VP, Pricing & Planning

The Pricing team is a part of Sports & Entertainment Revenue Yield Management within Disney Ad Sales, a division within the Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution Segment of The Walt Disney Company. Our primary responsibilities include: Ratecard strategy, selling schedule creation and management, inventory management, deal approvals, and available inventory reporting.The group regularly interacts with a broad array of other departments including Planning, Revenue Analytics, all levels of Sales, Global Ad Ops, Network Scheduling, Network Promo, Traffic, Tech, Sales Enablement, Research, Client Solutions and Finance. The goal of the team is to maximize revenue and respond to advertiser needs through inventory management across both upfront and scatter marketplace deals.

The Planning team is a part of Revenue Yield Management within Disney Ad Sales, a division of the Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution Segment of The Walt Disney Company. Primary responsibilities include: proposal development from RFPs, followed by execution including order booking, extensive change management, invoicing, and post buy verification/fulfillment. The Planning team works hand-in-glove with the Pricing team to present the sales offering, constructed from the network program schedule, to marketplace advertisers via hundreds of deals. These deals drive revenue to satisfy individual network P&Ls, while also supporting the larger DAS Ad Sales effort.

Job Summary:

The VP sets strategic goals and builds agreement across the Entertainment Pricing teams regarding means to P&I attainment. The VP, as derived from communication with the SVP Entertainment RYM, conveys current corporate directives and evolving marketplace priorities to the larger P&P team. The VP assembles Pricing Directors to ensure portfolio consistency handling where indicated and oversees upfront project management. The VP Pricing & Planning is responsible for ensuring Ratecard/offerings are strategically built to drive revenue by enabling the Planning team to efficiently access avails, build proposals and order inventory. The VP teams closely with VP GAO to ensure the transfer points between Planner and AM deal processing functions are designed to preclude gaps and drive seamless deal handling. VP works with ABC, Cable and ESPN P&P RYM management to create vertical and horizontal portfolio alignment across divisions. The VP assumes a tech leadership role both by identifying strategies, opportunities, and also ensuring the management team of the Pricing and Planning organization has the needed share of voice in system design. The VP evaluates staffing needs, training results, marketplace talent requirements working with Directors Pricing and Planning. VP Pricing and Planning core constituents, where indicated: SVP/VP/Director Sales, VP GAO, VP/Director RYM Analytics, VP Traffic, SVP/VP Research, VP Brand Solutions, SVP/VP Scheduling.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

• Build strategic and operational business driving alignment across functional teams including GAO, RYM Analytics, Sales Enablement, Traffic, Tech, Finance, Research, Solutions
• Surface, explore and drive tech requirements & delivery to support DAS deal processing and P&L goal attainment, including both immediate needs and longer term aspirational requirements, as internal DAS and external marketplace needs evolve
• Maintain a management plan for a staff of 50+, including performance evaluations and succession planning. Train Directors Planning and Pricing and coordinate activities
• Collaborate with RYM peers outside of Cable Entertainment arena, along with VP Entertainment RYM Analytics, to assess optimized deal terms across networks and development opportunities as a communicated priority of sales
• Interpret need and set department expectations coming from any marketplace or internal drivers. Resolve complex challenges that arise in satisfying hundreds of deals managed by the Cable Entertainment team that need direction from a senior management level, often involving collaboration with sales VPs and SVPs

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training:

• 12+ years business experience, with a focus on Pricing or Planning in a national sales organization. Extensive experience in a management capacity
• Proven track record of successful revenue driving strategies
• Quantitative-thinker, with robust problem solving skills and detail orientation
• Ability to multi-task and thrive in a team oriented, dynamic sales organization
• Excellent verbal/written communication and organizational skills
• Understanding of industry sales systems
• Proven leadership and people management skills a must
• Strong presence and comfort operating at the highest levels internally and externally

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