Film Officer

Based in the New York office, we’re looking for a part time Film Officer to be first port of call for all filmmaker relations and work with our ED and film team in assessing future projects. The Film Officer should have strong editorial instincts and an understanding of non-fiction form and language. This role has the potential to review applications across multiple schemes including our development scheme with Perspective, the Threshold Fund (which supported films such as Knock Down the House and Academy nominee’s Hale County; This Morning This Evening and The Edge of Democracy) and across the Good Pitch Local and Climate Story Lab programs. With ongoing work with grantees in production and post production and experience dependent, potential to offer feedback on cuts and advice on distribution and outreach.

The Film Officer will be responsible for:

Being first point of contact for both new applicants and existing grantees
Reviewing new applications across multiple schemes
Tracking new opportunities for filmmakers and staying up to date with industry news
Liaising with grantee’s on contracts and deliverables
Working with filmmakers to hone their trailers and pitches for Good Pitch Local
Preparing annual reports for our partners
Keeping admin systems up to date
This list is non-exhaustive and other work will come naturally with the ebb and flow of the company

Ideal Qualifications:

A deep understanding and love of non-fiction film
Minimum 3 years experience working in documentary production, grant making or program support
Excellent timekeeping and organisational skills
Knowledge and use of the internet, email, and applications including MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Dropbox, G-Suite.
Proficient writing skills
Team player committed to radical collaboration and the success of Doc Society’s vision
A self-starter, comfortable working independently with minimal supervision
Very strong interpersonal and communication skills (including written and verbal) with an ability to manage a high volume of daily phone and digital communications.
Attention to detail & skilled at managing competing priorities.
DETAILS:

Job title: Film Officer

Reporting to: Maxyne Franklin, Executive Director

Hours: part-time 9am-5pm - we’re currently looking at this as a part time role with the potential to grow but at the end of the day, what we’re really looking to do is build out the best team so if you’re interested, let’s talk.

Salary: $40-50k per annum pro rata dependent on experience

Holidays: 28 days per year including Public Holidays

Equity and Inclusion: We want Doc Society be the place where a diverse mix of talented people want to come, to stay and to do their best work. Doc Society’s promotion of diversity and inclusion is clearly reflected in all of our documentaries and across all of our programmes. We are fully focused on equality and believe in diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin and all the other fascinating characteristics that make us who we are.

WHAT WE DO AT DOC SOCIETY

A team of 20 based in London, New York and Amsterdam, we engage and support the global network of documentary filmmakers with direct grants and editorial expertise throughout the life of their film. We work relentlessly to explore new models of funding and distribution to make the projects reach their full potential. To connect filmmakers to new partners from across civil society. To explore how documentary can create social impact and work with change makers on major social justice campaigns. We aim to lead by example – innovate, share and be copied and innovate again.

Our major funders and partners in this work are foundations, state bodies, and individual donors. This includes support from Creative Europe and the Swedish Postcode Foundation in the EU. We are also recipients of state funding in the UK where we manage the national documentary film fund on behalf of the British Film Institute. In the US, we are supported by the Ford Foundation, Compton Foundation, Open Society Foundation, Wyncote Foundation amongst many others.

We believe in radical collaboration and commit to initiatives that lift up our community of funders and cultural organisations to solve structural challenges, together.

To find out more about our organisation go to www.docsociety.org

HOW WE DO IT

We are a small dynamic organisation which can pivot easily and elegantly in response to the needs of the filmmakers and communities we serve. That means we are always ready to embrace new ideas. To roll our sleeves up and deliver with smarts, rigour and perfectionism. We often improvise, without a lot of formal process and set policy. We aim to get the job done right, no matter what.

We want to stay bold, energetic and entrepreneurial whilst also always living up to our core values and creating an environment which is friendly, inclusive, open and collaborative. We are deeply loyal and nurturing of those we work with, inside and outside the office.

Now some people perform best in more structured environments, with someone to regularly report to and a fixed job description with plenty of notice of future plans. DOC SOCIETY offers a more flexible, changeable workplace where people are able to take the initiative.

This way of working is not for everyone. If it all sounds a bit exhausting and uncertain, joining the team at DOC SOCIETY may not be right for you.

If it sounds exciting and liberating, we may be just the place you are looking for.