Overview of the role
The welfare producer is a pivotal role within a production, acting as the lynchpin between the production and the contributors. The role sits in between production and editorial and can require skills useful in both areas of unscripted TV. Depending on the team structure, the welfare producer could be the most senior person on the production responsible for contributor duty of care, or they could work to a senior welfare producer or welfare executive. The role starts in pre-production and should go all the way through to beyond filming. Depending on the nature of the programme, a welfare producer may be required to support contributors through transmission and arrange aftercare if necessary.
As the advocate for the contributor, the role is grounded in understanding the nature and potential risks of the production and the needs and expectations of the people taking part. The welfare producer will need to work across protocols that either they or a senior welfare producer/welfare executive has written, implementing all the measures throughout the production. They will need to understand the Ofcom requirements for protecting participants and GDPR as well as helping the production balance the editorial of the show with the practicalities of working with contributors. They will be used to working with contributors, often coming from a casting background and have experience of working with mental health professionals and other third-party suppliers.
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 scale / budget / genre of the production.
- In pre-production, complete the Ofcom risk matrix or similar framework such as the BBC Editorial Guidelines or a streamer-stipulated risk assessment to reasonably anticipate any impact the format may have on your contributors.
- Create a duty of care protocol document that works through all stages of the production, in conjunction with the senior leadership team (in place of a welfare executive), including how the production will mitigate risks.
- Advise the production on the relevant third-party experts who should be involved, for example, mental health professionals, access coordinators, medics etc.
- Oversee and advise on the nature of the contributor background checks and pre-filming assessments such as mental health screenings or any additional processes required for the production and ensuring paperwork is up to date and securely stored.
- Ensure contributors are able to give informed consent and that they understand their involvement in the production, throughout all the stages of filming, broadcast and potentially beyond. This will include drafting a contributor experience document, scoping out the nature of the contributor’s participation.
- Create welfare plans for all contributors to ensure any specific needs are met and noting any reasonable adjustments the production is required to put in place.
- Consider any additional training the welfare team might need to ensure they can support contributors – for example, mental health first aid, respect and inclusion, resources for working away from home.
- Create a welfare log template with relevant fields that enable you and/or the welfare team to monitor and track contributor behaviour, mood and activity. This should give an overall indication of how the contributor is coping during filming. Fields such as sleep, mood, food and drink intake, requests to speak to a medic/mental health professional/notable incidents or format points during filming and confrontation/emotional situations should be included, where relevant.
- Ensure the welfare log is completed consistently and regularly, distributing it to the senior leadership team and third-party experts or as outlined in the participant protocols.
- Outline a process for monitoring any issues, patterns or concerns with the wider team, such as scheduled welfare meetings.
- Be clear with contributors that you are the main point of contact throughout filming and ensure they are familiar and comfortable with you and your team.
- Be the conduit between the editorial team and the contributor, outlining any issues they need to be aware of during the filming period, particularly if the filming covers and sensitive topics or challenging subjects – for example, any allergies, health issues, extenuating circumstances, issues with other contributors etc. This should always be from a welfare perspective and not to inform the editorial of the day, although sometimes a welfare situation can impact the narrative.
- Brief the production team about how to practically manage any specific welfare issues that need to be considered to ensure the contributor so they can allow budget, time and resource to enable any support.
- If filming in an immersive environment where the contributors are disconnected from their usual support networks, be the point of contact for their friends and family, updating them on their loved one’s progress.
- Ensure contributors can decompress at the end of a filming day and where applicable, arrange for a third-party professional such as a medic or mental health professional to assist with the debrief.
- Create a comprehensive process for escalating welfare issues including emergencies and ensure the welfare team and senior teams understand the protocol.
- Hire a competent and experienced team.
- Ensure the team have read the participant protocols and understand their responsibilities.
- Create a rota or schedule to ensure the filming schedule can be properly staffed. Allow for rest days and recovery days if the team are working through the night.
- Brief the team on how to complete the welfare log, using factual language and non-judgmental phrases.
- Provide the team with production mobiles and if possible, a shared inbox to manage contributor correspondence consistently.
- Ensure the team understand the importance of handover emails and systems to ensure continuity of care for the contributors.
- Ensure the team are clear on emergency procedures, both for contributors and for referring up to the senior team.
- Signpost the team to additional resources to support themselves during production, particularly if working on location or working with difficult subject matter.
- Liaise with the broadcaster/network for sign off or input on the third-party professional.
- Ensure the third-party professional has the relevant accreditation, qualifications and experience for the production.
- Incorporate any specific advice or protocols designed by the third-party professional into production welfare plans. Disseminate the relevant information to those working directly with the contributors, on a need-to-know basis and in consultation with the company’s privacy policy and GDPR.
- Oversee and manage contributor paperwork that needs completing ahead of any assessments.
- Plan how and where the third-party professional should be used on the production, considering whether the role needs to remote, on-site, on call or consultancy.
- Conduct final calls to the contributors so they feel they have completed their experience and have had the opportunity to share feedback about their time on the production.
- Share any additional information such as social media guidelines or training with contributors so they have additional support throughout transmission.
- Ensure all contributors have an onward contact even after the production has finished so they can be in touch with any queries.
- Escalate any potential issues to the senior leadership team and where appropriate, the network, including non-attendance of mental health sessions or grievances.
- Ensure contributors have a reasonable understanding of when transmission might be and inform them of the process around them being notified about their episode being broadcast.
- Be clear about the nature of any aftercare provided and set parameters around support to manage contributors’ expectations.
Skills
Check out role specific skills, transferable skills and attributes for the role of welfare producer.
- Industry knowledge: an understanding of Ofcom guidelines for protecting participants, including the Ofcom Risk Matrix, network editorial guidelines, GDPR regulations.
- Organisation: strong organisation skills, including technical ability to be able to create Excel/Google Sheets, uploading of sensitive data and reports.
- Communication: both in person and in written form. The ability to be able to write thorough protocols and reports is key, as well as being able to communicate with contributors, senior leadership, networks and the welfare team.
- Empathy: being able to put yourself in the contributor’s position is a key skill.
- Editorial insight: being able to understand how the narrative might play out, what the editorial skew might be and pre-empting how that might impact the contributor.
- Active listening: being able to completely understand the contributor’s perspective is only gained by really listening to what they have to say.
- Team-working: welfare often sits between editorial and production and being able to collaborate with departments and understand what everyone needs to make the programme is vital.
- Flexibility: welfare can move quickly from crisis management to responding to filming, so pivoting and reacting to a change in the schedule or plan is often required.
- Mental health first aid: completing a mental health first aid course can be useful when dealing with distressed contributors although it’s always important to know when to bring in professional support.
- Social media literacy: a good working knowledge of social media platforms, current trends to identify ‘red flags’ and a fluency around the landscape is helpful.
- Previous experience outside of TV: any roles prior to TV that have been client facing/working with people will enrich the skills of welfare producer.
- Attention to detail: paying attention to the smallest changes in behaviour or noticing incongruities to spot a pattern before it becomes one
- Being thorough: welfare is crucially about compiling information and making decisions based on what is known about the contributor. This requires working comprehensively to making sure everything is correct and up to date.
- Being personable: being a ‘people person’ enables the contributor to feel at ease with the production and garners trust.
- Being reactive and amenable: people are changeable and filming can bring about unexpected outcomes. A welfare producer needs to be able to re-evaluate on the job and be able to put new measures in place to support the contributor, within the framework of the protocols.
- Resilience: welfare producers can often be a sounding board for contributors to offload which can take its toll. Being able to offer support without absorbing the contributor’s download is key.