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Art Manager
1 year ago
Company Overview:
A leader in creating deep and engaging experiences on PC and mobile, Jagex was founded in 2001 and is today one of the UK’s biggest and most respected video game developers and publishers.
Famed for its flagship MMOs RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, Jagex has welcomed more than 260million player accounts to its world and created a $1bn lifetime franchise revenue. Today the RuneScape franchise exists beyond running games in live operations; our titles are living games that connect and inspire millions of players, with content and experiences both inside and outside of inexhaustible game worlds.
Both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, on PC and mobile, offer ever-evolving, highly-active worlds and our community-focussed development ethos empowers players to have a real say in how each game is shaped.
Jagex is expanding and extending its portfolio with fresh franchise titles, new IP and, in 2018 launched Jagex Partners, delivering third-party publishing and operational services exclusively for the living games of the future.
Jagex employs more than 400 people at its Cambridge headquarters and is on the hunt for talented people to work across the business to help the company to achieve yet another year of record growth and player satisfaction.
Project Background:
Jagex has begun exciting new projects that leverage our legendary RuneScape IP in creative ways. We are expanding a project team with expertise in the latest technologies, focused around Unreal Engine 5, to create a highly-skilled, player-focused development group that you could join. A core team based in Cambridge, augmented by members distributed globally, form a friendly, talented bunch keen to invite new members.
Apply your passion for creating unforgettable online games and drive technology development to help us fulfil our vision for a deep, community-driven, connected, multi-platform Open World Survival Craft experience, set in the RuneScape universe.
Job Purpose:
You are the Project Manager for the project’s outsourced art development relationships, responsible for overseeing the smooth running of all specification, tracking and delivery of outsourced art assets, along with some co-ordination of internally developed assets.
Partnering closely with the relevant internal Art Directors, Producers, Product Managers, Studio Operations and Finance teams, you will leverage your in-depth knowledge of art content development and workflows to ensure a productive relationship with clear goals and a good mutual understanding. You will establish and maintain reporting and communication structures, costing mechanisms, capacity planning, schedules, briefings, feedback, and day-to-day communication.
You will help formulate Statements of Work and form strategies for obtaining quality, cost-effective assets through 3rd party vendors. You will ensure that partners have the information that they need, briefs are fit for purpose and that the relationship is healthy and delivering effective results.
Someone successful in this role is people-oriented, quality-focused, an empathic problem-solver and organiser, understands the needs of internal teams and outsource vendors, leads by example, develops trust and respect amongst internal teams and external partners.
Key Duties Include:
- Define and execute creative strategies for outsourcing that provide a scalable resource, quality, cost-effectiveness, and risk mitigation.
- Work closely with the internal art leads to understand, document and communicate the requirements
- Create and maintain outsourcing budget plans both short and long term, alongside the Producers.
- Partner with studio operations to find new partners and create new ways to make outsourcing and co-development work efficiently for us.
- Be the first line of feedback to vendors and course-correct to appropriate direction.
- Organize and execute communication structures and processes.
- Curate communications between internal and external development team to ensure clarity and consistent high standards.
- Document and communicate feedback to the external team, and obtain and provide answers to their own questions.
- Check that formal contracts align with plans and expectations.
- Drive efficiencies and new ways of thinking with a goal of reducing waste, managing the outsourcing budget, and increasing delivery predictability.
- Monitor, Measure and Mitigate all outsourcing risks, effectiveness of initiatives, medium to high level delivery and financial risks, that can help the team deliver the best possible game.
- Coaching and mentoring internal team staff in outsourcing considerations.
- Develop rich relationships with the Dev Team, cross-functional teams and directly with partners.
- Identify and maintain suitable tools for tracking and communication.
- Support management of internal asset production.
- Actively participate and contribute to change across the organisation.
Essential Requirements:
- Experience with managing outsource and/or co-dev relationships, ideally involving a variety of disciplines.
- First-hand knowledge of asset production workflows, dependencies and organisational issues.
- Experienced in reviewing assets and ensuring assets are ready for game implementation.
- Understanding of etiquette and productivity factors in business and development meetings.
- Ability to understand and communicate art styles.
- Previous experience evaluating and determining outsource vendors and reviewing art tests.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, excellent co-ordination and interpersonal skills.
- Experience with JIRA, Shotgrid or similar project tracking software.
- Hyper-aware of game industry trends and the competitive landscape.
- Ideally, experience working within an outsourcing vendor and first-hand understanding of their challenges and needs.
Company Benefits:
- Flexible Working
- Bonus Scheme
- Private Health Care
- Gym Membership
- Monthly Energy Allowance
- Generous Pension Contributions
- Life Insurance
- Free Cycle Repair
- Income Protection
- Dental Plan
- Free Fruit and Drinks
- Subsidised Canteen
Feel like you fit this role, but don’t meet all the requirements? We strive for fresh perspectives, so as long as you can demonstrate how your attitude and other abilities might make up for any gaps we would welcome your application!
Jagex are an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.
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