Production Director

Job Summary

River West Church is a non-denomination church in Lake Oswego, Oregon – a suburb of Portland. Planted in 1989 by Guy Gray, River West has faithfully been on mission for over 30 years to build a community of Christ for the world. Today we continue to unite together as followers of Jesus who are hungry to see his Kingdom established in Lake Oswego, as it is in heaven.

We are currently seeking to hire a Production Director. The person we are searching for will ultimately view their role as supporting the mission of River West. The skills, strengths, and character required to pursue this role are spiritual, relational, and technical.

Spiritual

The Production Director will be a part of a larger team of staff leaders who are committed to personal and communal development as disciples of Jesus. Therefore, a hunger to follow Jesus is central to all staff roles at River West. Considering that the Technical Director will be deeply involved in shaping the worship experience for the congregation, a passion for worshiping Jesus through song is especially vital to this role.

Relational

While the Production Director will often be found at a production-related post (video switching, slides, lighting, etc.) a primary facet of their role will also be building teams to perform these tasks. Instead of doing all the tasks on his or her own, the Production Director will view their role as one who empowers others to develop their skills. They will also be responsible for managing relationships with contracted audio engineers, and will ensure that the production needs of each room in the building are met. The goal, however, is not to use volunteers to get tasks done. Rather, we “use the task to get the person done.” Therefore, the Production Director will have the vision and relational savviness to help our teams grow in numbers and skill; but even more importantly, to help our volunteers grow as disciples of Jesus by giving them a place to connect more deeply within the production team, worship ministry, and broader community.

Technical

The Production Director is the “overseer” of the technical systems in the building. This includes, the audio, video, projection, encoding (live streaming), and related computing systems at River West (The PD does not need to also be an IT). Essentially, the Production Director is responsible for making sure the job gets done, but he or she is not expected to be the expert in everything. Relating to our sanctuary, we intentionally keep the video and lighting production value "simple" so that volunteers are able to serve in these roles. Audio is naturally at the center of our communication method (musical and verbal), and so we are searching for someone who can run FOH as well as train others to do so. The production director does not need to be an expert in all the systems, but will have a desire to learn as they go. We are, however, searching for someone who has the skill to troubleshoot and resolve complex problems. If they can’t figure out a solution they are able to find someone who can. The Production Director will have an eye for identifying ways to improve the presentation of in-person and online worship experiences, as well as the audio/visual systems in all the pertinent rooms in our building.

• This is a 30-40 hour a week job. Exact number of hours will be determined based upon the skills and experience of the candidate.
  
• Competitive compensation, including a generous benefits package, will be based upon the candidate’s experience.

For specific job responsibilities please see the Production Director job description below

MISSION (PURPOSE): Ultimately the Production Director exists to help River West pursue its driving mission: building a community of Christ for the world. More specifically, the Production Director will use their spiritual, relational, and technical gifts to creatively produce the Sunday worship gatherings (in-person and live stream), develop and care for the team of volunteers needed to produce our gatherings, and oversee the technical systems in our gathering spaces. Christ is King, and His bride, the Church, is worthy of our creative excellence and hard work in all our efforts.

Responsibilities:

Sunday: Sundays will typically be the “fullest” day of ministry in the week where we will engage the majority of our community, as well as many visitors. The Production Director will:

1. Oversee all the technical aspects of our Sunday gatherings, including audio, lighting, lyrics, and live-streaming.

• Partner with the Worship Pastor and other ministry leaders who are planning services to execute their specific vision. Creative input is both valued and encouraged!
• Coordinate volunteer coverage for production roles at our services and corresponding rehearsals.
• Prepare slides and lyrics that will be displayed in our gatherings.
• Participate in Worship planning/production meetings and any post-production debriefings. Offer insights and input from a production perspective.
• Keep sermon podcast up to date.
• Record worship songs and mix for internal purposes as directed.
• If the Production Director has musical experience, they may be called upon to play in the band as long as the production roles are all covered.

Build Teams: Recruit, develop, and schedule volunteers for our production teams. Shepherd these teams by establishing priorities, clarifying expectations, and loving each team member. Production teams include:

• Audio: Volunteers who functionally know how to operate the sound systems and are proficient enough to lead rehearsals and Sunday gatherings.
• Slides: Lead this team ensuring lyrics are accurately and creatively displayed.
• Video: in collaboration with Worship Pastor and Communication Team, develop quality video outcomes for live-stream and communication-related productions.
• Lighting/Stage Environment: Assist in ongoing development of this team.

Other Gatherings: Assure coverage for all necessary production roles at approved non-Sunday gatherings. Depending on the event, the Production Director may be required on site, and/or coverage of roles may include volunteers or paid contractors. Partner with River West event point person to plan and execute the vision of each individual service. Regular Non-Sunday gatherings currently include, but are not limited to:

• The River: Tuesday AM & PM Women’s Bible study
• Men’s Bible study (Saturday AM)
• Special Worship Events (ie. Good Friday, Christmas Eve)
• Quarterly Forums
• VBS
• Memorial Services & Weddings

Stage Responsibilities: The stage is your “domain” and it shall be the Production Director’s responsibility to:

• Love it and take great care of it!
• Keep it clean and cleared of unnecessary items.
• Collaborate with the Worship Pastor and Communication Team to creatively enhance the look and feel of the overall worship environment in the sanctuary.

Technical Systems and Support:

• Troubleshoot and fix problems.
• Develop “turn-key” audio and visual systems in all rooms where appropriate.
• Train “need-to-know” staff members in the basic operations of each system.
• Willingly provide technical support to all staff members on an as-needed basis.
• Serve as the resident gearhead in partnership with Worship Pastor in making equipment recommendations and upkeep of all A/V gear.
• Know and follow all copyright rules and regulations related to all aspects of recording, streaming, video, presentation, and any other areas of ministry related to worship services. Responsible to oversee that staff and volunteers follow copyright laws and appropriate copyright licenses are obtained.

1. Job-Specific Requirements:

   1. Relational Requirements
      1. Affinity and inclination to work alongside others in the context of teams.
      2. Initiates necessary conversations to solve problems and foster clear communication.
      3. Demonstrates interpersonal maturity and the fruit of the Spirit in relationships.
      4. Capacity to interface with multiple ministry partners as needed in ways that build healthy, open, enduring, reciprocal partnerships.
      5. Demonstrates ability to hand off responsibilities to volunteers in order to train them, even if it means an upfront decrease in quality.
      6. Is quick to respond to requests with a highly accommodating attitude.

    

   2. Technical Requirements
      1. Can mix FOH using the Yamaha ecosystem.
      2. Can quickly learn the ins and outs of all audio, video, and projection related systems in the sanctuary and other meeting rooms.
      3. Is able to navigate both Mac and PC platforms with relative ease.
      4. Proficient in Pro Presenter.
      5. Can work a video camera and knows (or can learn) basic editing skills.
      6. Can troubleshoot when problems arise – sometimes under time constraints.

    

   3. Educational + Experiential Requirements
      1. A combination of education and experience, which provides the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform the job.
      2. 2-3 years’ experience in non-profit / church team preferred.

    

   4. Personal and Spiritual Requirements
   • Be an active member of River West Church.
   • Agree to and adhere to River West Church Statement of Faith
   • Have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and exhibit a life that is consistent with the witness of scripture.
   • Maintain a courteous Christ-like spirit when dealing with people within and outside of River West Church.
   • Have the ability to understand and follow verbal and written instructions.
   • Is a team player and exudes an overall positive attitude.
   • Ability to discern, prioritize and deal with each situation/contact on an individual basis.
   • Can multi-task and handle interruptions with patience.
   • Ability to follow through on commitments.
   • Must successfully complete criminal background check.

    

   Note: This job description does not imply that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. The Production Director will follow any other job-related instructions and other job-related duties as required by their supervisor. River West has the right to revise this job description at any time. (This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” employment relationship).