Sr. Manager, Figure Animations

Company Description

Each day Universal Studios Hollywood creates unforgettable experiences for our guests from around the world. We bring to life the ultimate Hollywood experience with our real working movie studio and heart-pounding rides, shows and attractions that put you inside some of the world’s most popular movies and TV shows. USH offers something for everyone from thrill seekers to movie lovers to family fun for all ages. Our Team Members are passionate individuals who create memorable moments whether it’s on the studio lot, or in our conference rooms, theaters, or kitchens. We believe in the talent of our team members. It’s our passion and commitment to excellence that drives our business to succeed in everything we do across the park. We believe in a culture of family and fun, here you can make a difference and build your career!

NBCUniversal owns and operates over 20 different businesses across 30 countries including a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks and a premium ad-supported streaming service.

Here you can be your authentic self. As a company uniquely positioned to educate, entertain and empower through our platforms, Comcast NBCUniversal stands for including everyone. We strive to foster a diverse and inclusive culture where our employees feel supported, embraced and heard. We believe that our workforce should represent the communities we live in, so that together, we can continue to create and deliver content that reflects the current and ever-changing face of the world. Click here to learn more about Comcast NBCUniversal’s commitment and how we are making an impact.

Job Description

The Senior Manager of Figure Animations is responsible for the overall long-term sustainment, reliability, and show quality of animatronic figures at Universal Studios Hollywood.  It is the Senior Manager’s responsibility to manage technicians, refurbishment scope, capital scope, project schedules, and budgets for animatronic figures and animated props.  The Senior Manager plays an important role in strategic planning, program development, and policy drafting/administration. It is the Senior Manager’s responsibility to ensure practices and procedures reflect performance criteria set forth by the Department Director to meet the goals and objectives of the department at large.

• Responsible for the overall operation of the Figure Animations department.
• Establish schedules for technicians including managing overtime, vacations, clock-ins, reporting locations, etc.
• Develops annual budgets and operating plans to support both sustainment and capital programs.
• Review maintenance manuals and drawings, as needed, for current and future scope.
• Develops a program evaluation framework to assess the strengths of the program and to identify areas for improvement.
• Participates in strategic planning and program development; develops funding proposals and initiatives for programs, equipment, and labor resources to ensure figure reliability and maintainability.
• Willingness to adopt or develop best practices from the industry, experience and/or input from others.
• Responsible for the oversight for all maintenance, refurbishment, emergent repair support performed by Figure Animations technicians, including collaboration with venue technicians.
• Oversees document control process; ensures proper documenting of program activities; ensures reporting is completed as required; ensures that program activities operate within the policies and procedures of USH.
• Works closely with Ride venue management and technicians to identify and correct operational issues quickly.
• Collaborates and maintains professional working relationships with Rides, Engineering, Controls, Shared Services, Park Operations, Entertainment, Creative, EHS and other internal/external departments to support overall goals.
• Ensures that collective bargaining agreements are upheld by partnering with HR and Labor Relations to maintain positive union relationships.
• Assists in the implementation and maintenance of HR policies and procedures of USH.
• Recruits, interviews, and hires well qualified personnel. 
• Provide clear and consistent direction to team members.
• Provide effective and timely communication at all levels with appropriate delivery methods such as in-person, Teams calls, email, etc.
• Coaches and motivates hourly union staff to promote safe and efficient operations while also exceeding client expectations of communication, responsiveness, quality of service, and technical efficiency.
• Provides positive and strong leadership