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Outsourcing Manager

About Splash Damage

At Splash Damage, we’re dedicated to crafting team-based multiplayer games that ignite friendships as much as they do healthy competition and teamwork.

Our teams celebrated the launch of Gears Tactics earlier this year, and we’re currently developing Outcasters for Stadia along with several unannounced titles.

As an UnrealEngine focused studio, we're excited to be transitioning our teams to the latest in UE5 technology and we're looking for skilled and passionate developers to help us drive this.

We're advocates for work-life balance and offer a comprehensive benefits package focused on the well-being of our staff and their families.

We believe that teams create the best work when they have a range of perspectives and experiences to draw from. Therefore we're committed to increasing diversity across our studio, fostering an inclusive environment to ensure everyone's voices are heard.

Due to the on-going COVID-19 outbreak, we're all currently working from home. We’re still looking to welcome new team members, who'll join us remotely until we return to the studio

The Role

The Outsourcing Manager is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with external vendor teams. You will be the point of contact, and owner, of all external vendor relationships for the project, and work with the internal discipline leads to help organise all scope being developed by external vendors. You will assess development situations across the project and form strategies for delivering high-quality, cost-effective deliverables through 3 rd party vendors.

You will support production packets and review aesthetic and technical documentation to ensure strong engagements and provide reinforcement to the internal Production Team. As an Outsourcing Manager, you will work to implement and improve processes, methods, and tools in order to deliver scope outside of the internal game team. You have the ability to track progress against achieving the game team’s production objectives and ensuring both the internal and external teams are fully aligned throughout development.

You strive to build long-term relationships through clear two-way communication and trust, with engagements that will make the external development experience positive for all parties involved.

Responsibilities

• Identifying and driving the outsourcing needs of the project
• Be the main point of contract, and owner, of all external vendors for the project.
• Setting up workflows and processes with external development baked in.
• Facilitating solid collaboration between the internal team and external vendors.
• Planning, scheduling, and establishing a roadmap for the completion of assets to ensure the project’s key dates are upheld.
• Working proactively to manage the logistical side of complex developments with multiple dependencies.
• Working with Production to balance quality, time and costs while maintaining our studios high standards.
• Proactively identifying and resolving risks to both the project and outsource pipeline.
• Serving as a bridge between our internal team and external vendors to help develop games at a scale.
• Understanding the project needs and advise on current & future opportunities.
• Be able to understand the contractual and financial elements of each external engagement/relationship.
• Track, evaluate, and report performance of external partners to provide an ongoing feedback system.
• Continually liaise between external development partners to maintain strong relationships throughout the course of the development.
• Build a wide variety of partnerships to help us deliver art, cinematics, engineering, and more.
• Work closely with the Development Directors to track, organise, maintain, and document status across each engagement.
• Build and maintain the Outsourcing Budget and Plan for the project.
• Help find new partners for the project and develop new ways to make outsourcing and co-development work for us.
• Own the communication for general engagement feedback to all external vendors for the project.
• Proactively anticipate and adjust for problems and roadblocks.
• Ensure necessary steps are taken to resolve issues which may impede progress or compromise project goals/objectives.
• Identify and implement solutions to gaining greater efficiencies and cost savings through distributed development.
• Manage relationships with Operations departments (Business Development, Finance, HR, Recruitment, and IT) to ensure timely Contract Agreements, Purchase Orders, Invoicing, and Payments.
• Maintain Risk Mitigation plans in relation to external development.
• Drive towards cast iron commitments on budget, schedule, scope with both internal and external teams.
• Ensure the review/feedback loops for all external engagements are running smoothly, and course correct as needed.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Extensive experience with managing outsourcing and/or co-development relationships; ideally involving a variety of disciplines.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills; able to work on complex problems where analysis of situations requires an in-depth evaluation of various factors with minimal guidance.
• Comprehensive experience with the complexity of game development from a production standpoint.
• Experience of working with third parties on major development projects.
• Good technical understanding of game development pipelines and process.
• Great attention to detail; strong verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to convey thoughts clearly and logically.
• Experienced with Microsoft Office 365 suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Jira, and Perforce.
• Willingness to travel when necessary.

Splash Damage is an equal opportunity employer. We believe our teams create better work when they have a range of perspectives to draw from, and we are committed to creating an inclusive working environment that celebrates diversity.