Junior production manager apprentice (Level 7)

Closing date for applications: 10th March 2025

Salary: £24,328

Length of apprenticeship: 16 months

Reports to: Production Manager

Department: 4Studio

Location: Leeds

Ready to kickstart your career in digital production? Coordinate shoots, track budgets and help bring content to life at Channel 4's 4Studio in Leeds. 

If you are looking for an opportunity to gain work experience and a qualification, then an apprenticeship at Channel 4 might be for you.

Our Apprenticeships are full-time, with four days per week spent working in a C4 department and one day per week completing the formal learning parts of the apprenticeship. You’ll spend 60% of your working week in your office base and 40% working from home.

The formal training provided will consist of workshops, tutorials, webinars, coaching and in some cases residential boot camps. You can read more about the qualification being offered for this apprenticeship below.

If you’d like some tips on writing your application before you apply, please watch our YouTube video, How to Write an Outstanding Application.

AM I ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

• You must be 18 years old or over at the time the scheme starts to apply. There is no upper age limit.
• You’ll need to have a Grade C (4) or above in Maths & English GCSE
• You can’t have already completed the qualification being offered or similar at the same or higher level
• Our apprenticeships are aimed at school leavers and people who do not have a degree. If you have a degree, please visit the Channel 4 Jobs website 

DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTION 

4Studio is the engine room for C4’s digital acceleration strategy, with the mission to create, adapt and distribute brilliant content across the key social media channels. We work very closely with key people and departments within C4 to make this a success. 4Studio is based in C4’s new National HQ in Leeds and is a key component of C4’s regional strategy, creating creative job opportunities outside London and expanding the diversity of the company’s creative contribution.

JOB PURPOSE

This is an opportunity to use your organisational skills to learn about how to support and organise a wide range of digital productions.

You’ll learn to co-ordinate all parts of our production process. This could including monitoring and creating budgets, scheduling and planning for a wide variety of creative projects within the team. These might include social media content, digital-first programming and advertiser-funded productions.

Working with the Production Manager and our editorial team to make sure everyone stays on track and the right people are in the right places when we need them to be. It goes without saying that you’ll be great with numbers, schedules, documentation and spreadsheets.  

The JPM Apprentice needs to be extremely well organised with a flexible, proactive approach. We need you to be able to think on your feet and to learn to organise complex logistics and prioritise workloads. You might need to organise a schedule one day, find some props or negotiate with an agent the next. You should be comfortable with context switching and multitasking when needed.

You’ll need to be a confident communicator and be able to be clear in your verbal and written comms. We want our JPM Apprentice to be excited by the possibilities and have lots of ideas to help make filming ideas a reality. 

This role is primarily based in the Leeds office, but you might need to attend a shoot or liaise with the broad team in our other offices on any given projects; including Marketing and Commissioning teams as well as with all Channel 4 departments, to ensure as coherent an approach as possible.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• You’ll learn as part of our 4Studio production team working with them to ensure we’re working as smoothly and efficiently as possible 
• You’ll learn about production documentation and logistics across pre-production.
• We’d like you to be able to demonstrate the organisational, communication and attention-to-detail skills necessary for the role (although we appreciate you may never have worked in video production before)  
• You’ll learn to coordinate logistics for shoots we do. This could include sourcing resources, locations, crew or props; tracking the budget, legal and compliance or being on location to help out.  
• You’ll learn about the legal and documentation requirements needed to make sure our productions are safe for everyone involved.
• You’ll be passionate about the fast-paced world of digital production.  
• You’ll be solution focused, calm in a crisis and a voice of reason when things don’t go according to plan.   
• You’ll have ideas and suggestions of how processes can be improved. 
• You should be passionate about Channel 4’s output, remit and values. They come into everything we do.  
• You’ll work in our Leeds HQ but may be required to travel for some productions or to other Channel 4 offices from time to time.  

REQUIRED SKILLS  

As part of the application process you’ll be asked to tell us how you meet the essential criteria listed below. When answering this question think about examples from your experience so far, this doesn’t need to be professional experience but could be academic, from volunteering or a part-time job.

We’ve provided some examples beside the first four criteria of experience that could demonstrate you have these skills.  Please note you do not need to use these examples, they are just here for guidance and you should draw from your own personal experiences.

Essential

• Verbal and written communication skills
  • Verbal – e.g. experience of dealing with customers or working as part of a team.
  • Communication – e.g. writing emails, completing an application form or essay, or if you have a hobby that involves creative writing. 
• Attention to detail
  • e.g. Cashing up on tills or proofreading coursework.
• Organisation skills and ability to prioritise tasks
  • e.g. Planning events whether personal or for professional purposes, as well as managing work life balance, for example working whilst doing coursework/exams.
• An understanding of and a passion for Channel 4's remit.
• Confirm you have Maths & English GCSE Grade C (4) or above.

Technical & Professional Skills   

• Should have demonstrable experience of organisational skills, budgetary competency, communication.
• Must have an interest in processes, workflows, tools and methodologies.  
• Should have excellent attention to detail and written skills when it comes to documentation.
• Be very numerically literate; able to track budget spends in Excel spreadsheets.
• Experience of using productivity tools such as Monday.com is preferred.  
• Demonstrable experience of working across multiple projects and to deadlines.  

Autonomy/Judgement/Decision Making  

• Should be confident in written and verbal communication.
• Must be highly organised.
• Must be able to multi-task and prioritise as required in a fast-working environment. 

Relationship Management  

• Must be able to collaborate and communicate effectively with a wide variety of internal and external teams.
• Must be willing to travel to locations from time to time.  

Complexity/Problem Solving  

• Should be resilient and calm under pressure.  
• Must be a proactive problem solver.   

QUALIFICATION OFFERED WITH THIS APPRENTICESHIP

Level 7 Production Management

LENGTH OF APPRENTICESHIP

16 Months

ALTERNATIVE APPLICATION FORMATS

We are committed to making the application process accessible. If you would like to discuss suggestions for alternative formats, or have any questions about the recruitment process in general, please contact us at apprenticeships@channel4.co.uk

Take a look at our access page for more information, which you’ll find by clicking here. You can also watch our YouTube video, Demystifying Interview and Workplace adjustments. 

RELOCATION

If you need to relocate in order to take up this opportunity, we can offer you support towards the financial costs of moving. This includes a contribution towards your deposit and first months’ rent, plus visits to your new city to look for accommodation.

We encourage applications from candidates from all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on disability, age, gender reassignment, gender expression, criminal history, length of time spent unemployed, marriage or civil partnership status, national origin, pregnancy and maternity status, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

Please state in your application that you found this role through Creative Access.