Sr. Director of Development - Scripted TV

Westbrook is a mission driven company formed to empower artists to tell stories that connect the world.  At Westbrook Inc., we provide strategic, financial, legal, and other back-end support to our existing subsidiary companies (Westbrook Studios, Westbrook Media, Good Goods, Red Table Talk Productions, Inc., and Westbrook International), develop new business opportunities, and share our learnings, skills, and tools with new talent creating art and media across all major platforms. With Westbrook’s reach, expertise, and resources, we are poised to be a leader in the global, multiplatform content marketplace.  

The Sr. Director of Development will be integral to the overall creative activities related to the tracking, soliciting, procurement, evaluation, development, and oversight of the Studio’s shows.  Key responsibilities include contributing to the creative strategy, while helping to develop new scripted content, from concept to series, as well as help manage all aspects of production for new and returning shows.  Additionally, this role will be responsible for overseeing every aspect of a show, including contributing to the creative decisions made with talent, producers and all departments (casting, marketing, scheduling, research etc.)

What You’ll Do

• Identify, collaborate and cultivate relationships with top writers, directors, producers, and the entertainment community at large (agents, managers, other studio and network execs) to communicate the creative needs of Westbrook Studios and develop innovative concepts, scripts and pilots;
• Hear and respond to pitches; evaluate new project submissions (scripts, books, articles, etc.); read and analyze scripts, stories, outlines to assess their value as it relates to the creative direction of the Studio;
• Help manage the entire development phases from original pitch through outline, throughout the various drafts of the scripts, providing notes in line with the creative vision of the project;
• Oversee pilot scripts and supervise the related pre-production, production and post-production stages to insure their creative integrity;
• Provide creative thoughts on pitches, outlines, scripts, table reads, dailies and rough cuts of episodes;
• Guide, coordinate and update various internal departments with information required to successfully launch and maintain long term series assets;
• Collaborate with Production, Business Affairs, Casting and other departments in order to manage, from a creative standpoint, the pre-production and post-production activities of all shows. In particular, provide creative feedback on dailies, rough cuts, and all aspects of post-production as it pertains to the development process.
• Work closely with marketing to insure proper messaging as well as to create a comprehensive campaign that includes on-air, print and online;
• Manage development budget costs while maintaining high quality standards.

Who You Are

• 5+ years of experience working in development and/or production at a network, studio, OTT-provider, or production company – a track record of commissioned sales of self-developed IP is a big plus.
• Demonstrated ability to generate new ideas and translate them into high-quality scripted TV.
• Willingness and ability to utilize existing relationships within the entertainment industry.
• Strong written & verbal communication is a must; must possess the ability to approach each situation with situational-appropriate tone.
• Ability to interact and communicate with filmmakers, talent, network executives, etc.
• Strong ability to multitask, prioritize and manage multiple projects and demands concurrently.
• Strong time management and creative resource management capabilities.

The Successful Candidate Is

• An entrepreneur.  You get excited about building processes and procedures from the ground up; and you don’t need a ton of aid to get the job done. 
• A leader. You know how to inspire and motivate under your guidance, while also empowering learning and development. 
• A problem solver. You know how to skillfully engage in an analytical process to achieve the best possible solution; you’re not easily frustrated by obstacles - in fact, they energize you. 
• Direct and concise. You communicate effectively and with a situation-appropriate tone, whether over the phone, in person, e-mail, memos, presentations. 
• Kind. You treat others with respect regardless of circumstances; you are skilled at connecting with people and building interpersonal relationships. 
• Passionate. You are a creative spirit and storyteller excited by this business and how to expand it. 

Westbrook is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Westbrook believes that diversity and inclusion among our colleagues is critical to our success as a company, and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.