IT Project Manager

Flying Bark Productions is a dynamic and innovative animation studio dedicated to pushing the boundaries of character animation and storytelling. We are working on exciting projects such as Avatar: The Last Airbender feature film, Netflix's Stranger Things animated series, as well as our production Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan. 

The IT Project Manager is responsible for planning, coordinating and delivering projects across the IT Operations space, and for owning and maintaining the enterprise operations roadmap in partnership with the Director of Operations. Working closely with the Head of IT Operations, the Director of Operations, the Platforms & Infrastructure Lead and their team, and the Technical Project Analyst, you will bring structure, momentum and clear communication to initiatives that improve IT Operations, IT Service Management and wider business operations across the studio.

This is an early-career project management role suited to someone with a few years of experience who is organised, proactive and keen to grow, ensuring projects are well-scoped, well-run and delivered without disrupting the productions that depend on our technology.

Scope:

• Manage a portfolio of small-to-medium IT projects concurrently — spanning desktop, systems, infrastructure and service management initiatives
• Own the enterprise operations roadmap, which extends beyond IT to include business projects (such as HR and business systems implementations, e.g. Employment Hero).
• Own project planning, scheduling, stakeholder communication, risk and issue tracking, and delivery reporting, while technical delivery is carried out by the IT team. You will also work closely with Pipeline Project Managers and the R&D team to coordinate initiatives that cross between IT and the production pipeline, ensuring dependencies are visible and delivery is aligned.
• Balance the needs of fast-paced production teams with the operational and security requirements of the studio, coordinating change so that project work lands smoothly and predictably.
• Champion a collaborative, "can-do" culture, taking ownership of project outcomes, communicating openly and building strong relationships across the technology team and the wider studio.
  

About the role:

Project Planning & Delivery

• Plan, coordinate and deliver IT projects end-to-end and define scope, timelines, milestones, resource needs and success criteria with the Head of IT Operations.
• Run projects day-to-day: track tasks and actions, coordinate contributors, remove blockers and keep work moving to schedule.
• Work closely with the Platforms & Infrastructure Lead and their team to plan and sequence technical delivery across desktop, systems and infrastructure domains.
• Manage risks, issues, dependencies and changes to scope, escalating early with options and recommendations.
• Coordinate scheduling of project work and change activity around production needs, minimising disruption to artists and staff.
  

Enterprise Operations Roadmap

• Own and maintain the enterprise operations roadmap in partnership with the Director of Operations - taking ownership of its development, maintenance, communication and use across the business.
• Develop the roadmap in collaboration with the Director of Operations and relevant stakeholders, covering both IT initiatives and wider business projects (e.g. Employment Hero and other business systems).
• Maintain the roadmap as a live document, reviewed and updated on a regular cadence, with sequencing, resourcing and dependencies kept current.
• Ensure key stakeholders and Leadership have visibility of the roadmap and understand their dependencies within it, through regular communication and reporting.
• Provide roadmap and portfolio reporting to IT and Operations leadership, including progress against plan, capacity constraints and upcoming decision points.

Stakeholder Management & Communication

• Act as the central point of contact for project status — preparing clear, regular reporting for the Head of IT Operations, Director of Operations and stakeholders.
• Gather requirements from production, technical and corporate stakeholders and translate them into well-defined project scope.
• Collaborate with Pipeline Project Managers and the R&D team to align cross-team initiatives, share dependencies and coordinate delivery where IT Operations and pipeline projects intersect.
• Communicate changes, cutovers and rollouts to affected teams in plain language, with appropriate notice and follow-up.
• Liaise with third-party vendors on quotes, procurement, delivery timelines and implementation activities.
  

Process & Continuous Improvement

• Support improvements to IT Service Management practices — service desk workflows, request/incident/change processes, knowledge and asset management.
• Maintain clear project documentation, including project plans, decision logs, status reports and closure/handover documents.
• Help establish and refine lightweight, fit-for-purpose project management practices for the IT team.

About you:

Experience

• Around 3 years of experience coordinating or managing projects, ideally within an IT, technology or operations environment.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and run small-to-medium projects, managing scope, schedule, risks and stakeholders.
• Experience maintaining a project roadmap or portfolio view, or coordinating priorities across multiple teams, desirable; exposure to business systems projects (e.g. HR/payroll platforms) an advantage.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, comfortable working with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including senior leadership.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Working knowledge of project management tools and methodologies (e.g. Agile, waterfall or hybrid); formal certification (e.g. PRINCE2, CAPM, PMP, Agile) desirable but not required.
• Familiarity with IT Service Management concepts (e.g. ITIL practices, change management, service desk tooling) desirable.
• Enough general IT literacy to engage credibly with engineers on desktop, systems and infrastructure topics — a technical background is helpful but not essential.
• Experience liaising with vendors on procurement and delivery desirable.
  

Key Measures of Success

• Projects delivered to agreed scope, quality, budget and timeframes, with risks and issues surfaced early.
• An enterprise operations roadmap developed in collaboration with the Director of Operations and relevant stakeholders, and maintained as a live document reviewed and updated on a regular cadence.
• Key stakeholders and Leadership have visibility of the roadmap and understand their dependencies within it.
• Clear, consistent and timely project, roadmap and portfolio reporting and stakeholder communication.
• Project and change activity coordinated with minimal disruption to productions.
• Effective coordination of cross-team initiatives with Platforms & Infrastructure, Pipeline Project Managers and R&D.
• Quality and completeness of project documentation and handover to operational teams.
• Working cohesively as part of the technology team, ensuring transparency in reporting and communication within the team, IT and the organisation as a whole.
• Establishing successful working relationships with key members of production and crew.
  

 

What do we do?

Flying Bark Productions is a renowned independent producer of family-focused animation entertainment. For over 50 years, our 2D and 3D production facility has created award-winning feature films and TV series.

Why work with us?

• We work on some pretty cool projects - check out our website: https://www.flyingbark.com.au/
• We have an industry leading studio space in Alexandria, complete with a cinema, quiet room, Zen Garden, games room, and state of the art animation facilities.
• Breakfast is served daily - on us!
• We have cake days, movie nights, wrap parties & a culture club dedicated to coordinating our busy social calendar!
• The Barkers have big hearts too, with our Paws for a Cause fundraising arm raising much needed funds for charities such as Beyond Blue, RSPCA and the Cancer Council.
• We love dogs and you will often see some of our regular fluffy companions in the studio.
• We have a hybrid approach to work with flexible work from home days on offer.
• Career development is important to us so we offer training and support opportunities whenever possible.
• Our employees say our culture is the best they've ever experienced - everyone is welcome and celebrated!
• You'll have access to mental health resources and free counselling via our Employee Assistance Provider, Support Act.

Flying Bark Productions is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.