WHAT YOU’LL DO

Champion Clarity

The Project Manager is critical to our projects running smoothly and our team’s setup to succeed. Everything you‘ll do—from weekly project updates, to confirming financials with accounting or coordinating with different project teams—will be in the service of continually pushing for clarity. You hold the keys of the scope, schedule and budget, what power, and with great power, comes great responsibility—responsibility to keep all things clear.

Keep it Moving

We’re looking for a solutions-oriented project manager who has extensive knowledge and experience with delivering complex themed entertainment projects. This person possess’ Jedi like skills around budgeting, estimating, time management, and coordinating collaboration across teams, project phases and time zones. You understand each phase of a project from BlueSky concept to boots on the ground construction and the typical challenges that accompany them. No matter the project phase or complexity of scope, you’re adept at finding ways to reach the finish line within the defined parameters.

Connect the Dots

Project Managers at Storyland are tethers that hold our internal teams and external partners together. In this role you’ll work closely with members of our senior most executive team, executive producers, creative leads, architects, master planners, writers, strategists, technical directors, designers, illustrators, engineers, developers, coordinators, contractors, strategic partners and bears, oh my! Okay, not bears, but you will manage complex projects with lots of different disciplines and lots of moving parts. Working closely with your executive producer, you’re the one who helps to hold it all together and ensures communication is happening, all in service of that clarity we talked about earlier.

Grow Forward

We’re hiring someone who will roll up their sleeves and add value on day one, but we also believe in the potential of every employee. We want you to grow, we want you to have a growth mindset, and we’ll look to support that growth with the opportunity to work with industry veterans on a wide scope of projects. Storyland Studios continues to shepherd the growth of our European and Middle Eastern client base, and we also have our eyes on further expansion into Southeast Asia. We want you to grow and we want you to help us as we do.

THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THIS ROLE

With a wealth of experience in the place-based design and/or themed entertainment industry, you will be used to running immersive design and architectural projects of all shapes and sizes. Your portfolio and CV will demonstrate that you have successfully lived, worked and installed beyond the concept phase of major projects. You will be skilled at organizing and managing scope, schedule and budgets for a myriad of projects and project teams, including freelance and sub-contractors. Finally the right person for this role is someone who relishes the opportunity to work on international projects and familiar with the challenges of navigating design and construction projects in emerging markets, like the Middle East.

WHAT SUCCESS WILL LOOK LIKE

For day-to-day success, you will …

• Exhibit flexibility, kindness, and a willingness to learn. Yep, that’s the top of the list!
• Be comfortable in ambiguity and shaping “something” into something extraordinary without paint-by-number instructions.
• In partnership with the producer, carry responsibility for the project’s overall health and profitability, driving to successful delivery while ensuring the team has what they need to complete the work.
• Facilitate contract reviews with teams through internal kickoffs when a contract is executed, driving for clarity on scope, schedule, budget and client & team expectations.
• Empower successful client management through scheduling and coordinating regular meetings, checkpoints, and project check-ins.
• Create project estimates and budgets based on your extensive execution experience within the themed entertainment world.
• Communicate weekly status updates, budget reporting, and timeline impacts.
• Create project milestone reports for forecasting and use in the mitigation of project budget overages.
• Work closely with other project managers, and resourcing to make sure proper creative teams, contractors or strategic partners are casted & forecasted.
• Work closely with accounting and operations to properly forecast and report on project financials & controls.
• Champion internal processes and at the same time facilitating discussions around possible improvements, help us get better!
• Ensure that a quality product/service is delivered by maintaining quality controls and ensuring the appropriate scheduling of design reviews.
• Use sound judgement in all communications—making sure that the IQ of a report is coupled with EQ.
• Oh and always reply to team communication in a timely manner, we’re distributed and we want to be considerate of others, by getting them what they need as quickly as we reasonably can.
• Within reason, you’ll demonstrate an ability to work on multiple projects concurrently, with the confidence to multi-task and delegate as required.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING TO THE PARTY

Skills and Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in theme park design, development, planning and project delivery preferred. 5-7 years of project management experience for themed experiences, or exhibits, or attractions, or RD&E or architecture required.
• Demonstrated project management for a minimum of 3 large, complex projects delivered through opening day.
• You have a full grasp of each phase of a complex project and how each discipline integrates for a successful and profitable delivery from contract to opening day.
• Your favorite word combo is “on-time and on-budget”.
• You love getting stuff done and the people who get it done. That doesn’t mean you’re an extrovert or the life of the party, but it does mean that you’re a team player, you’re humble, hungry, and servant-hearted.
• You’re familiar with theme park technologies including ride systems, A/V, robotics, engineering, & show systems.
• You’re versed in theme park related architecture, design and construction management practices.
• You’re responsive in serving others and anticipate what’s next.
• You’re versatile, self-motivated and undaunted by ambiguity. You love shaping solutions to problems, you’re at home in the midst of change and embrace the process of continual improvement.
• High degree of adaptability. You shift gears easily and thrive in a setting where you juggle multiple things at once.
• You have an EQ that matches or supersedes your IQ — we hire just as much, if not more, based on values than strictly intellect or ability. If you’re humble, hungry, and servant-hearted — you’ve found your people!
• You see feedback as a means to growth, rather than criticism.
• While this role will not have a concentrated focus on this market, you’ll be right at home working with or alongside those who do work with cause-based and Christian, faithbased clientele (for projects under our sub-brand studio, PlainJoe).
• You have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
• You’re willing to relocate for an advanced period of time should a project require it.
• You’re fluent in English-equally able to write or present.

Preferred Skillset

• Bi-lingual is preferred (French or Spanish)

ABOUT US

Storyland Studios is a design and production firm with offices in the US and Europe. We imagine, design and create immersive experiences and environments that lift the Spirit.

From our shared background at Walt Disney Imagineering, we learned the art, craft and science of experience design—of telling stories in space. Our team of over 100 veteran Imagineers, strategists, marketers, artists, animators, designers, and developers craft connected stories and create truly immersive experiences.

We’re a fun-loving family that loves what we do and leads with our heart. We serve the themed-entertainment and attraction market through the Storyland Studios brand and Christian-based charitable organizations through our sister studio, PlainJoe. We care about the life and development of our people and want to come alongside you to care for you in your pursuits.

We offer full-time Storylanders:

Retire Well

• 401k*: 100% match up to 4% of compensation. Eligible after 6 months of employment.

Stay Healthy

• Health: Storyland covers 100% of employee insurance premium on employee sponsored plans.
• Dental: Storyland covers 100% of employee insurance premium on employee sponsored plans.
• Vision: Storyland covers 100% of employee insurance premium on employee sponsored plans.

Rest Assured

• Life Insurance: Policy of $50,000. Storyland covers 100% of employee life insurance premium.

• Long Term Disability: Storyland covers 100% of employee LTD premium.

Enjoy Life

• Open PTO Policy: Storyland offers open-ended paid time off. Approval is contingent on the employee’s work performance and the impact on their team.