Overview of the role
A production secretary supports the production management team with logistical, administrative and financial tasks including arranging travel, transport, accommodation, and supplies. They assist with general admin and filming preparation, such as call sheets, schedules, and finance trackers, and may handle hospitality and the purchase of supplies. They support the production coordinator and production manager with receipt reconciliation, expense tracking, purchase orders, child performance licenses, and other production paperwork.
In children’s production secretaries should understand the regulatory frameworks involving working with children including child performance regulations and child licensing, all relevant health and safety, duty of care and safeguarding guidelines. They are typically line managed by the production coordinator (PC), production manager (PM) or line producer (LP).
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 scale and budget of the production.
- Set up and equip the production office, ensuring IT systems, resources, and facilities meet production requirements; provide training for freelancers and maintain accurate training logs.
- Assist production coordinator by liaising with suppliers, crew, and production team to ensure resources, equipment, people and facilities meet schedule requirements.
- Arrange pre-production activities (production meetings, tech recces, casting sessions) including diary invites and the production diary; communicate schedule changes promptly.
- Confirm contracts are signed, crew/suppliers hold appropriate insurance, and vehicle operators meet licence and regulatory requirements.
- Verify crew and suppliers are briefed on health and safety requirements and hold required qualifications/certifications. Keep training logs up to date.
- Support the production coordinator with child performance licensing by gathering paperwork, maintaining records, and liaising with parents/guardians.
- Research and book travel, transport, and accommodation for cast and crew; update cost trackers and raise purchase orders as required.
- Implement the secure handling of sensitive data in line with agreed storage and retention procedures as set out by the production manager (PM) or line producer (LP) and in line with all GDPR/data protection rules.
- Source health and safety supplies for filming, for example first aid kits.
- Prepare and distribute ‘New Starter’ packs to all crew, including dailies.
- Organise travel, transport, and accommodation for cast (including children) and crew, ensuring welfare, safeguarding, and access needs are met.
- Prepare and distribute movement orders to track personnel travel.
- Support crew and cast welfare during filming, reviewing and adjusting arrangements as required.
- Assist the coordinator to ensure safeguarding and child performance requirements are communicated to crew, cast, and parents/guardians.
- Maintain regular communication with the PC, PM, and LP to ensure smooth coordination.
- Notify cast and crew of last-minute call sheet changes promptly after each day’s wrap.
- Support the PC with script changes where necessary.
- Obtain tenders, estimates, and quotes from suppliers, assessing cost and quality against production requirements and budgets.
- Negotiate and confirm prices and supply terms in writing, ensuring compliance with production needs.
- Implement procedures for the safe handling, storage, and return of hired or loaned equipment and materials.
- Maintain up-to-date equipment lists and agree responsibilities for moving/storing resources with relevant parties.
- Collate and maintain detailed production carbon footprint logs using agreed tools.
- Arrange shipment and delivery of resources, including overseas where required.
- Record expenditure accurately and use reliable, consistent methods to monitor spend against agreed budgets.
- De-rig the production office at the end of filming.
Skills
Check out the role specific skills, transferable skills and attributes for the role of scripted production secretary in children's TV.
- Organisation: organise and communicate production travel, transport, accommodation and supplies including any changes to the team and cast.
- Production knowledge: understanding the process and needs of each department.
- Knowledgeable about working with children: understand and adhere to all welfare and safeguarding guidelines and work within all regulatory frameworks on licensing and health and safety.
- Planning: assisting team with planning practical requirements for transport, accommodation, equipment, props, and catering, to meet production needs.
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to convey information effectively across multiple styles and platforms to crew, production teams, cast including young contributors, parents/guardians.
- Teamwork: able to collaborate effectively with colleagues, crew, and cast at all levels, respecting hierarchy while fostering a positive and productive team environment. Develop a robust set of contacts, especially with crew and contractors to source kit and find back-up crew members if needed.
- Assist in financial tracking and spending.
- Team-working: collaboration within own and wider production team and cast.
- Communication: interpreting other’s requirements and communicating requirements to colleagues.
- Proactive: take initiative to assess and complete tasks efficiently, thinking quickly and communicating effectively.
- Etiquette: learn and uphold the roles and responsibilities within production teams and communication etiquette.
- Time management: able to prioritise tasks and ensure production are kept up to date with progress of tasks.
- Problem-solving: assisting with resolving issues during production.
- Resilience and enthusiasm: adapt positively to changing work priorities and patterns, ensuring deadlines continue to be met.
- Proactive: explores new ideas and non-standard ways of working which will enhance and deliver the best results for the production.
- Productivity: organises work effectively and achieves required results within deadlines.
- Demonstrates the drive and energy to get things done in pressurised situations and escalates appropriately when necessary.
- Ethics and integrity: honest and principled in all their actions and interactions.
- Respectful and inclusive of others.
- Flexibility: willing to both listen and learn and to accept changing priorities and working requirements and has the flexibility to maintain high standards in a changing production environment.
- Professional development: develop an ethos to learn and seek out learning and networking opportunities, identifying those that will be most beneficial.