Who We Are:
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and approximately 300 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world while broadcasting to over 950 million households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 80 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC and @UFC on X, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok: @UFC. TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO) is a premium sports and entertainment company. TKO owns iconic properties including UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization; WWE, the global leader in sports entertainment; and PBR, the world’s premier bull riding organization. Together, these properties reach 1 billion households across 210 countries and territories and organize more than 500 live events year-round, attracting more than three million fans. TKO also services and partners with major sports rights holders through IMG, an industry-leading global sports marketing agency; and On Location, a global leader in premium experiential hospitality.
The Role and What You’ll Do:
The Director of Production is responsible for leading all aspects of UFC’s production planning, budgeting, and financial oversight while ensuring productions are executed on time, on budget, and at the highest quality. This role partners closely with internal production teams, accounting, finance, and external vendors to align creative and operational needs with accurate forecasting, resource allocation, and cost control. The Director oversees production staff and ensures financial and operational workflows scale effectively with UFC’s expanding live event and media footprint.
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Production Budgeting & Forecasting
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Lead the creation, management, and monitoring of production budgets for live events, studio shows, and media productions.
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Develop rolling forecasts and financial models to reflect production costs, cash flow, and resource needs.
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Track actuals vs. budget, conduct variance analysis, and recommend corrective action to stay within financial parameters.
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Partner with producers and creative leads to build production plans in line with approved budgets.
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Ensure timely and accurate cost reports are generated, reviewed, and communicated to senior leadership.
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Production Management & Oversight
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Oversee day-to-day production operations across multiple events and projects.
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Ensure production schedules, workflows, staffing, and equipment needs align with approved plans.
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Coordinate cross-functionally with Creative, Business Affairs, Legal, HR, Marketing, and Finance.
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Build and manage internal production timelines to guarantee timely delivery of live and recorded content.
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Maintain strong vendor relationships and oversee contract negotiations, invoice approvals, and reconciliations.
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Risk Management, Compliance & Controls
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Ensure compliance with UFC policies and financial controls, as well as GAAP accounting standards.
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Monitor union/guild requirements, tax incentives, and regulatory obligations relevant to productions.
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Identify financial and operational risks; implement mitigation strategies to protect budgets and production quality.
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Partner with Finance and Legal on audit, insurance, and risk management matters.
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Leadership & Communication
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Manage, mentor, and develop production finance and operations staff.
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Communicate clearly and consistently with senior executives, production personnel, and external stakeholders.
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Serve as a key liaison between creative, operations, and finance teams to ensure alignment across the organization.
You Have These:
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Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Production Management, or related field.
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Minimum 10 years’ experience in production management and finance roles, ideally within live events, sports, or media.
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Demonstrated experience in production budgeting, forecasting, cost reporting, and variance analysis.
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Strong understanding of live event/studio production processes, workflows, and cost drivers.
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Proficiency in financial modeling and Excel; experience with ERP and production budgeting tools (e.g., Movie Magic, EP, SAP, Oracle).
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Proven leadership experience, with ability to manage multiple concurrent productions under tight deadlines.
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Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills across creative and financial stakeholders.
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CPA, CMA, or FP&A certification.
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Experience working with sports organizations, live event broadcasting, or large-scale touring productions.
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Familiarity with tax credits, co-productions, and union/guild agreements.
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Experience scaling financial and operational systems in a fast-growing production environment.
TKO EEO Statement:
TKO is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding non-discrimination in employment. TKO makes employment decisions based on merit and qualifications, without considering an employee’s or applicant’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited under federal, state or local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the Company has facilities. TKO also provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable state or local laws. For information about Privacy and Information Security for TKO employment candidates, please review our Privacy Policy. For information regarding Terms of Use for this and other TKO websites, please review our Terms of Use.
