Senior Manager, Legal Business Affairs - TV Production

Please note that this role is based in the United Kingdom. To enable us to meet the statutory and regulatory obligations of the United Kingdom immigration system, you must have the appropriate immigration permission needed to work and reside in the United Kingdom for the duration of the employment.

Role Overview

Reporting to SVP head of UK/EMEA scripted business affairs, with day-to-day supervision by SVP Production and Development, SPTIS in our Manchester Office, the role of Senior Manager, Business Affairs is primarily to service the business affairs needs of the SPTIS in-house production hub group, but will also support other parts of the SPTI business across development, financing, production, post production and exploitation of television programming.

The role holder will take end-to-end responsibility for their matters, exercise sound judgement and deliver consistently high-quality work with limited supervision. Must be capable of leading negotiations, advising stakeholders and drafting complex agreements, escalating material strategic, legal or commercial issues, where appropriate.

The successful candidate will combine strong commercial judgement, excellent negotiation skills and a deep understanding of the television production and content landscape.

Key Responsibilities

• Negotiate, structure and draft all forms of agreements relating to the development, production and exploitation primarily of scripted television projects, but when required, also unscripted projects. To include agreements all forms of underlying rights paperwork (such as option agreements, writer agreements, format agreements etc.), all production related agreements (including producer, director, HOD, crew and other contributor agreements, location, clearance and product use agreements, composer and other music related contracts), and all paperwork related to the distribution and other exploitation of television content.
• Support the negotiation and papering first-look arrangements, talent attachments, development partnerships, other strategic content-related commercial arrangements.
• Negotiation of commissioning agreements with broadcasters, streaming platforms and other commissioning partners.
• Negotiate and manage distribution agreements, licensing arrangements and other content exploitation transactions in partnership with the distribution team.
• Support the structuring and negotiation of all international co-production, tax credit financing arrangements and other deficit financing (such as loan agreements, IPAs, security documentation and all related tax credit documentation), working closely with finance and tax where necessary.
• Provide commercially focused advice to senior management regarding deal structures, talent negotiations, rights positions and contractual obligations.
• Work closely with production, legal, finance and operations throughout the lifecycle of each programme to identify and resolve commercial and contractual issues that could affect development, production or delivery.
• Manage rights and contractual issues relating to underlying intellectual property, including options, licences, renewals, chain of title matters, sequels, spin-offs, remakes and other derivative rights.
• Advise on relevant guild, union and collective bargaining requirements and work with production teams maintain compliance.
• Track contractual commitments, approvals, exclusivity periods and other key deal terms.
• Build and maintain strong relationships across the industry including with agents, managers, lawyers, producers, broadcasters, platforms, guilds, unions etc.
• Monitor evolving industry practices, business models and commercial trends across linear television, streaming and digital platforms.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of efficient business affairs processes, precedents, templates, processes, policies and operational best practices.
• Provide regular status updates to senior management on development, production, rights, financing and other business affairs matters, escalating issues where appropriate.
• Manage multiple negotiations and projects simultaneously in a high paced environment.
• Provide guidance and support to other members of the Business Affairs team and other business partners and stakeholders.

Qualifications & Experience

• Qualified Solicitor/Lawyer, typically with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in a Business Affairs and Legal across the entertainment industry with particular focus on scripted television.
• Excellent working knowledge of television development and production and the legal and commercial considerations associated with content creation and exploitation.
• Experienced in leading assigned negotiations and transactions from initial commercial discussions through drafting, execution and ongoing contractual management.
• Take ownership of the quality, accuracy, completeness and professionalism of all deal documentation produced, including agreements, deal memoranda, term sheets and commercial recommendations.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating agreements and transactions with talent, producers, production companies, agents, managers, lawyers, broadcasters, streamers and other industry representatives.
• Draft and negotiate complex agreements to a high professional standard and able to take ownership of the quality, accuracy and completeness of all deal documentation produced.
• Strong understanding of intellectual property and rights issues relevant to television development, production and exploitation.
• Hands on experience across complex multi-territory television production financings and working knowledge of AVEC tax credit regime.
• Proactive and decisive approach, with the ability to anticipate issues, propose practical solutions and progress matters without requiring detailed direction. Able to exercise sound judgement regarding when to act independently and when a matter requires escalation.
• Familiarity with television production economics, including budgets, talent costs and contingent compensation structures.
• Understanding of relevant UK television guild and union frameworks.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong commercial judgement and ability to understand and balance creative ambitions, financial considerations, contractual risk, operational considerations and long-term business value.
• Confident and pragmatic negotiator capable of handling complex and sensitive discussions, with established industry network.
• Excellent drafting skills with strong attention to detail is essential.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex deal issues clearly to both legal and non-legal stakeholders.
• Ability to build trusted relationships across creative executives, production, talent representatives and internal business partners.
• Solutions-oriented with strong problem solving capabilities and sound commercial judgement.
• Highly organised and able to manage a significant volume of negotiations, deadlines and contractual matters simultaneously with competing priorities.
• A driven self-starter able to work autonomously,
• Comfortable operating within a highly matrixed global organisation and working with multiple teams across the business

How we take care of you:

• Competitive salary.
• A choice of comprehensive health plan options that fit your lifestyle, including private medical insurance.
• Rest and recharge during a week off during the winter holidays, in addition to the 25 days of paid annual leave.
• Participate in extensive learning & development opportunities at all levels, including curated instructor-led classes and high-impact online resources.
• Build your community by joining our Employee Business Resource Groups and/or Sony Pictures Action – our racial equity and inclusion strategy.
• Access to an employee online store filled with a variety of discounted Sony products.
• Watch the newest movies and TV shows at our exclusive employee screenings at work.
• Entitlement to apply for an interest-free season ticket loan.
• Automatic enrolment in the Company’s Pension Plan
• Free counselling and advisory service.
• You will be automatically enrolled in the Company’s Life Insurance and Group Income Protection Plans, subject to any applicable service requirements.

In addition to the above, we have a range of other optional discounted benefits that are reviewed regularly (e.g., gym memberships, travel insurance, activity passes, car leasing, experience days and many more!)

If you require any reasonable adjustments with any part of the recruitment process, including the application or interview process, please contact us at [email protected]. Please put Reasonable Adjustment Request in the subject line of the email.

Sony Pictures does not allow audio recording, video recording or use of AI note-taking tools during interviews. Candidates requiring these tools as an accommodation during an interview should submit a reasonable adjustment request at the point they are invited to interview.

Sony Pictures Entertainment is committed to equal opportunity in all its employment practices, policies and procedures. No worker or potential worker will therefore receive less favourable treatment due to their race, age, creed, sexual orientation, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, religion, gender, marital status or Trade Union membership (if applicable).

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