Kōawa Studio Manager

Kōawa Studios

Located in Ōtautahi | Christchurch, Aotearoa | New Zealand

• Negotiable hours from Part-time (18.75 hours per week) to Full-time (37.5 hours per week)
• Fixed-term August 2025 - December 2027

Kia hiwa rā, kia hiwa rā!
He hiahia, he pūkenga nōu ki te mahi a te Kōawa Studio Manager? Nāia te pōwhiri nā Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha kia tono mai i te tūranga nei.

Āu Mahi | What You Will Do
Kōawa Studios is seeking an experienced and commercially savvy Studio Manager to lead commercial operations at our state-of-the-art production facilities. This role is ideal for a seasoned industry professional with a strong background in studio or production management ready to transition into a leadership position that bridges commercial production and education.

You'll be responsible for:

• Driving revenue generation by managing commercial use of our specialist facilities, including motion capture, sound, and virtual production studios.
• Ensuring efficient and safe operation of all studio spaces, from scheduling and resource allocation to compliance and maintenance. Working closely with academic staff to align commercial and academic use of the specialist facilities.
• Managing the Kōawa commercial technician and supporting a team of wider studio technicians to deliver exceptional technical services to  commercial projects.

This is your chance to shape the future of screen and digital arts in Aotearoa, contribute to strategic planning and development of commercial operational protocols while working with cutting-edge technology and a passionate, creative team.

Mōu | Who You Are
You will have 10+ years of experience in digital production, studio operations, or entertainment venues., as well as have:

• 3+ years managing technical professionals in a production environment.
• Strong financial acumen and experience with budgeting and contracts.
• In-depth knowledge of screen, sound, and production technologies.
• Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills.
• An alignment with our organisation's values and culture, promoting a positive and inclusive work environment.

Mahi Ngātahi | Who You Will Work With
Kōawa Studios is a cutting-edge hub where screen, storytelling, creative technology, game design and education converge. We empower the next generation of leaders in film, animation, game development, sound production, and immersive technologies—locally and globally. Our facilities include motion capture and stop-motion studios, sound  and recording studios, a virtual production stage, and more.

Ngā Painga o UC | Why UC
Ngā Uara | Our Values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and tiakitanga guide our decisions and behaviour and provide a roadmap for how we do things at UC, affirming our commitment to pastoral care and support for our ākonga and staff. They challenge and inspire us to be the best we can, and make UC a great place to work and study. For more info on Ngā Uara | Our Values visit us here.

We are committed to accessible higher education, service to the community and the encouragement of talent without barriers of distance, wealth, class, gender or ethnicity. The University explicitly aims to produce graduates and support staff who are engaged with their communities, empowered to act for good and determined to make a difference in the world.

For more information about Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury, please visit https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/

The closing date for this position is: 20 July 2025 (midnight, NZ time)
Please note, applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place before the close date.

Pēhea te tono mai | How You Apply

Applications for this position must be submitted via our careers website and should include a cover letter and resume.

Please note, we do not accept applications by email, however we are happy to answer your queries in relation to the application process, please forward these to [email protected]

You must have Aotearoa New Zealand or Australian citizenship/permanent residency or hold a valid NZ work visa to be considered for this role.