Vice President, Production Services

PRA is the market-leading business event management firm, delivering unique experiences that move hearts, minds and businesses forward. Blending Passion, Reach and Authenticity, PRA works collaboratively with clients to craft creative, multi-sensory attendee journeys to leave a lasting impression

Applicants must be based in the Chicago area for this role and be able to attend events, client meetings, site inspections, etc. in person. This role is hybrid allowing for some days working from home and some working out of an office in downtown Chicago.

Summary

This is a role for a strategic and growth-minded event production leader seeking an opportunity to lead and grow PRA's production services team. The Vice President will be a capable manager with team and events know-how, sound financial practices, project planning, team building skills, and mentoring abilities.

As a key member of the PRA leadership team, the VP, Production Services regularly collaborates with PRA Creative, Global Sales and Strategic Account teams to drive business development, identify client-oriented solutions, determine technical requirements, facilitate the deployment of resources, and to build key client relationships within PRA global accounts.

The VP is responsible for implementing overall business strategy and leading the day-to-day operations of the production services business unit including P&L ownership, department budgeting, and the hiring, management, mentorship and development of executive producers and production team members.

The VP is responsible for the implementation of consistent processes and best practices that optimize the deployment of production resources, support cross functional team collaboration, and drive creative and innovative solutions that deliver successful outcomes for PRA clients and their attendees.

Growth Mindset

• Maintain and grow a portfolio of clients whose engagements may include large-scale event production and high-profile production management, brand strategy, digital content & broadcast production, experiential activations, video production, social and digital media content creation.
• Partners with VP, Business Development to identify and win net new business for the production team each year to drive revenue growth for the division
• Strategic ability to conceive, develop and implement programs that build client brand and provide a foundation to drive client business growth
• Identifies new opportunities within current client relationships, charts a path to forge new relationships and design strategies to identify broader, long-term opportunities for comprehensive client solutions across our portfolio of services.
• Partners with VP of Business Development and Global Sales team in delivering against financial goals and client commitments, working within specified deadlines to ensure due dates are met.
• Recommends production solutions and budgets, identifies respective expenditures, and overall project scope of work.
• Creates and maintains cross-departmental relationships and internal communications to effectively drive change and position the production services team to support growth opportunities and scale.
• Serves as operational business partner to VP of Business Development, taking on responsibilities that support a growth mindset and ensure alignment with the organization's priorities and client needs.
• Leads proactive/reactive RFP-based solution development to generate client centric solutions that maximize revenue and drive long term account growth.
  
  

Team Management

• Lead a team of event production individuals to deliver the best product for our clients
• Develop and maintain an effective organization through selection, training, compensation, motivation, and performance management
• Ability to develop and manage a team, delegate responsibilities and tasks with continued oversight of high level conceptual development and overall project budgets.
• Manages, trains and mentors a team of producers responsible for individual projects and client programs.
• Provides guidance on best practices, delivers constructive feedback, and consistent mentorship to department and project team members.
• Ultimately accountable for all production services workflow and deliverables from the pre-sale process through execution.
• Manages relationships with strategic supplier partners and key freelance talent.
• Instills a high level of client centricity across all team members to support a growth mindset and drive client satisfaction.
  
  

Business Management

• Drives business strategy and P&L for PRA Production Services.
• Supports business growth and scale by streamlining and developing new procedures/best practices, and process improvements that create efficiencies and meet client expectations.
• Determines key production assignments and project teams. Works with cross functional teams throughout PRA to create comprehensive client experiences for both in-person and virtual environments.
• Negotiates contract agreements, identifies and oversees relationships with key external vendors and freelance talent to develop and enhance supplier partnerships and identify specialized resources to achieve efficiencies and scale.
• Drives and consistently maintains a strong emphasis on quality control, flawless execution, and overall client satisfaction. Revises and adjusts project scope and deliverables based on stakeholder engagement and feedback.
• Strong focus on profitable revenue growth, project management, marketplace insights, creative & design team services, and production management.
• Manages development and implementation of emerging technology and production tools-- keeping a steady touch with what's "new" in the industry.
• Strong understanding of event production & creative services budgeting, scheduling, and freelance labor pools. Provides internal and external clients with estimates of budget and labor scheduling requirements.
• Sets and manages processes related to account operations including project budgeting, billing, resourcing, forecasting, and client business reporting.
• Exceptional program / project management skills including scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, communications, procurement, talent acquisition and integration management.
  
  

Education, Knowledge, and Skills

• Experience: 10 years of increasing levels of responsibility in production leadership positions and proven track record owning and growing event business
• Education: Bachelor's degree required
• Leadership: A strong leader and influencer of teams. You led successful initiatives with extensive collaboration and are comfortable developing, engaging, and managing teams and key stakeholders
• Business Acumen: Prior experience owning a business line and delivering or exceeding revenue and financial goals
• Communication: Outstanding communication and presentation skills that ensure our message is always clear and compelling to our client partners and internal stakeholders
• Critical Thinking: You have a proven track record of solving complex problems, thinking creatively, and using data to tell a story. You operate with a sense of "urgency" and can excel in a fast-paced, results-driven environment, breaking down tasks into clear project plans
• Executive presence: You have the ability to effectively engage, lead and influence senior executives - this role offers high visibility and access to senior leadership
• Drive: You have a demonstrated ability to own a problem and aggressively drive from problem statement to solution in a self-sufficient capacity
  
  

Compensation: $125,000-$200,000 comprised of base pay and incentives.

Benefits include Medical Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, 401(k) with Company Match, Short-term and Long-term Disability Insurance, Life Insurance, Employee Assistance Program, Paid Vacation Time and Paid Holidays, Paid Sick Time, Parental Leave, Pet Insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, and others.

Whether in-person, remote, or hybrid, PRA guides organizations in bringing people together with strategic content, brand engagement and authentic destination experiences. PRA has local teams across the US covering more than 29 top destinations, and a remote execution team who can plan anywhere our clients envision an incomparable meeting or event.

Internally, we have a robust sustainability and social impact program that includes initiatives around carbon reduction, pushing towards zero waste, supporting the American Forest Foundation and PACT-USA, working with our supply chain to ensure we have sustainable and diverse suppliers for client events and a focus on equity, diversity and inclusion. Our plans and projects are ongoing and we are excited with the changes we've made and look forward to the continued and increased impact we will have through these programs and initiatives.

Our Corporate And Incentive Program Planning Capabilities Include

Creative Event Design Production; Local Excursions; Tours; Teambuilding; Offsite Events; Dine Arounds; Digital Hybrid Programming; Health Safety Logistics; CSR Giveback Initiatives; Sustainable Planning Services; Transportation Logistics; Staffing; Content Creation; Graphic Design Branding; Gifting.

Follow PRA on social @PRABusinessEvents and visit www.pra.com for more information.