationships with different H+S departments, to reach client goals for each project.
• Leading and inspiring the team to ensure projects are delivered successfully on time and on budget from pitch to wrap stage
• Ensuring consistency & quality of projects and improving efficiencies within the team
• Creating ways of working for the project team to make sure timings and deadlines don't get missed or truncated
• Signing off project timelines, proposals and budgets for your direct team – includes scoping out the commercial viability of live jobs once signed off
• Managing and sharing client facing budgets and quotes – includes internal budget management and P&L updates
• Contracting negotiation with 3rd parties – includes management of SOW
• On-site event delivery – UK and overseas. Sometimes working weekends and evening as required
• Post event evaluation of all projects (lead by the producer) – working out areas of improvement and collating reports and actioning any feedback
• Making senior decisions on client accounts with the company's best interests and future business objectives in mind.
• Making sure all projects are wrapped and reconciled – includes internal and external wrap meetings, client gifting, website and creds copy
• Making sure all tracking and receipts are filed and captured in the correct ways and on time

Client Management

• Act as senior client lead, maintaining strong relationships and overseeing day-to-day communication at a strategic level.
• Ensuring client communication is at the right level throughout – and there's a good mix of calls and f2f meetings to develop good relationships
• Run client onboarding that coincides with the client retention strategy
• Pro-actively pitch new event ideas to top clients
• Feed into ways to build and improve the client retention plan
• Create client roadmaps for the future planning
• Identify opportunities for account growth and revenue generation.

Team Management

• Managing the teams' workload; ensuring projects are evenly distributed, and that each member is getting the chance to take on new challenges whilst being supported.
• Supervising relevant project workflow management (CRM/Synergist/Float/Timesheets.)
• Supervising client communication throughout the project, ensuring there's a good mix of emails, calls and f2f meetings to develop good relationships.
• Line management of a project team feeding in on their goal setting, appraisals, training and development.
• Expert training and coaching the team where needed across; project management, deck writing, budgeting, jargon, best ways of working with any tips and tricks as you go.
• Ensuring consistency & quality of projects and improving efficiencies within the team.
• Steering the team to book onto culture activities and other team bonding and/or learning ops.
• Managing invoices and payment for all teams' jobs.
• Ultimate management of all suppliers for your teams jobs, including cost negotiations – making sure we get 3 quotes where possible
• Sending out and chasing invoices and making sure invoices are submitted for payment on time
• Speaking to RAMs and insurance suppliers on jobs which may require specific consultation

Marketing and Lead Generation

• Making sure all staff on the social accounts post when they go on jobs on their own.
• Work with marketing, creative, brand experiences and design teams during RFP process to assist with building experiential related presentations for clients.
• Working with wider team on new business tenders and to successfully deliver pitches.
• Looking for and working on external marketing opportunities for the business with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Wider business responsibilities

• Having a huge input into the company culture, the way we work, the work we create and the general day to day atmosphere and aspirations of the business.
• Involved with resourcing – including interviewing new recruits and managing of freelance staff and making recommendations for any full-time staff that might need to be recruited for by the Studio Manager and snr leadership team.
• Identifying opportunities for new systems to simplify and speed up the way we do things – leaving us more time to focus on creating great events.
• Ensuring annual profit targets are met through close management of teams and suppliers and client budgets.
• Passionate in pushing innovation & creative brand solutions in a way which organically drives business.
• Proposing and pushing sustainable and responsible event options.
• Supporting Leadership Team in the day to day running of the agency
• Play a key role in managing the studio environment, overseeing storage, and ensuring projects and materials are properly wrapped and organised post-event.

Performance in this role will come from guiding the team towards:

• Outstanding Creative / pushing the limits and doing something different.
• Quality of what's produced – (inc sustainability and use of materials).
• Appropriate use of cash – saving money where appropriate but also allowing enough money to gain the quality/ creative freedom we require.
• Account Management – creating a joyful and stress‑free experience for the client to ensure repeat business.

SALARY & TIME COMMITMENT

This role is predominantly office based (we imagine at least 2/3rds of your time would be in the office) and we are ideally looking for someone to work full time.

Salary would range between £60,000 – £65,000 depending on experience.

Please note we review salary regularly to make sure the team moves in line with the business as well as their individual efforts

WORKING WITH US

To enjoy your role and to succeed here, you need to be able to work at a fast pace and love a busy, ever‑changing environment. Change is a certainty – you'll need to be comfortable and happy to adapt and be agile. We want you to challenge the status quo, innovate and be open to trying new things. We're always pushing boundaries. We empower our people, giving them freedom and autonomy to learn and grow in their roles. We're passionate, agile, creative and one team.

MORE ABOUT YOU:

• Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills as well as the ability to inspire the team to give their best.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, as well as presentation skills in order to make outstanding pitches.
• Plenty of creative ideas and an understanding of the clients' vision.
• An awareness of current trends in advertising and design.
• A self‑starting attitude and an open outlook.
• Resilience under pressure and against deadlines.
• An understanding of how creative production roles complement other departments, such as finance and client management.
• Some knowledge of the software and applications involved in the creative process.
• Skills in managing people, projects and resources.
• Awareness to pre‑empt issues across both design and resource.
• Have an interest in sustainability, materiality and look at experience production with a future focused and environmental lens.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE DONE BEFORE

To be considered for this position we are looking for candidates with 10 years min experience working within an event or experiential agency. We are looking for experience in delivering integrated campaigns involving events, knowledge of the whole production process and the ability to interpret a brand and develop creative concepts that exceed expectations.

WHY JOIN US?

• Collaboration – As pretty much all of our projects include site visits, handling of physical items, deliveries and face to face brainstorms, we recommend 2-3 days in the office per week for collaboration, to get the best results. Tuesdays are days we ask people to come in, and we've realised that 2-3 days per week in the office is the average that people come in and that works well.
• Flexi Working Times – The team can work their 7.5 hours with a start and finish that suits them. This is completely up to the teammate to decide on their own accord, but of course altered working hours must not disrupt the wider team or the paying client.
• Meeting Free Fridays – This is to give the team time to wrap up their work as well as a good amount of time, uninterrupted, to get stuck into deep work.
• Training – We are proud to offer training to all teammates including group training days with varying themes and topics, as well as offering teammates further training to upskill for the maximum value of £500 per year.
• Duvet Days – Our team have 2 duvet days per year. A duvet day can be taken whenever a teammate needs a day off at random and they haven't already requested annual leave. Maybe they have just woken up and feel like they need to be alone or they are super tired and just want to curl up on the sofa. These days are for the team member.
• Volunteering Day – We offer teammates up to 2 days per year of volunteering on company time – which is up to the teammate to use how they wish.
• Holiday – We offer 28 days annual leave per year. With 3 days of this holiday entitlement to cover the period of the Company shutdown between Christmas and New Year. After a teammate has completed two years working at Heaps + Stacks, they are entitled to 1 day extra holiday per year for each additional year of service, capped at a maximum of 33 days holiday per year (excluding Bank Holiday and National Holidays).
• After three years of service with Heaps + Stacks, team members are entitled to a one off, £1000 bonus.
• After five years of service with Heaps + Stacks, we offer team members the opportunity to take a one month fully paid sabbatical.
• Mobile Phone Allowance – Each month we will pay £20 towards the team members mobile phone bill. There's nothing that they need to do; this will be added into their pay each month.
• Maternity / Paternity – We will pay enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption pay if the team member meets the relevant criteria.
• Expensed Gallery Trips – We offer each team member £25.00 to expense for a visit to a gallery or exhibition every month.
• Good Egg – At the end of the month the team votes who has gone above and beyond that month, and whoever receives the most votes is rewarded with a Selfridges voucher.
• Work Abroad – Up to one week per year to work aboard, as long as it doesn't cause stress to the team (Full T&C to be confirmed if successful).
• You Move, We move – We want our team to feel settled. So, if they are moving house, they can book one van per year on us (Full T&C to be confirmed if successful).
• Quarterly Celebration – Every quarter, we will be celebrating our successes together as a team. This might be a team trip to the pub, or an arty or active activity We have an in‑house social committee that is dedicated to ensuring something fun and magical is planned for us all
• Bonus & Profit Share – We also offer a range of bonuses to employees including intro, business performance and new business bonus. Full T&C will be given to all successful candidates.
• H + S Library – Buy a book on the gold card (this can be audio or hard copy) for the value of up to £20. If it's a hard copy, please bring it into the office once finished. We suggest buying 2nd hand (to save the world). If it's audio, don't sign up for a subscription
• Cycle to Work – The cycle‑to‑work scheme allows teammates to obtain commuter bikes and cycling accessories through Heaps + Stacks, spreading the cost over 12 months and making savings through a tax break.
• Health Care – Once the teammate has completed 1 year with us, they can access the healthcare policy provided by Bupa
• Eye Test – We offer a free annual eye test up to £25. Team members can visit any optician and claim back the cost for the eye test on expenses (glasses excluded).

If this role isn't quite right for you and you know someone who might be a good fit, all successful introductions that end in employment will benefit from an introduction bonus of £1000 for initial successful placement and £500 when they pass their probation.