Sustainability Supervisor Training Information Webinar - 6th March

This webinar is aimed at potential participants of SSA's pilot Sustainability Supervisor Training. We will cover details about the program and what will be expected of participants, as well as answering any audience questions. You can find the program and application page here.

Program overview

With funding from Netflix Australia and Screen Australia, SSA has developed a first of its kind Sustainability Supervisor training program for the Australian screen industry. Sustainability Supervisors sit at Head of Department level which ensures this relatively new role has the best chance of industry impact.

Six participants from across Australia will be selected to participate in the pilot training, coming to the program with solid experience of the industry. The program will run from April - August 2025. Beginning with an in person retreat 4th-6th April, followed by six online evening classes before culminating in an eight week paid in-role placement on a production.

What is a Sustainability Supervisor?

The Sustainability Supervisor reports to the UPM or Line Producer and sits alongside other heads of department. It’s a multifaceted, hands-on role working across all levels and areas of production. Responsibilities are dependent on the scale of a production, and might include:

• Working alongside development teams and/or producers to create a productions environmental strategy, policies, action plans 
• Collaborating with HODs to empower them to implement environmental practices within their teams and source local, sustainable suppliers 
• Researching and engaging environmentally sustainable suppliers and solutions for all departments
• Educating and engaging crew through gamification, competition and celebration to support and normalise sustainable practices 
• Collecting, collating and reporting on carbon emissions 
• Recruiting additional support staff as a production scales up or down with a coordinators, waste systems assistants, bin wranglers or an emissions reduction officer 

Who we’re looking for

Participants selected for the program will be from across Australia, coming to the program with solid experience of the industry. There will be a detailed application process, as we are looking for participants with a combination of the following experience, knowledge and qualities:

Required

• Prior experience as an HOD, supervisor or 5+ years of coordination experience in the screen industry 
• A strong, consistent and positive attitude 
• Availability to attend the program in full, including two weekend in-person workshops, weekly online workshops and in-person placements: 
  • In person workshops; 4th-6th April, 22nd-23rd August
  • Weekly online check-ins (7pm -9pm AEST); 8th April, 15th April, 29th April, 6th May, 13th May, 20th May
  • In person placement (dates tbc) 26th May - 11th July

In addition, our cohort will have a combination of the following qualities, skills and experience 

• A qualification in environmental or sustainability studies and understanding of global environmental issues and solutions OR or equivalent professional experience
• Experience developing policies, strategies and facilitating cultural shifts
• Effective verbal and written communication skills.
• High level of initiative and ability to work independently.
• Practical and collaborative problem solving skills.
• Critical thinking and research skills.
• Interest in national and international policies, sharing local and international screen sector learnings and best practice.
• Financial literacy and interest or experience in data collection and reporting 

Through our co-design workshops we also heard the need for more people on the ground doing this work. As such, we will preference applicants who have not previously completed sustainability supervisor/manager/coordinator training specifically for the screen industry. If this is you, and this previous training did not suit your needs, you are most welcome to apply.