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Director, Contract Administration

Job ID 10132143 Location Burbank, California, United States Business The Walt Disney Company (Corporate) Date posted Oct. 06, 2025
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Job Summary:

** This role sits in Burbank, CA, and this person is required to be on-site, 4 days/ week**

Role Summary

The Director, Contract Administration, is the leader of the Contract Administration team, and oversees all aspects of contract administration and development payment processes for Walt Disney Pictures, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, and Walt Disney Animation Studios.  This role reports to the Deputy Chief Counsel, Production Legal, Administration & Operations.

The Team

The Contract Administration team manages contracts, facilitates development payments, tracks producing overall deals and rights expirations, and ensures that our writers, directors, producers, and rightsholders are timely and properly paid in accordance with their contracts and all guild and union requirements.  The team works closely with Business Affairs, Legal Affairs, Creative, Payroll, Accounts Payable, Production Finance, Labor Relations, and Physical Production across Walt Disney Pictures, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, and Walt Disney Animation Studios.  The team is currently composed of a Manager, five Contract Administrators and one Contract Administration Coordinator.

Responsibilities          

  • Contract Analysis – review talent agreements to identify rights and financial obligations, summarize key terms, conduct rights research, and generate reports as needed.

  • Payments and Contract Administration – stay current on payroll systems, guild and tax rules; advise Business Affairs and Legal Affairs on compliance; coordinate with external reps; support payment processing from development through production; and manage turnaround/abandonment workflows.

  • Calendaring/Notices – monitor and update critical development and production dates; send weekly reminders to studio executives; and ensure rights-related deadlines are included in department agendas.

  • Database Consultation/Testing – collaborate with IT to improve internal contract database, define best practices, and lead testing of system updates. 

  • Reporting – provide deal precedent data to Business Affairs and Legal Affairs; create and refine reports from internal database; and analyze contracts for scheduled and ad-hoc reporting. 

  • Labor Matters – partner with Labor Relations to address WGA late payment claims and support union negotiations with ad-hoc reporting.

  • Legal Matters – advise Legal Affairs on payroll, accounts payable, and tax policy compliance.

  • Team Leadership and Strategic Planning – lead and develop a team of contract administrators, providing strategic oversight, ensuring compliance with organizational policies, and driving process improvements to support business objectives.

Basic Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience

  • 8 –10 years of experience in contract administration, legal operations, or business affairs within the entertainment industry.

  • Minimum 5 years of experience managing a team

  • Knowledge of payroll processes and applicable guild and union requirements, procedures, terminology, policies and standards.

  • Strong analytical, organization, time-management and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, multi-task and prioritize deadlines and deliverables.

  • Excellent written and oral communication skills

  • Detail-oriented mindset with exceptional proofreading skills

  • Ability to interact, collaborate and communicate with personnel of various levels throughout the studio.

  • Must be able to read and interpret legal contracts and guild and union collective bargaining agreements

  • Prior work experience at a major studio

  • Tech savvy mindset, with strong proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite (e.g., Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams), and familiarity with document management systems (e.g., NetDocuments) and complex databases used to track deals, key dates and payments. Proven ability to lead the adoption and integration of AI-enabled tools, automation and smart technologies to enhance accuracy, efficiency and strategic insights in contract administration processes.


The hiring range for this position in Burbank, CA is $124,900.00 to $167,500.00 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.

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About The Walt Disney Company (Corporate):

At Disney Corporate you can see how the businesses behind the Company’s powerful brands come together to create the most innovative, far-reaching and admired entertainment company in the world. As a member of a corporate team, you’ll work with world-class leaders driving the strategies that keep The Walt Disney Company at the leading edge of entertainment. See and be seen by other innovative thinkers as you enable the greatest storytellers in the world to create memories for millions of families around the globe.

About The Walt Disney Company:

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise that includes three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Experiences. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to its preeminent name in the entertainment industry today, Disney proudly continues its legacy of creating world-class stories and experiences for every member of the family. Disney’s stories, characters and experiences reach consumers and guests from every corner of the globe. With operations in more than 40 countries, our employees and cast members work together to create entertainment experiences that are both universally and locally cherished.

This position is with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, which is part of a business we call The Walt Disney Company (Corporate).

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military or veteran status, medical condition, genetic information or disability, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state or local law. Disney champions a business environment where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories and be relevant in a constantly evolving world.

DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION FOR EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS

The Walt Disney Company and its Affiliated Companies are Equal Employment Opportunity employers and welcome all job seekers including individuals with disabilities and veterans with disabilities. If you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation in order to search for a job opening or apply for a position, visit the Disney candidate disability accommodations FAQs. We will only respond to those requests that are related to the accessibility of the online application system due to a disability.

Having technical issues? View the FAQs for help.

Hiring Process

  • Where Does Your Story Begin?

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  • Be Part of the Story

    There are many different brands and businesses to explore. Once you've found the opportunity that is right for you, take the next step by completing your application.

  • The Next Chapter

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Explore this Location Burbank, CA

Billed as the "Media Capital of the World," Burbank boasts more than 1,000 media and entertainment companies, including the main headquarters for The Walt Disney Company.

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