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About StudioLAB

StudioLAB is where the Studios embrace what’s next.

The next great story always asks something new of us. StudioLAB is where we figure out the answer by bringing creative and technical talent together to tackle the problems that matter most to The Walt Disney Studios. We give our filmmakers and business teams a trusted space to test ideas, pressure-check assumptions, and shape the strategic decisions that help us bring our best stories to the world.

Through our Strategic Innovation Partnerships, alongside a wider network of best-in-class collaborators, we accelerate market-ready expertise and technology where it counts, prototype quickly, and turn promising experiments into proven tools and new opportunities the Studios can confidently scale.

Our team is a deliberate mix of filmmakers, engineers, producers, and inventors, fluent in both creative ambition and technical reality. Anchored on the historic Walt Disney Studios Lot in Burbank, StudioLAB is where we close the distance between “what if?” and what actually works.

Role Summary

We are looking for a Portfolio Operations Specialist to join StudioLAB: someone who brings order and structure to the ambiguous and sometimes chaotic world of innovation, and who wants to help build the operating model behind the work.

As Portfolio Operations Specialist, you will run the business functions that keep the StudioLAB portfolio moving: project intake, status reporting, portfolio data management, budget and financial tracking, communications planning, and the operational connective tissue between our project teams, our Innovation Partners, and our business development colleagues. You will work with project leadership to build the tools and processes that give the team a holistic view of the portfolio and how competing priorities are being kept in balance, and you will track whether projects are progressing toward their milestones and delivering on their value drivers.

You will also serve as an operational bridge to the Innovation Partnerships team, keeping partner commitments, contributions, and agreements visible to the delivery side of the house, and you will help plan and support the partner-facing events that are central to how StudioLAB shows its work.

This role requires someone who adapts to changing priorities, navigates ambiguity, and proactively identifies opportunities to streamline how the team works. We are looking for someone collaborative, open-minded, and outcome-oriented who can pull the many parts of the StudioLAB program together and help tell the story of the work being done across the business.

What You'll Do

Portfolio tracking, reporting, and tooling

• Maintain a holistic view of the innovation portfolio: project statuses, timelines, key achievements, and value drivers, and partner closely with project teams to stay across every workstream.

• Track key achievements, wins, and value drivers post a project milestone

• Support StudioLAB leadership with strategic presentations, portfolio-level reporting, and executive-ready materials.

Financial oversight and budget operations

• Own day-to-day financial operations for StudioLAB: budget tracking against plan, forecast inputs, accruals, and month-end and quarter-end close support in partnership with Finance.

• Manage purchase requisitions, purchase orders, invoicing, and vendor onboarding, and serve as the team's first point of contact for procurement questions.

• Track spend by project and by funding source, maintaining clear visibility into what sits in overhead versus what is partner funded.

• Maintain the record of partner financial and Value-In-Kind contributions so leadership can see the real value each partnership is delivering.

Partnerships bridge

• Serve as the operational bridge between the Innovation Partnerships and business development teams and the project delivery teams, translating partner commitments into delivery expectations and delivery needs into partner asks.

• Develop a source of truth for partner agreements, engagement scope, contribution commitments, and renewal timing, coordinating with Partnerships and Legal on documentation and approvals that allows us to streamline collaboration between the BD and legal teams and create visibility.

• Prepare partner-facing reporting on the work StudioLAB and each partner are delivering together.

• Help support StudioLAB's signature partner-facing events

Communications

• Manage communications requests from the StudioLAB business and our partners, working closely with Studio Communications to provide the necessary context and framing.

• Run the approvals process for communications and keep relevant teams informed of progress.

• Craft key messaging beats that align to StudioLAB's broader strategic messaging.

Process, tooling, and systems

• Own the Airtable system and dashboards on portfolio views and key StudioLAB information for leadership and the team.

• Identify and deliver process efficiencies across the team - removing duplicate tracking, shortening reporting cycles, and automating recurring work.

• Develop tooling that allows the team to work in a more streamlined way, and document how it works so it survives without you in the room.

• Work alongside StudioLAB leadership to design frameworks and processes that are clearly understood and applicable across a broad range of project work, and oversee their ongoing execution so intake, reporting, and communication stay consistent.

Basic Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in program or project management, business operations, or production management.

• Hands-on experience with budget tracking, purchase orders, invoicing, or vendor management, and comfort working directly with Finance and Procurement partners.

• Experience working with third-party vendors and partners.

• A systems thinker — a highly organized person who can bring structure and order to disparate processes.

• Technical fluency, and preferably prior experience working in entertainment technology.

• An excellent collaborator and inclusive team player.

• A quick learner who can adapt to the needs of different businesses, roles, and stakeholders.

• A clear and concise communicator who can flex communication style to meet audiences at various levels.

• Comfortable operating with ambiguity and shifting priorities without losing the thread on commitments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience at a film studio or in production.

• Advanced Airtable, Smartsheet, or comparable operational systems experience, including automation design.

• Experience supporting event production or partner activations.

• Hands-on prototyping experience with AI-assisted development tools, and an interest in automating operational workflows.

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