Mumbai
Freelance
On-Site
WHY THIS ROLE EXISTS
- We made more films in 2026 than in any year before, and almost every one ran through a single senior producer
- We need a second pair of senior hands, so no film waits for a decision and no client waits for an answer
THE JOB IN ONE LINE
- You lead two or three ad films at the same time, from the first bid to the final delivery, and you lead the Producers who run them day to day
WHAT YOU'LL OWN
Bids and budgets
- Read the agency brief and the director's treatment, and turn them into a bid that wins and still makes money
- Own the budget from the first number to the final cost report, and know where every film stands on any day
- Spot a creep the day it starts and come with the option, not just the problem
Agencies and clients
- Be the person agency producers and brand teams call first
- Run the pre-production meeting (PPM), and keep the deck, the decisions and the sign-offs in one place
- Protect the relationship when the news is bad, by giving it early
Crew and vendors
- Lock the heads of department: DOP, production design, casting, costume, line production
- Negotiate rates and contracts, and hold vendors to what they signed
- Grow our list of people we'd book again
The shoot
- Approve the schedule, the call sheets and the plan B for weather, talent and location
- Be on set for the days that matter, and make the call when things break
Post and delivery
- Hand over cleanly to post, keep the edit, grade, online and sound on schedule, and deliver every version the media plan needs
The team
- Lead and coach the Producers and Associate Producers on your films
- Help us write down how a First December production runs, so the next person learns it faster
HOW WE WORK
- Chase the last 5%. We only hire people who pursue excellence. Most work stops at good enough. The last 5%, the detail nobody asked for, is where our films are made
- Move first. Start before you feel ready. A rough version today beats a perfect one next week
- Lead with the answer. Be clear, give the context, then say what you need
- Update before anyone asks. "Done", "doing it by [date]" or "stuck, here's my suggestion" are all fine. Silence never is
- Plan for the obstacle. If X goes wrong, then Y, decided in advance
- Show the number, not the story. Results over effort
- Raise the hard thing early. Flag the risk on the day you see it
THIS ROLE IS FOR YOU IF YOU
- Have produced ad films end to end for national brands and agencies
- Can hold three films in your head without dropping one
- Negotiate hard and stay liked
- Coach people instead of doing their work for them
THIS ROLE IS NOT FOR YOU IF YOU
- Need a perfect brief before you move
- Hide a budget problem until the cost report
- Want to run one film at a time
HOW WE'LL MEASURE YOU
- Films delivered on the agreed date
- Final cost against the approved budget, film by film
- Agencies that come back with the next brief
- Producers on your films who get better and need you less
WHAT YOU GET
- A hot seat. We're setting up our processes right now, so your work shapes how they turn out
- A real view of how a production company runs, from brief to delivery
- You learn from the best in our system, and you help build it
- A house with more than 150 international creative awards, Cannes Lions among them
THE DETAILS
- Freelance. Paid per project or on a monthly retainer, agreed in writing before you start
- Starts immediately, on live films
- Mumbai, at our office in Andheri West and on set
HOW TO APPLY
- Apply with the form on this page
- Share three films you produced, with your role on each and the budget band you handled
- Know someone who'd be great at this? Email their name and number to mail@1stdecember.com. Even one name helps