Senior Manager, People & Organization (P&O)

About the role

The Senior Manager, P&O is the core HR partner for the studio. You will make sure the fundamentals run smoothly: onboarding, benefits, payroll, and employee support. In addition to managing P&O for the overhead team, you will also act as a true partner to production, understanding how an animated film gets made and shaping people's practices around that rhythm. Production crews ramp up, peak, and roll off on tight schedules, and you will help them move through those cycles well.

Sony Pictures Animation is a pre-production animation studio based in Los Angeles, California, creating both feature animation and animated series with artists from around the world. We pride ourselves on empowering filmmakers to lead the creative process, and allowing the hand of the artist to be truly felt, with the goal of producing bold and innovative visual storytelling.

Responsibilities

HR Operations

• Own the end-to-end employee lifecycle: onboarding, status changes, offboarding, and records maintenance.
• Manage benefits administration, open enrollment, and employee questions.
• Resolve payroll issues quickly, working with Payroll, Finance, and corporate P&O teams.
• Ensure compliance with employment law, Sony policies, and the various IATSE agreements, including correct classification, overtime, and benefits eligibility.
• The ability to navigate a union environment, partnering with Labor Relations to interpret and apply collective bargaining agreements accurately and consistently.
• Partner with the appropriate corporate teams to coordinate employee leaves, workplace accommodations, and return-to-work transitions.
• Partner with Compensation and studio leadership on promotions, and internal equity, ensuring consistency across production and overhead teams.

Production and Creative Partnership

• Partner with Production, Studio Operations, and department heads to support crew ramp-ups and wrap-downs. Help leaders communicate and implement organizational changes, supporting employees through transitions.
• Advise on hiring plans, offers, and workforce planning across productions.
• Coach producers, supervisors, and managers on performance, conflict resolution, and team culture.
• Handle employee relations matters with discretion and fairness.

Culture and Employee Experience

• Create an inclusive, supportive environment where artists and production staff can do their best work.
• Run engagement efforts, such as feedback programs, wellbeing resources, and recognition.
• Partner with the D&I team to translate company initiatives into meaningful studio programs, supporting inclusive leadership, employee engagement, and equitable access to development opportunities.
• Support training, career development, and mobility within the studio.

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop P&O team members.
• Improve processes, systems, and reporting, using HR data to inform decisions.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive HR experience, including 3+ in a people-management role.
• Strong knowledge of onboarding, benefits, payroll, and California employment law.
• Experience in media, entertainment, animation, VFX, or another project-based creative environment preferred.
• Working knowledge of guild and union environments, including how collective bargaining agreements affect hiring, payroll, and employee relations. Experience with IATSE is a plus.
• Proficiency with HRIS and payroll systems (e.g., Workday).
• Excellent judgment, discretion, and communication skills.
• A real interest in animation and filmmaking, and a desire to understand how films get made.
• A service mindset: responsive, approachable, and solution-oriented.
• The ability to balance process and compliance with the pace and flexibility creative work demands.
• The ability to work respectfully with IATSE representatives and apply agreement terms accurately and consistently.
• Comfort managing multiple priorities across productions in different phases.

Pay and benefits

The anticipated base salary for this position is $151,800-$189,000. The actual salary offered will depend on a variety of factors.