Animation Producer (Volunteer)

Animation Producer (Volunteer)

PromiseStudios | Animation Production, Creative Coordination & Storytelling

Organization: Mentor A Promise (MAP)

Division: PromiseStudios

Department: Animation

Location: Fully Remote — United States, with NYC-based collaboration as needed

Type: Volunteer Creative Production Role

Commitment: Approximately 5–10 hours per week

Minimum Commitment: 6 months

Reports To: PromiseStudios Creative Leadership / Animation Leadership

Works Closely With: Animators, Animation Directors, Illustrators, Storyboard Artists, Character Designers, Writers, Voice Actors, Music Composers, Sound Designers, Video Editors, Motion Designers, Creative Producers, and other PromiseStudios teams

About Mentor A Promise

Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a New York City–based nonprofit serving children and youth ages 5–18 experiencing housing instability through mentorship, education, enrichment, creative expression, career development, advocacy, and community-centered opportunity.

Through PromiseStudios, MAP develops original creative work capable of entertaining, educating, inspiring, and creating new ways for young people and communities to experience stories.

About PromiseStudios

PromiseStudios is MAP's multidisciplinary creative production division.

The studio brings together writers, filmmakers, animators, illustrators, photographers, composers, audio professionals, editors, designers, producers, and other creative talent to develop original stories and media.

Animation is a core creative discipline within PromiseStudios and may support original animated projects, short films, educational content, character-driven stories, music projects, campaigns, digital media, and cross-disciplinary productions.

PromiseStudios should operate as a studio of specialized creative disciplines—not simply a collection of projects.

Role Overview

MAP is seeking an organized, creative, and collaborative Animation Producer to help move animated projects from concept through final delivery.

The Animation Producer sits at the intersection of creativity and execution.

This person does not need to be the strongest animator in the room.

They need to understand how animation gets made, what different artists need to succeed, how production stages depend on one another, and how to keep creative projects moving without sacrificing the quality of the work.

The Producer will coordinate people, schedules, assets, reviews, dependencies, and deliverables across animation productions.

The central question is:

What does this creative team need in order to turn the idea into a finished animated work?

Animation Production

Coordinate animation projects through a structured production pipeline:

Concept → Development → Script → Visual Development → Storyboards → Animatic → Asset Production → Animation → Sound → Post-Production → Review → Final Delivery → Archive

Help establish appropriate production plans based on the scope and creative requirements of each project.

Projects may include:

• Animated short films
• Original series concepts
• Character-driven content
• Educational animation
• 2D animation
• Stop-motion projects
• Motion-based storytelling
• Music animation
• Animated social content
• Title sequences
• Promotional animation
• Experimental projects
• Cross-disciplinary PromiseStudios productions

Production Planning

Translate creative concepts into practical production plans.

For each project, help clarify:

• Scope
• Creative objective
• Production stages
• Required roles
• Deliverables
• Timeline
• Dependencies
• Review points
• Asset requirements
• Technical requirements
• Risks
• Final delivery expectations

Creative ambition needs an execution plan.

The Producer helps build one without unnecessarily limiting the imagination behind the work.

Project Coordination

Maintain visibility across active animation projects.

Track:

• Production status
• Assigned artists
• Deliverables
• Deadlines
• Dependencies
• Reviews
• Revisions
• Assets
• Approvals
• Production risks
• Outstanding decisions

Identify delays and blockers early rather than discovering them when the final project is due.

Creative Team Coordination

Coordinate multidisciplinary animation teams that may include:

• Animation Directors
• 2D Animators
• Stop-Motion Artists
• Storyboard Artists
• Illustrators
• Character Designers
• Background Artists
• Concept Artists
• Motion Designers
• Writers
• Voice Actors
• Composers
• Sound Designers
• Audio Engineers
• Video Editors

Ensure team members understand what they own, what they need from others, what comes next, and when their work is required.

The Producer should create clarity around creative work—not unnecessary bureaucracy around it.

Pre-Production

Support strong pre-production before animation begins.

Coordinate development of:

• Scripts
• Creative briefs
• Character designs
• Style exploration
• Concept art
• Storyboards
• Shot lists
• Animatics
• Production schedules
• Asset lists
• Voice requirements
• Music requirements
• Technical specifications

Problems solved during pre-production are usually less expensive—in time and creative energy—than problems discovered near final delivery.

Storyboards & Animatics

Coordinate storyboard and animatic development with directors, writers, and artists.

Ensure teams have opportunities to evaluate:

• Story clarity
• Pacing
• Composition
• Character movement
• Emotional beats
• Transitions
• Timing
• Dialogue
• Music and sound needs

An animatic is not simply another deliverable.

It is an opportunity to discover whether the story works before the team commits significant time to animation.

Asset Management

Establish organized systems for creative assets.

Support management of:

• Character files
• Backgrounds
• Props
• Storyboards
• Animatics
• Audio
• Voice recordings
• Music
• Project files
• Exports
• Versions
• Final masters

Develop naming, organization, version-control, and handoff practices appropriate to the production.

The team should never lose hours of creative work because no one knows which file is final.

Production Reviews

Coordinate appropriate creative reviews throughout production.

Use a clear process:

Work in Progress → Review → Feedback → Revision → Approval → Next Stage

Help consolidate feedback so artists receive clear, actionable direction rather than conflicting comments from multiple people.

The Producer coordinates the review process.

Creative leadership determines creative direction.

Creative Quality & Production Reality

Help creative leaders understand the production implications of decisions.

When a creative change is proposed, help identify:

What changes?

Who needs to redo work?

What other assets are affected?

How much additional production is required?

What happens to the timeline?

Is there a simpler way to achieve the creative objective?

The Producer should not respond to every ambitious idea with no.

The Producer should help the team understand what yes requires.

Voice, Music & Sound

Coordinate with PromiseStudios' audio and music teams when animation requires:

• Voice acting
• Dialogue recording
• Original music
• Scoring
• Sound effects
• Foley
• Sound design
• Mixing
• Final audio

Help ensure audio requirements are identified early enough to support production rather than becoming a last-minute addition.

Animation is visual storytelling, but sound is often responsible for making the world feel alive.

Post-Production & Delivery

Coordinate final production stages including:

• Picture lock
• Final animation
• Editing
• Audio integration
• Music
• Sound design
• Mixing
• Titles
• Credits
• Captions
• Accessibility elements
• Quality control
• Exports
• Final masters
• Archiving

Ensure final deliverables meet the project's intended platform and technical requirements.

A project is not finished simply because the animation is finished.

It is finished when the complete work is ready for its audience.

Cross-Studio Collaboration

Coordinate with other PromiseStudios disciplines when projects cross creative boundaries.

Animation may collaborate with:

• Film
• Photography
• Music
• Audio
• Illustration
• Motion design
• Writing
• Podcasting
• Creative production

A story may begin as an illustration and become animation.

A song may become an animated music video.

A written story may become a short film.

The Producer helps different creative disciplines meet at the right moment.

Rights & Creative Documentation

Coordinate with PromiseStudios leadership and PromiseTrust where projects involve intellectual property, music, voice talent, third-party assets, licensing, releases, or other rights considerations.

Help ensure production teams identify rights questions before final release.

A beautiful finished project becomes difficult to use if no one clarified whether MAP has the rights required to release it.

Youth-Centered Creative Standards

When projects involve young people, their stories, voices, likenesses, or creative contributions, follow MAP's safeguarding, privacy, consent, and dignity-centered storytelling standards.

Young people's experiences should never become creative material simply because they make a project more emotionally powerful.

Creative excellence and human dignity are not competing priorities.

Both are required.

Production Systems

Help strengthen the animation department's long-term production infrastructure.

Develop and improve:

• Production templates
• Project trackers
• Asset-management systems
• Production calendars
• Review workflows
• Handoff procedures
• Creative briefs
• Delivery checklists
• Production documentation
• Project archives

Each completed production should leave the studio better prepared for the next one.

Team Development

Help identify production capacity needs and support recruitment of additional animation talent.

Create an environment where artists receive clear expectations, reasonable timelines, organized feedback, and respect for their craft.

The Producer should not become the person completing every unfinished task.

The Producer builds the conditions that allow the creative team to finish together.

Qualifications

Strong candidates may come from animation production, film production, creative production, animation, television, digital media, motion design, post-production, project management, or related creative fields.

Candidates should demonstrate:

• Experience coordinating creative projects or productions.
• Understanding of animation production pipelines.
• Strong project-management and organizational skills.
• Ability to coordinate multidisciplinary creative teams.
• Excellent communication and follow-through.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines and dependencies.
• Comfort giving and receiving production feedback.
• Ability to identify risks and blockers early.
• Respect for creative processes and individual artistic disciplines.
• Ability to work effectively in a remote production environment.
• Alignment with MAP's mission and values.
• Residence in the United States.

Experience with 2D animation, stop motion, storyboarding, animatics, production-management platforms, editing, audio production, or post-production is strongly valued.

A formal animation or film degree is not required where professional, academic, independent, or portfolio experience demonstrates the necessary production ability.

What Success Looks Like

Animation projects have clear production plans.

Artists understand what they own.

Deadlines and dependencies are visible.

Storyboards and animatics are used effectively.

Creative assets remain organized.

Reviews happen at the right stages.

Feedback becomes clearer.

Production problems surface earlier.

Animation, audio, music, writing, and post-production teams coordinate effectively.

More projects move from promising concepts to completed work.

The studio learns from each production.

And artists spend more of their time creating because someone is paying attention to everything required to help the creation move forward.

Why This Role Matters

Animation begins with imagination.

But imagination alone does not produce a finished film.

Someone has to understand that the storyboard affects the animatic, the animatic affects the animation, the animation affects the edit, the voice affects the timing, the timing affects the music, and one delayed asset can affect everyone who comes after it.

That person sees not only the individual pieces.

They see the production.

PromiseStudios needs producers who can protect the creative vision while building the structure necessary to make it real.

Volunteer Commitment

This is an unpaid volunteer creative production role requiring approximately 5–10 hours per week with a minimum six-month commitment.

Consistent communication, participation in production meetings, coordination with creative teams, and reliable follow-through are essential.

Volunteers should provide at least two weeks' notice when ending their service whenever possible.

What You Will Gain

This role offers meaningful experience in animation production, creative project management, multidisciplinary collaboration, studio operations, post-production, and original content development.

The Animation Producer will have opportunities to help develop original projects, coordinate talented creative teams, strengthen PromiseStudios' animation production systems, and contribute to work designed to entertain, inspire, and create meaningful connections with audiences.

How to Apply

Please apply through Idealist only and submit:

• A current résumé
• A cover letter explaining your interest in Mentor A Promise
• A portfolio, reel, production credits, or examples of relevant animation, film, creative-production, or project-management work where available

Applications submitted without both a résumé and cover letter may not be considered.

At this time, MAP volunteer opportunities are limited to individuals based in the United States due to legal, safeguarding, data-privacy, compliance, and programmatic requirements.

Build the plan. Bring the artists together. Protect the creative process. Solve the problems before they reach the screen. Help an idea survive every stage between imagination and completion—and turn drawings, movement, sound, and story into something an audience can finally experience.