Overview of the role
The development producer is a senior member of a development team, a strong creative thinker with a proven track record of developing shows and creating new slates of projects that secure commissions. They have strong market awareness of the children’s content industry and use this when shaping new ideas for a range of channels and platforms.
In generating new ideas for young audiences they ensure relevancy and appropriateness by using qualitative and quantitative research, insights and data. They will also understand and apply regulations and guidelines around working with children and devising content for them including the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. They will line manage more junior members of the development team, promoting an inclusive culture and support the Head of Development.
Core responsibilities
These core responsibilities are provided as a guide and are not exhaustive. The exact responsibilities in a particular job will vary depending on the size of the production company and team and the budget available.
- Inspire creativity and inclusivity - initiate and develop original ideas and lead on brainstorming sessions, filtering the best and most appropriate ideas.
- Know the market. Keep abreast of trends in content and distribution across the children’s industry nationally and internationally. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the different commissioners, channels and platforms in the UK and internationally.
- Know what the audience is interested in. Have a thorough knowledge and appreciation of current trends in content consumption (what, why, when, where) across all platforms amongst younger audiences to ensure ideas are relevant and meet audience needs and demands.
- Understand the different age segments in the audience and ensure all the team’s ideas and topics are identified, shaped and pitched appropriately, bringing in child development experts to support where necessary.
- Ensure all ideas comply with editorial guidelines on producing content for children, and that the team follows all guidelines on contributor safeguarding, GDPR/data protection and regulations on working with children.
- Quality control - be able to scrutinise own and others’ ideas, building on them and solving problems to make them as distinctive as possible.
- Understand how AI could be used to support content creation and ideas generation and ensure any tools and outputs accessed by the team are employed in accordance with production company and broadcaster guidelines.
- Work with the HoD to manage and structure a slate of ideas.
- Identify the best talent to attach to specific projects - new and existing.
- Engage with diverse new talent that will have particular resonance with younger audiences, from pre school role models and physical comedians to expert hosts to sporting icons.
- Shape and pitch ideas for established talent that will appeal to them and/or their agents and commissioners.
- Build respectful and productive relationships with new and established talent, talent agencies and agents.
- On contributor led ideas, demonstrate experience of casting under-18 contributors and guide the team when it comes to appropriate methods for sourcing and filming in line with editorial and safeguarding rules and guidelines.
- Understand the topics, hosts and approaches that work for a young audience across all genres and steer the team appropriately, always ensuring ideas are fresh, inclusive and distinctive.
- Develop a sophisticated appreciation of how successful TV formats work and their individual appeals to audiences, including analysing previous hits and understanding working to price points.
- For factual and current affairs projects understand how sensitive topics can be explored and stories told within the compliance guidelines and guide the team accordingly.
- Demonstrate strong formatting skills including an understanding of appropriate immersive experiences and elements like eliminations for young contributors, format beats, scoring, closed episodes and series story arcs.
- Be able to guide the rest of the team acting as a sounding board to stress test new formats and ideas.
- For studio formats work collaboratively with HoD, designers and production colleagues to envision the look and tone of the concept.
- Identify high-profile or unique people, places and organisations with the potential to make compelling TV for young audiences.
- Play a key role in gaining access by making approaches and carrying out initial meetings.
- Work with the HoD and legal and business advisors to negotiate an appropriate/required level of access.
- Keep potential access engaged and informed about the commissioning process and feed back on meetings and outcomes.
- Pitch new ideas in a compelling manner internally to the HoD, creative directors and managing directors and externally to commissioners.
- Be adept at summarising an idea into ambitious, accurate and entertaining treatments that outline the concept and highlight its unique selling points, including generating channel-appropriate programme titles and strap lines.
- Work with the wider development team to deliver high quality materials, mastering appropriate presentation tools to create pitch decks that sell the tone, look and content of a programme.
- Drive the creation of sizzles that help to sell a format, act as a proof of concept for a show or present new and existing talent to their best advantage.
- Assess the practical and financial implications of a project and shape ideas in a way that make them possible to realise for a specific tariff.
- Where needed, assist in creating budgets for ideas or for funded development projects alongside the HoD, head of production or production manager.
- Lead and manage and develop junior members of the team, monitoring the quality of their work and support them in shaping ideas.
- Assist the team in understanding prioritises and managing workload ensuring they have clear and realistic objectives, giving constructive feedback, treating team with consideration when under pressure.
- Oversee workflow for specific ideas to ensure that projects move at the appropriate pace to hit key deadlines.
- Be available as senior support to junior members of the development team to ask questions.
Skills
Check out the role specific skills, transferable skills and attributes for the role of development producer in children's TV.
- Actively engaged with the output of a range of broadcasters and platforms serving the children’s audience and familiar with the commissioning landscape in the UK and globally.
- Passion for providing young audiences with entertaining and empowering content and a commitment to fostering diverse and inclusive creative voices.
- Knowledgeable on the importance of contributor safeguarding, GDPR/data protection rules and compliance with the rules and guiding principles for working with children.
- Excellent written, presentation and pitching skills.
- Manage and prioritise a varied workload and slate of ideas, juggling a range of projects at different stages of the development process and leading a team effectively.
- Communication: communicate effectively and persuasively with a variety of internal and external organisations and individuals.
- Team-working: collaboration within own and with other departments and external organisations.
- Problem-solving: assessing ideas for practical, editorial, and financial considerations, creatively adapt to different requirements.
- Deliver under pressure: responding quickly to the needs of the business and commissioners and responding to urgent deadlines calmly and efficiently.
- Management: manage the development team, upholding ethics, and maintaining respect when dealing with others. Support and encourage junior members of the team
- Resilience: adapt positively to changing work priorities and patterns, ensuring deadlines continue to be met.
- Flexibility: develop a variety of different kinds of programmes and working with a range of colleagues and stakeholders.
- Adaptability: willing to both listen and learn and to accept changing priorities while maintaining high standards in a changing environment. Respond openly and flexibly to feedback and develop accordingly.
- Proactive: explore new ideas and ways of working which will enhance and deliver the best results for the ideas.
- Productivity: organise work effectively and achieve required results within deadlines.
- Drive and energy: get things done in pressurised situations.
- Respectful and inclusive of others.
- Independent working: the ability to work unsupervised, exercising initiative and assessing priorities but referring issues upwards where appropriate.
- Professional development: develop an ethos to learn and seek out learning and networking opportunities, identifying those that will be most beneficial.