Production Director

Ward Church · Northville, MI · Full-Time

About Ward Church

Ward Church exists to lead generations to live and love like Jesus. Every weekend, thousands of people walk through our doors looking for hope, and the experience they have the moment the lights come up and the first note plays shapes whether they come back. We're looking for a Production Director who treats that moment as sacred work, not just a technical job.

The Role

We need a leader who can run a production department, not just a soundboard. As Production Director, you'll oversee two Production Managers and their teams, own the department budget, and personally serve as Event Producer for weekend services and major events. You'll set the technical standard for every stage, screen, and speaker across our Northville campus, and you'll build the systems and people so that standard holds up whether you're in the room or not.

This isn't a hands-off director role. When equipment fails or a volunteer doesn't show, you're the one who steps in and gets the show back on track.

What You'll Do

• Lead and coach two Production Managers, building real bench strength and succession readiness on your team
• Serve as Event Producer for weekend services and major events, coordinating creative vision with technical execution
• Set production standards for audio, lighting, video, and stage systems campus-wide, and build the SOPs that make them stick
• Own the production budget, including equipment lifecycle planning and vendor relationships
• Recruit, train, and develop volunteers alongside your managers, because this ministry runs on them
• Jump in hands-on when the moment calls for it

Why Ward Church

We believe the people behind the scenes are doing ministry, not just running equipment. You'll work alongside a staff that values making things better, giving ministry away to the next leader, and fighting for each other when the pressure is on. If you want your technical skill to point to something bigger than the next show, we want to talk to you.

How to Apply

Submit your resume and a brief note about your production leadership experience through this posting. We review every application and will follow up with qualified candidates for a conversation.

Qualifications

What We're Looking For

• A bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in live production
• Hands-on experience across audio, lighting, video, and stage systems, with real comfort troubleshooting under live-event pressure
• Proven experience leading other leaders or managers, not just volunteers or individual contributors
• A track record of building systems and documentation so a team doesn't depend on one person
• Someone who can hold a budget, a run-of-show, and a team of volunteers in the same hand without dropping any of them
• A shared commitment to the mission and values of Ward Church

Bonus: if you've got experience creating video content end to end — gathering stories, shooting footage, and editing it into a finished, publishable piece — tell us. It's not required, but it would carry real weight in our decision.