Creative Executive, Animation

This is a Full Time Job

Role Overview

We're looking for a Creative Executive focused on animation to help develop, shape, and oversee a growing slate of original kids and family series.

This role will own projects from their earliest stages of development through production and release. This would include, developing original ideas, evaluating outside pitches and IP, working with writers to build series and show bibles, establishing visual direction with our design team, and providing creative oversight throughout production.

Our animation slate is focused on kids and family audiences ranging approximately from ages 3-15, spanning preschool, younger kids, and older kids programming.

The right person should be comfortable independently owning a slate of projects while communicating closely with the broader creative and production teams.

This is not a traditional development environment where projects spend years moving through layers of approvals. We develop quickly, produce quickly, learn from what audiences respond to, and constantly move new ideas forward.

Responsibilities:

• Develop original animated series from initial concept through outline, show bible, episode development, and an initial 10-episode series

• Originate and pitch new concepts that align with TrueShort's creative mission, audience, and programming strategy

• Evaluate incoming pitches, scripts, concepts, and intellectual property and provide a clear creative recommendation on whether TrueShort should develop, acquire, or pass on the project

• Identify undervalued, overlooked, or underutilized intellectual property that could be adapted into compelling animated series

• Identify writers, creators, artists, filmmakers, designers, and other creative talent who could contribute to individual projects or the broader creative team

• Work closely with writers to develop series concepts, characters, worlds, episode engines, season arcs, and comprehensive show bibles

• Provide clear and actionable notes throughout script development, including on story structure, character, dialogue, comedy, pacing, tone, and emotional arcs

• Work with the visual design team to explore, identify, and ultimately approve the visual language and style for each series

• Review cuts throughout production and provide notes and revisions on story, pacing, performances, visuals, editing, and overall execution

• Review and approve music, score, sound design, and other audio elements to ensure they support the intended tone and storytelling of each series

• Fully own assigned series creatively from development through release, independently driving decision-making and ensuring the creative vision is maintained throughout production

• Work closely with the Production Manager to stay current on production schedules, episode deadlines, delivery dates, and any production issues affecting assigned series

• Provide updates during the weekly Creative staff meeting on development status, upcoming decisions, production progress, creative concerns, and major milestones across assigned projects

• Identify opportunities to develop characters, worlds, and concepts with long-term franchise potential

• Stay current on the television, film, animation, streaming, and digital media landscape, including emerging genres, creators, formats, and audience trends

• Stay closely informed on rapidly evolving AI media technologies, creative tools, and production capabilities, and consider how new developments can expand what is creatively possible

• Collaborate with the broader creative team on slate strategy, programming priorities, new genres, and future areas of expansion

• Help establish creative standards, development processes, and best practices as the studio and animation slate continue to scale

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience in animation development, creative development, current programming, producing, writing, or a similar creative role

• Strong understanding of kids and family storytelling across audiences approximately ages 3-15

• Exceptional story instincts and the ability to quickly identify what is and is not working within a concept, script, or cut

• Experience developing projects from initial concept through series bible, scripts, and production

• Experience evaluating pitches, scripts, books, intellectual property, or other creative material

• Strong understanding of character development, story structure, comedy, pacing, tone, worldbuilding, and episodic storytelling

• Experience giving clear, thoughtful, and actionable notes to writers, filmmakers, and other creative collaborators

• Strong visual taste and the ability to collaborate with designers and artists to establish the visual identity of a series

• Comfortable reviewing and providing creative feedback on editing, music, sound, and other elements of post-production

• Strong knowledge of the current animation, television, film, and streaming landscape

• Curiosity around emerging AI creative tools and an interest in how new technology can change the way stories are developed and produced

• Ability to oversee multiple projects simultaneously at different stages of development and production

• Comfortable making decisions, taking ownership, and independently driving projects forward

• Highly communicative and collaborative, with the judgment to know when to make a decision independently and when to bring in the broader team

• Comfortable working in a fast-moving studio environment where creative and production processes are constantly evolving

• Passion for discovering emerging writers, artists, filmmakers, creators, and overlooked intellectual property