Senior job roles provide leadership and direction. They manage budgets, schedules and staff,
make key decisions, communicate with clients and take responsibility for the final product.
What are Senior Job Roles?
Senior job roles sit at the top of a production team or department. These roles include
producers, directors, project managers, heads of department, editors-in-chief and senior
designers or developers.
They are responsible for planning, decision-making and
quality control. Senior staff make sure the project meets the client brief,
stays within budget and is completed on time while following legal and ethical guidelines.
Key points you must remember
- Senior roles focus on leadership, management and final decisions.
- They communicate with clients and coordinate creative and technical teams.
- They manage budgets, schedules and resources.
- They are often responsible for legal compliance and sign-off of work.
- Strong communication, organisation and problem-solving skills are essential.
Senior Job Roles at a Glance
These infographics summarise who leads a media project, what decisions they make and how they
link to the client and the rest of the team.
- Overall project: producers, executive producers, project managers.
- Creative leadership: directors, series producers, creative directors.
- Department heads: heads of camera, post-production, sound, design or development.
- Editorial leadership: editors-in-chief, senior editors, content leads.
- Business & strategy: commissioners, channel controllers, senior marketing managers.
- Exam link: highlight how senior roles coordinate teams and take responsibility for outcomes.
Leadership · Strategy · Oversight
- Planning & scheduling: create work plans, milestones and deadlines for the team.
- Budgeting: allocate money to staff, equipment, travel and marketing and monitor spend.
- Managing staff: hire, brief, motivate and review the work of creative and technical teams.
- Client communication: update clients, pitch ideas and negotiate changes to the brief.
- Quality & risk: check that the product meets legal, ethical and technical standards.
- Exam tip: when evaluating a project, mention how senior roles would solve problems and keep it on track.
Planning · People · Quality
Games to Practise Senior Job Roles
Use these games to practise how senior roles make decisions, oversee teams and take
responsibility for meeting the client brief and audience needs.
Media industry
Sector Sorter
Drag-and-drop game sorting traditional vs new media, products and job roles.
Perfect for Section A media industry questions.
MCQs
Sectors
Job roles
All topics
iMedia Genius
The flagship exam-style quiz covering every R093 question type: MCQs, short answers,
binary questions, bonus rounds and timed scoring.
Exam-style
All R093 content
Mixed difficulty
Product design
Client Brief Detective
Race the clock to find key information in client briefs: purpose, audience,
timescales, ethos and constraints.
Short answers
Client brief
Constraints
Exam Practice – Senior Job Roles
Q1. State one responsibility of a producer in a TV production. (1 mark)
Technique: Give one clear responsibility such as managing the budget,
organising the schedule or hiring key staff.
Q2. Explain one reason why a client might want to meet with the project manager during production. (2 marks)
Technique: Make one point about communication, progress updates or changes
to the brief, then explain how this helps the project stay on track.
Example structure: “Meeting the project manager helps because… This means that…”
Q3. Describe one difference between the role of a producer and the role of a director. (3 marks)
Technique: Identify a clear difference (e.g. producer manages budget and logistics,
director focuses on creative vision and performance) and then develop your answer with an example.
Q4. Explain two skills a senior editor-in-chief needs when managing a team of writers for an online magazine. (4 marks)
Technique: Give two separate skills (e.g. leadership, attention to detail,
understanding of audience). For each, explain how it helps maintain quality and consistency.
Q5. A media company is producing a multi-platform campaign for a new game release. Discuss the
senior job roles that would be involved in planning and leading the campaign and explain how
their decisions affect the final products. (9 marks)
Technique: Cover several senior roles (e.g. executive producer, project manager,
creative director, head of marketing). Explain their responsibilities, how they coordinate teams
and how their decisions shape the campaign. Finish with a justified conclusion.
- Paragraph 1–2: Describe key senior roles and their main responsibilities.
- Paragraph 3: Explain how they work with creative and technical staff.
- Paragraph 4: Link their decisions to the success of the campaign (audience reach, brand image, budget).
- Final paragraph: Conclusion – which role or decision is most critical and why.
Can You Now…?
- Name at least three senior job roles and describe what they do.
- Explain how senior roles support and lead creative and technical teams.
- Suggest which senior roles would be needed for different media projects.
