OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
Below should be all the info, links and documents you need to get set up & running as Operations Director at Creative Blood. They are very much a starting point and we absolutely would love you to add your own personality and flair to everything you do. We hope you find them helpful.
WELCOME
Anytime someone new starts at Creative Blood, they will be asked to read through the WELCOME PAGE on the intranet. Please take a look as it will give you access to our NDA, which we’ll need you to sign, our WEBSITE, SHOWREEL, CORE VALUES, and also contains links to our FONT & LOGOS which you’ll need to download, PRODUCTION MANUAL, and SUSTAINABILITY POLICY.
NON-NEGOTIABLES
A brief overview of your role broken down into daily, weekly, monthly, annual and adhoc tasks can be found here. This is a guide of how this role has been done to date, and is open for change. However, there are a few nonnegotiables when working in the role of Operations Director at Creative Blood that we are unapologetic about, they include;
CORE VALUES - you have joined as a member of the senior team and therefore expect you live & breath our Core Values in everything you do.
ATTENTION TO DETAIL - is key to the success of this role. We expect & need you to be all over the details.
LEGAL CONTRACTS - are your responsibility, you need to ensure that all projects are legally compliant & approve all contracts ahead of engaging clients / shooting.
INSURANCE - the Creative Blood insurance policy needs to be kept up-to-date covering the needs of the business as it evolves.
PROCESSES - continuing to develop and introduce new processes to ensure calm, stable and consistent ways of working within the company.
CREATIVE BLOOD LTD
Creative Blood Ltd was founded in 2013.
REGISTERED ADDRESS: Suite A, 4-6 Canfield Place, London NW6 3BT
COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 8533833 | VAT NUMBER: GB164 7044 10
CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION: Can be downloaded here if requested.
EORI NUMBER: GB164704410000
The latest Creative Blood company presentation can be viewed here. It’s a document that was created for a pitch presentation to the Adidas Originals team in May 2020.
CREATIVE BLOOD PRODUCTION PROCESS
The current production process is detailed in the PRODUCTION MANUAL, an overview can be accessed here. This is how we’ve done things to date, but we are very much up for you reviewing the process in collaboration with the Production Director / Exec Producers / Laura Conway and streamlining it wherever you feel you are able to.
COVID-19
It is your responsibility to keep Creative Blood up-to-date with all government & industry updates in relation to COVID-19, refining existing and implementing new processes as & when required. Below are the documents & processes that have been developed to date.
APA COVID-19 SHOOTING GUIDELINES - The latest version of these is saved in the templates folder on Dropbox.
CALLSHEET - Our callsheet template has been updated to include a brief summary of steps we are taking & will be asking clients & crew to take on set with us.
CIMS - When budgeting for a job during COVID-19, every estimate needs to be set to the template ‘_COVID London’ on the details page. Unless otherwise specified by the client and agreed with Laura Conway.
HEALTH DECLARATION FORM - This has been supplied by the APA and is to be shared with all crew, talent etc at beginning of pre production. Please use the latest version saved on dropbox.
GUIDELINES FOR PRODUCTION - We’ve created a Google doc that can be shared with clients to outline the steps we are taking when producing in the UK during the pandemic. It is your responsibility to keep this document up to date & share any amends with the team & where relevant clients.
RISK ASSESSMENT - A COVID specific risk assessment needs to be completed for every shoot. Details are saved in the COVID section on dropbox.
TRIPARTITE AGREEMENT - This needs to be signed alongside PIBS Part 1, and PIBS Part 2 for any APA motion shoot.
CIMS
CIMS is the software we use at Creative Blood for bidding all jobs.
It’s unlikely that you’ll be asked to create production budgets, but you may be asked to set up a new client / company, or add a new contact to an existing company.
There are a few ‘How To’ guides below, but if you have any technical or account questions, please reach out to Kofi Osuwu @ CIMS who will be able to help you.
CLIENTS
There are a number of clients that we work regularly with to include: Adidas, Apple / Beats, Nike & Virgin Voyages. Please familiarise yourself with the following for each client:
CONTRACTS - Saved on the server… OPERATIONS > CLIENT_INFO+CONTRACTS….
PROCESS DOCS have been created for each of our regular clients. These are saved on the londoninfo Google drive.
RATE CARDS - Please refer to the client rate card doc to see the set rates that we have in place with our regular clients. These rates should be up for review in the next 6 months. Please pick this up with Laura Conway.
RFP DOCUMENTS - Any recent RPF documents we have created for either existing or new clients are saved on the londoninfo Google drive.
You will be required for any new clients coming into the business to review contracts and once signed create bespoke process docs & negotiate rate cards in line with the client’s contract. You will also be asked to help with all RFP’s.
G-DRIVE
We use G-Drive to save all job related info for all live jobs. You will have your own G-mail login, but will also need to access the main Creative Blood G-Drive account, so you can access all jobs, and create new job folders.
It is the role of the Production Director to create a new job folders, and grant the relevant people permissions. ‘How to’ videos are below in case you are asked to cover.
The Production Director is responsible for moving the job folder through ‘BIDDING’, ‘ACTIVE’, ‘COMPLETED’, ’GONE AWAY’ as the job progresses, and then removing access to the folder for anyone that no longer needs it.
Please work with the Production Director to make sure permissions are up-to-date at all times & that once a job is completed & final invoice paid, that it’s archived from Dropbox onto the Creative Blood server.
FINANCE
Janet Jupp is our Finance Manager | accountslondon@creativebloodagency.com | 07930 253138
Accounts will share a ‘Job Billing Status’ at the end of each week. Please review which client invoices are still outstanding and liaise with Laura / Production Director / Exec Producers + Accounts to agree who will follow up with the client.
GOOGLE DOCS
Creative Blood has recently moved over to using Google docs for any documents that need to be shared. All company documents need to be set up on the londoninfo@ Google Drive. The current log in details are: londoninfo@creativebloodagency.com | password: please request from Office Manager.
At present the following folders / documents are saved on this drive:
Creative Blood Case Studies
Client Process Docs
Intranet - all google docs linked to the intranet, are saved here.
Master Job Worksheets - are all saved here.
Office - all google docs used by our Office Manger are saved here.
RFP’s - all RFP’s need to be created on the londoninfo Google drive, so they are saved centrally.
Working budget / reconciliations - are all saved here.
Creating new master job worksheets & working budgets should be the role of the Production Director. Links to the ‘How to’ films are below, should you need to cover at any time.
HUMAN RESOURCES
It’s your responsibility working with the support of the Office Manager to ensure that all HR processes are adhered to & paperwork kept up to date. This includes:
Full-time employee
Appraisals - Annual appraisals have traditionally been done in December, with a 6 month review in June. All appraisals & objectives are saved on the Operations server.
Contracts - All new employees need to have signed a Creative Blood contract ahead of joining the CB team. There are templates for full-time and 6 month contracts saved on the Operations server. Contracts need to be shared a minimum of 5 working days ahead of the start date. Laura needs to approve all full-time contacts ahead of them being sent out.
Job Specs - Have been created for all current full-time roles. You will need to develop these with Laura & create new job specs as the business needs change.
NDA’s - Needs to be signed by any new employee.
New starter forms - Blank new starter forms are saved on the server. New starter forms need to be completed & sent to our accounts team & Raymond’s team ahead of their start date.
Objectives - Have been set for all full-time employees. These are to be reviewed by Laura ahead of the annual appraisals, and new objectives set.
Training - Training is on-going at Creative Blood, please check in with Laura & the team on a regular basis to see what training is needed & where you’re able to support this.
Freelancer
Contracts - A freelance contract needs to be in place for all freelancers. Template contracts are saved on the Operations Server. If you need to extend a freelancers contract, this can be done on email with the original contract attached, asking them to extend agreeing to the attached T+C’s.
Invoice approval - You are responsible for approving all freelancer invoices and sharing them with accounts for approval.
NDA’s - Need to be signed by all freelancers ahead of them starting with us on a project. All NDA’s need to be re-signed at the start of each year, our Office Manager will assist with this.
New starter forms - Need to be completed for all new freelancers that we work with, as with the full-time team, they need to be sent to our accounts team & Raymond’s team ahead of their start date. Blank New Starter forms are saved on the server. OPERATIONS > CB_HUMAN_RESOURCES > NEW_STARTER_FORMS
Rates - Freelancer rates have been set for 2020 and can be accessed here.
SPONSOR LICENCE
Sponsor Licence information can be accessed here:
INSURANCE
You are responsible for ensuring that the Creative Blood insurance policy is up-to-date & covers the needs of the business as it changes. Details of our insurance policy, and contact details for our insurance company can be found here.
It is the role of the Production Director & Exec Producer working on a project to ensure that their shoot is covered by our insurance policy & to let you know if there is the need to purchase additional insurance. If this is the case the additional insurance premium would need to be passed on to the client.
Creative Blood has a separate Travel Insurance Policy. This has lapsed and you will need to reinstate as soon as a job requires anyone to travel.
INTRANET
The intranet was created as a tool for all freelancers coming into Creative Blood to use. It enables them to have all the info they need to produce a job to hand when working remotely.
It’s also a tool for ordering Petty Cash, and the Production kit. Every time a production kit or petty cash request is submitted our Office Manager will receive an email from Squarespace and will arrange with the relevant Producer / PA for the kit to be packed. Our Office Manager is also responsible for all Petty Cash, and signing it out / in with producers.
The intranet is created using Squarespace. Our Office Manager has the log-in details. As processes change please keep the intranet updated, it has allowed Creative Blood to scale efficiently, and provides everyone with the info they need to be able to succeed in their role.
Our Office Manager changes the passwords on a monthly basis, please check for latest passwords.
LEGAL
It is your responsibility to work with the CB team to ensure that all projects are legally compliant.
For all projects, you are required to check & approve all contracts ahead of the shoot to include:
Client MSA / RFP (if in place)
Client Usage Agreement
Location Contract
Music Contract
PIBS / Director / Photographer Contracts
Talent Contracts
For any legal questions with regards to client contracts, or clearance on a shoot, please reach out to either Steve Davies or Martin Poyner at the APA.
For any legal issues outside of the APA, please speak to Laura Conway.
MEETING LOG
Daily meetings are arranged with artists and freelance production teams.
A meeting log has been created to record the details of everyone reaching out to Creative Blood. Our Office Manager is responsible for the meeting log, and will periodically send you a link, with relevant CV’s for you to review, ahead of any meetings being set up.
Laura / Sarah may request that you join them for any meetings that they feel are relevant, or cover meetings for them from time to time.
OPTIONS CHART
An options chart has been created as a Google Doc on the Londoninfo Google Drive, to record freelancer availability and detail who we have optioned for which specific project.
It is the responsibility of the Production Director, working with Sarah to option all Producers and PM’s for every job. We’ve created a quick ‘How to’ video so you can see how it works and how you can access the hidden contact details within the document, should you need to.
There’s also a Freelancer Contacts spreadsheet that has all freelancer contact details & their level in your master finance doc, for quick reference.
Resource profitability
Resource profitability is one area that has been developed over the last year & something that Creative Blood needs you to continue developing as the company evolves.
Here is a link to the document that has previously been used. It has all projects detailed, including Virgin Voyages.
SERVER
There is an Operations folder on the server where all Ops based info is saved. Our Office Manager will be able to give you access to the server. > SERVER > OPERATIONS…
> CB_COMPANY_INFO - CB presentations, insurance info, certificate of incorporation
> CB_FINANCES - All freelancer invoices
> CB_HUMAN_RESOURCES - Appraisals, contracts, COVID paperwork, freelancer rates, job specs, new starter forms etc.
> CB_INC - Intern company process doc
> CLIENT_INFO+CONTRACTS - Client contracts & confidential info
There is also a separate folder on the server where all job files are archived from Dropbox once the final invoice has been paid. SERVER > CREATIVE BLOOD > JOBS
TESTIMONIALS
Where appropriate, we ask clients for a testimonial following a shoot. This is the role of the Producer / Exec working on the job. Please check in regularly with the team to ensure that we are getting these from clients in a timely manner following the shoot & update the testimonials page of the intranet.
WIP
WIP is our daily status meeting that traditionally happens on a Monday at 10am. Anyone not in the office for this meeting needs to dial in for it.
The WIP has been created as a Google Doc, and lives on the Londoninfo Google Drive. This document is shared, so please don’t change permissions, move or delete without consultation.