Content Partner Manager

Job Summary:

Department/Group Overview:

Technology is at the heart of Disney’s past, present, and future. Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology is a global organization of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, data scientists, and more – all working to build and advance the technological backbone for Disney’s media business globally.

The team marries technology with creativity to build world-class products, enhance storytelling, and drive velocity, innovation, and scalability for our businesses. We are Storytellers and Innovators. Creators and Builders. Entertainers and Engineers. We work with every part of The Walt Disney Company’s media portfolio to advance the technological foundation and consumer media touch points serving millions of people around the world.

Here are a few reasons why we think you’d love working here:

1. Building the future of Disney’s media: Our Technologists are designing and building the products and platforms that will power our media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.

2. Reach, Scale & Impact: More than ever, Disney’s technology and products serve as a signature doorway for fans' connections with the company’s brands and stories. Disney+. Hulu. ESPN. ABC. ABC News…and many more. These products and brands – and the unmatched stories, storytellers, and events they carry – matter to millions of people globally.

3. Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms, and solve complex and distinctive technical problems.

Content Platforms & Operations is responsible for the development and ongoing advancement of the technical and operational functions driving the worldwide distribution and monetization of Disney’s linear networks and theatrical content. This includes Disney’s media supply chain and storage, network and theatrical distribution operations, media localization, network transmission and origination, and more. The global team also plays a critical role as the primary collaboration point for Product &Technology with Disney’s EMEA, APAC, and LATAM regional business teams.

Content Partner Management (CPM) is a cross-functional, technology and business-facing team within the Content Platforms & Operations team, and part of the Disney Entertainment & ESPN Product & Technology organization. CPM is responsible for the operational execution of Disney’s streaming content agreements with both internal and third-party content providers. The team is responsible for managing the full content lifecycle, inclusive of partner integration, content delivery, launch planning and scheduling, content remediation, and building product requirements against partner agreements. Serving as a central point of contact between content partners and internal stakeholders, the team ensures seamless execution of contractual obligations, technical specifications, and both technology and business priorities across the organization.

As super-users of Disney’s content management systems, CPM plays a critical role in driving continuous platform improvement by providing feature feedback and operational requirements.

Job Summary:

As Content Partner Manager, you are accountable for executing program requirements outlined in the partner agreements, technical specifications, and business objectives. You will build and maintain cross-functional relationships with content providers and ensure the successful launch, and in-app experience, of their brand and content on Disney’s streaming products. You will drive the content launch plan, executing short and long-term projects, while maintaining the agility and responsiveness to quickly and effectively address ad-hoc issues. A qualified candidate will have the technical and business fluency to lead projects, partnering with stakeholders across technology, operations, product, and business to facilitate conversations and execute deliverables.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

Build, integrate, and manage partnerships with our content providers, accountable for ensuring all relationship goals are met and contractual requirements are executed.

Partner with Operations, and other PMO and Delivery teams, to ensure successful delivery and launch of content within business expectations and requirements.

Hands-on execution in the Content Management System to enter Content Partner contract details and program avails, rights, brand elements, ensuring proper product experience for our partners’ content.

Provide program governance across workstreams with clear and consistent communication of project level status for CPM leadership, project sponsors, and stakeholders.

Understand and communicate tech specifications and requirements, including MovieLabs (MDDF) specifications, multi-language delivery needs, and other Disney streaming standards, and facilitate conversations between technologists and business teams, internally and externally.

In partnership with team leads, implement scalable processes and frameworks that support agile operations and align with evolving business needs.

Proactively identify and manage risks, issues, and dependencies. In partnership with team leads, develop plans to escalate and mitigate.

Monitor partner compliance against terms and conditions.

Keep up-to-date with new technologies and recognize how it can impact CPM work/relationships.

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training:

5+ years of partner management experience working with both internal and external stakeholders

Experience building and nurturing external partnerships, establishing deliverables pipelines, and maintaining strong communication between partners

Ability to translate complex concepts between technology and business partners and effectively communicate status updates to senior leadership

Demonstrated excellence in an agile, fast-paced and cross-functional technology environment

Working experience with tech platforms such as JIRA, ServiceNow, Airtable, Smartsheet, content management systems and proficiency in productivity suites like Office and Google Docs.

BA/BS or equivalent experience

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in streaming, broadcast, or digital media distribution operations, including familiarity with streaming technologies, content rights, content management systems, and related operational workflows, strongly preferred.

#DisneyTECH

The hiring range for this position in Santa Monica, CA is $95,500 - $128,000 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.