Producer, Business, Business Analyst

Position Overview

Zynga's External Development (ExDev) team is the centralized hub that manages outsourced game development and services across Zynga's global portfolio. The ExDev Producer is the primary operational engine of this team — managing outsourcing pipelines, vendor relationships, contracts, and budgets to ensure that studios get the external support they need, on time and on budget.

You are an organized, polished communicator who thrives when juggling multiple simultaneous assignments. You are a proactive self-starter who works independently to manage project plans and schedules, and who takes ownership and accountability for the delivery of key outsourcing work streams at high quality. You have the business acumen to negotiate with vendors, the financial literacy to manage budgets, and the interpersonal skills to align internal and external stakeholders at every level.

Working in ExDev means operating at the intersection of production, finance, legal, and creative. You'll partner with game studios across Zynga's entire portfolio and work with a global network of service providers. Our team values operational excellence, partner trust, and creative problem-solving in equal measure.

Outsourcing Pipeline Management

• Support multiple game studios with varying needs, geographic locations, and vendor rosters simultaneously (typically 5–8 active projects)
• Manage and contribute to outsourcing schedules, ensuring alignment between studios and service providers
• Break down project phases and communicate time/cost estimates; track progress and identify roadblocks to determine schedule risk
• Analyze situations to identify risks and roadblocks and mitigate / problem-solve around them at the project level
• Ensure alignment within projects; send project status reports, run meetings, and maintain meeting agendas
• Evaluate new vendor candidates against Zynga business standards
• Work collaboratively with central departments:
  Legal, Finance, Procurement, Accounts Payable, and IT

Vendor Relations

• Evaluate new vendor candidates against Zynga business standards
• Troubleshoot any studio-vendor misalignments at the project level
• Resolve conflicts at the project level
• Knowledgeably negotiate with vendors at the project level on pricing, rates, and terms
• Maintain ongoing vendor relationships; explore and research new vendors
• Ensure alignment between studios and vendors throughout engagement lifecycle

Financial Management

• Understand different vendor pricing structures and methodologies
• Evaluate acceptable rates per project status and make recommendations
• Evaluate acceptable payment terms and make recommendations
• Work with studios to forecast a budget and provide a detailed breakdown/justification as well as analysis on rightsizing based on historical actuals and context
• Draft contracts, manage purchase orders (POs), and approve invoices for ongoing projects
• Track and report budget spend; provide budget analysis and forecasting support to the Executive Producer and team

Legal & Contracts

• Draft and review vendor contracts and statements of work (SOWs)
• Recognize legal and business risks in individual contract terms and communicate those risks clearly to Legal, studios, and vendors
• Understand the different types of contingent workers and constraints around each engagement type
• Raise employment risks to studios and employment counsel based on analysis of the engagement structure

Communication & Reporting

• Ensure alignment within projects; send timely, accurate project reports
• Run meetings effectively; own the communication flow outward to studios and vendors
• Identify dependencies and create project plans
• Understands and articulates the rationale behind outsourcing roadmap items relevant to each studio engagement

People & Culture

• Support and provide learning opportunities for Associate Producers
• Facilitate team communication and connections across a distributed team
• Identify risks to team culture and morale and propose solutions; actively seek input on team health
• Actively build and demonstrate core leadership soft skills: trust, advocacy, empathy, high EQ, and transparent communication

Experience

• 3–5 years of production or project…