Business Operations Manager (National Geographic Content)

Job Summary:

The Business Operations Manager supports the National Geographic Content (NGC) organization by helping maintain and improve internal business systems, workflows, and cross-department operational processes. In this way, they play a crucial, behind-the-scenes role in enabling the creation, production, and distribution of National Geographic’s award-winning streaming programs and editorial content.

Working within the Editorial Operations department, this role reports to the Senior Manager, Digital Strategy and Experiences and is dedicated to business-facing workflows and internal technologies (e.g., Airtable, Microsoft 365, enterprise content and planning tools). The Manager assists with optimizing and documenting workflows, analyzing operational challenges, supporting system adoption, coordinating updates and enhancements, and ensuring that content teams use appropriate technologies and data flows for cross-functional initiatives, with a focus on internal operations rather than consumer-facing product ownership.

The Manager works closely with NGC’s content production and operations leads across streaming, video, and editorial to understand and resolve operational challenges. The role also partners with Disney’s enterprise and business technology departments to stay aligned with corporate technology roadmaps, leverage approved tools and capabilities, communicate NGC’s operational needs, and resolve impediments to this alignment. This role serves as a connective layer across teams where business workflow ownership, system coordination, or prioritization is currently fragmented.

The ideal candidate marries an intuitive understanding of content-creation and post-production workflows with deep technical expertise and a firm grasp of enterprise systems, change management, and operational coordination. They inspire trust in the way they navigate and communicate technological change.

Primary Responsibilities:   

Operational Support & Planning

• Document and analyze existing business workflows and internal tools to identify gaps, redundancies, risks, or opportunities for improvement
• Provide recommendations for workflow and tooling enhancements that improve efficiency, clarity, and cross-team alignment
• Define, document, and coordinate operational processes across content, production, and business teams, partnering with Disney Technology teams on implementation planning and execution support
• Lead business-side planning and coordination for workflow transformation or technology initiatives (e.g., creating and maintaining a Data Lake), focusing on business requirements, readiness, adoption, and ongoing operational use

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Liaise with operations leads across content groups to support smooth, business-as-usual execution (e.g., magazine features, TV series, branded franchises)
• Support cross-segment initiatives by defining shared workflows, intake processes, requirements, and handoffs across editorial, studio, streaming, marketing, social media, and sales teams
• Help clarify ownership, prioritization, and escalation paths for initiatives that span multiple teams, systems, or distribution channels

Workflow & Systems Coordination

• Maintain up-to-date documentation and inventories of NGC’s internal business systems, workflows, and points of integration
• Serve as a coordination point for business-facing enterprise systems (e.g., Airtable, planning, scheduling, metadata, and reporting tools), without owning technical architecture or engineering delivery
• Support system transitions or replacements (e.g., scheduling, planning, or tracking systems) by gathering requirements, communicating impacts, and supporting readiness across affected teams
• Promote consistent usage patterns, governance, and adoption of shared tools across teams that lack dedicated operations support

Change Management

• Support organizational change initiatives related to process improvements, system transitions, and new tooling
• Develop and support change-management approaches to promote adoption, clarity, and operational continuity, including scheduling and leading training sessions
• Coordinate training, documentation, and communications tied to new or evolving business tools and workflow

Data & Reporting

• Collect, analyze, and report operational metrics related to workflow health, system usage, and delivery timelines
• Lead centralized reporting initiatives for business-side data (e.g., data lake)
• Prepare and distribute regular updates on systems, tools, workflow changes, and operational impacts

Vendor & Partner Management

• Maintain relationships with external vendors and service providers supporting business workflows and reporting
• Coordinate vendor onboarding, training sessions, and ongoing engagement in partnership with Technology and Procurement teams
• Serve as a day-to-day liaison with internal partners in Disney’s Enterprise Technology division to support adoption of approved tools and develop a repeatable engagement model for collaboration between NGC and Enterprise Technology

Risk, Compliance & Security

• Help ensure that operational processes and workflows align with company policies, industry standards, and security protocols
• Partner with Disney’s Sensitive Information Protection, Legal, Privacy, and Technology teams to support compliant use of systems, tools, and data
• Flag potential risks related to system changes, access, data handling, or workflow dependencies and coordinate with appropriate stakeholders to address them

Basic Qualifications:            

• Minimum of 6 years of relevant experience in business operations, workflow analysis, or cross-functional program coordination in a large or mid-sized organization
• Familiarity with workflow tools, project management systems, and enterprise platforms (e.g., Airtable, Asana, Smartsheet, Jira, Confluence, Microsoft 365, or comparable business operations tools)
• Strong analytical, documentation, and organizational skills, with attention to detail and deadlines

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in media, content production, post-production, or technology-driven environments with a passion for emerging technologies
• An empathetic, relationship-oriented communicator who earns trust across diverse teams and disciplines
• A “technical translator” who communicates clearly with both technical and non-technical partners
• Experience influencing cross-functional teams and navigating enterprise technology environments without direct authority and without owning engineering delivery

Required Education:             

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience

Preferred Education:            

• Bachelor’s degree with credentials in project/program management, business administration, technology management (PMP, MBA or MS in Information Systems, Technology Management, or similar accreditations) or similar fields. Equivalent professional experience is also welcome.

The hiring range for this position in Washington, D.C. is $115,500 to $154,800 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.