A Productions are looking for an Animation Director to work on the hit series JoJo & Gran Gran for CBeebies. The show will be produced in-house at our central Bristol studio.

JoJo and Gran Gran follows the life of a four-year old girl called JoJo and her fun and wise grandmother Gran Gran, who looks after her while her parents are working. Mixing beautiful animation with inspiring live action inserts, each episode follows the pair as they fill their day with fun activities and new experiences: from baking St Lucian Banana Bread to searching for Dinosaurs in the local Museum.

The show celebrates the role of modern Grandparents in many kids lives through core themes of family, community but most importantly, love.

Inspired by the real life relationship between early years educator Laura Henry-Allain and her own grandmother, JoJo and Gran Gran has found a place in the hearts of the CBeebies audience; becoming an overnight classic and the channel's highest rating Series launch of 2020.

The show is an important milestone in children's programming as it is the first UK animation that centres around a Black British family. This aspect of the show has resonated positively with the audience and following on from the success of series 1 (over 14 million views on iPlayer alone), we are looking for someone to head up our design department for series 2 and 3.

As Animation Director, you will oversee the animation on all episodes of JoJo & Gran Gran. Working closely with the Series Director and Assistant Director to understand the overall storytelling, style and pace of the show, you will brief the animation teams and review each stage to ensure the final animation is completed to the desired standard. Highly proficient in ToonBoom Harmony, you will have an excellent understanding of the software and be able to troubleshoot where necessary. Working together with production management, you will be responsible for ensuring the animation teams stay on schedule and making sure all client and director notes have been properly implemented. You should be self-motivated and have a proven ability in leading a team in a busy production environment. Excellent communication skills are a must, together with a clear understanding of a 2D animation pipeline.

A Productions ethos, established over numerous years and long form series, is to tell stories authentically; our success is based on the creative teams we build.

General Duties:
Working closely with Rigging/Layout team to ensure an efficient transition from animatic and design into Animation
Work with Production Management to schedule and assign shots to animators
Work with the Director to brief animation teams on each episode
Review animation passes and give animators notes/approve shots in a timely manner to ensure animation is produced on schedule and to the required standard
Work closely with the animation teams to improve each delivery and in turn reduce retakes as production proceeds.
Troubleshoot issues as necessary and assist animators with direct input to shots when this is a more time-efficient solution
Attend any relevant meetings with the client and all other departments, both internal and external

Essential skills and experience
Excellent knowledge of ToonBoom Harmony and the associated pipeline from pre through to post production
Animation series experience
Industry experience working as an Animation Director
Experience leading a team
Excellent communication skills in giving constructive feedback to animators
Understanding of schedules and the ability to manage time and prioritise accordingly
Demonstrable experience of maintaining good working relationships with a wide variety of people (clients/external partners etc)
A Productions are an equal opportunity employer and place a high value on diversity and inclusion within our company and actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups. We are committed to equality of opportunity and are open to discussing flexible working hours.