Production Controller - EUROPE

TITLE: PRODUCTION CONTROLLER - EUROPE

LOCATION: LONDON / GERMANY

SERVICING: CINESITE LONDON & TRIXTER

REPORTING TO: FINANCE MANAGER - EUROPE

TYPE OF CONTRACT: PERMANENT

WORKING ARRANGEMENTS: TBC

WORKING HOURS: TBC (Full time 9 am to 6 pm)

COMPANY BACKGROUND

Established in 1991, Cinesite is one of the world's most respected independent digital entertainment studios, producing award-winning animation, visual effects, and immersive entertainment for film, broadcast, streaming, gaming, music, and events.

Recognised as one of Europe's fastest-growing companies, Cinesite has studios in London, Montreal, Vancouver, Munich and Mumbai. Its visual effects brands, Cinesite, Image Engine, and Trixter, have worked on major TV and film projects, including Marvel’s Avengers, Game of Thrones and BAFTA-winning The Witcher.

Alongside global VFX services, its animation business collaborates with IP creators and filmmakers to produce high-end animated features and series in London, Montreal, and Vancouver. The team has worked on The Addams Family, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Smurfs projects.

The company also offers top-tier motion capture for blockbuster films and immersive experiences for London’s top attractions.

THE ROLE

We are seeking a Production Controller to drive commercial and project-specific finance across our London businesses and Trixter. In this role, you will partner with production in driving project performance and profitability while providing forward-looking insights across these business units.

You will oversee day-to-day project financial management, taking full ownership of tracking project performance, margins, and delivery milestones. You will also be responsible for the forecasting of future sales and direct labour, partnering closely with non-financial stakeholders to obtain necessary context and backup to your assumptions.

REQUIREMENTS

• Experience working within a production management business and an understanding of completion-based revenue recognition


• A commercial mindset with the ability to look beyond the data to identify risks and opportunities


• Ability to communicate simply and effectively with non-finance management


• Strong collaborative skills and ability to support the wider team


• Strong Excel skills

DESIRABLE

• Part-qualified accountant (CIMA/ACCA/ACA)


• VFX/Film Production experience an advantage


• Proficiency in German is a strong plus

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• PROJECT PERFORMANCE & MARGIN REPORTING

• Prepare project financial tracking reports and performance updates


• Run "bid vs. actual" analysis on active shows to track profitability, identify margin erosion early, and pinpoint cost overruns


• Deliver detailed variance analysis on direct project spend including crew utilisation and outsourcing

• FORECASTING & CAPACITY PLANNING

• Responsibility for the accurate forecasting of sales on future projects


• Responsibility for the accurate forecasting of the corresponding direct labour costs for these projects, including cross-site spend and outsourcing


• Help production to optimise utilisation through accurate forecasting and the provision of useful KPIs for production spend management


• Partner with the Financial Control team to feed project revenue recognition, milestone data, and labour forecasts into the company’s budgets and forecasts

• REVENUE RECOGNITION & COMMERCIAL PARTNERING

• Manage show-by-show revenue recognition based on percentage-of-completion accounting and milestone achievements.


• Act as the primary financial touchpoint for Heads of Production and Executive Producers, translating complex financial metrics into practical production guidance


• Support production teams in financially assessing the impact of scope creep, client-driven delays, and change orders.


• Track and organize production-level tracking data to support the FC and corporate tax teams with creative industry tax credit applications (e.g., UK AVEC data extraction).

• PROJECT COST CONTROL

• Review and validate cost allocations to ensure project expenses are accurately distributed across projects


• Monitor and track third-party vendor outsourcing costs and cross-studio recharges to ensure they stay within budgeted show parameters.

• GENERAL

• Aim to find process efficiencies, standardisation of workflows and utilise automation tools or AI where possible


• Ensure efficient administration of affairs


• Deal with general queries and enquiries as necessary


• Providing financial support on ad-hoc corporate projects, software transitions etc.

What can we offer?

Cinesite offers a positive, creative environment where the world’s leading animation and effects artists are encouraged and supported to develop and produce challenging, world-leading and award-winning work. 

We pride ourselves on our work-life balance and provide flexible working arrangements, including hybrid and full remote options as well as working from one of our main studios.

We work as a collective, where everyone values excellence, expertise and expression; where we collaborate with some of the world’s leading creative thinkers and produce work that we are all proud to put our name to.