My Journey To Sky Sports Production – #11: Eleanor Deakin (Production Planning Coordinator)

How It Started

What was your first ever job?

My first ever job was as a Sales Assistant at Jack Wills, totally unrelated to what I am doing now but it was a fun place to work, and the discount was great.

What brought you to Sky?

I came to work for Sky about a year after graduating from university, as I was looking for somewhere to help guide me in finding where I wanted to go with my career. In July, I will have been working at Sky for 5 years, so it’s safe to say I’ve found my career path.

How has your role evolved over the years?

No, I started as a Commercial Operations Assistant in Sky Media, moved up to an Executive before coming over to Sky Sports in April 2019.

What were your biggest professional challenges and how did you overcome them?

My biggest challenge was before Sky when I took on a managerial role while at university, working towards a degree while also having a role where people looked to you for guidance and support. It certainly was testing at times, but I believe the job helped me learn to manage expectations of both myself and others and to have a sympathetic but level-headed approach to the workplace. My greatest achievement would have been being asked by area managers to lead up the training of staff in a new store. It felt great to know the hard work I was putting in was being recognised and that they trusted in me and my abilities.

How It’s Going

What does your day to day work life look like?

Every day is different. Although, the most consistent thing is you will always see me with a cup of coffee in hand. Most days involve meetings with Directors of Content and Producers planning the staffing for upcoming productions, creating the rotas in PlanIt (bespoke event planning software) and liaising with the content teams directly. Often, we are dealing with short notice staffing requests or changes to resource requirements, booking and managing freelancers or working alongside the production planning team and production coordinators to help manage demand.

What’s been your Sky Sports career highlight and why?

Seeing England beat Ireland at Twickenham in Summer 2019. It was great to see first-hand the end to end process from one of my first content planning meetings through to the live production, also the weather was incredible!

What can you see yourself doing next?

I would like to stay working with in production/content and work my way up. One of the parts I love the most about this area is being able to interact with many people each day and you learn about so many different roles.

How It Can Be Done

What are your top 3 tips for becoming a Production Planning Coordinator?

• Be organised, the days can be varied so organisation helps you prioritise and manage everything effectively.
• Be approachable, as you will deal with lots of different people every day with a range of requests. I think it is important people feel comfortable to ask for something or even just some advice.
• Be a team player, as the ability to work together is very important when constantly coordinating with many other departments.

What would you tell your 16-year-old self?

Have high expectations of yourself, but don’t always expect the same from others as your goals won’t always line up with those around you.