Music wouldn’t exist without the work of songwriters, composers and publishers. We’re here to represent them and make sure that they are paid for their work. After more than a century in the industry, we continue to innovate as a world-leading organisation.

The Copyright Operations Lead (Fixed term Contract – Until Dec 2026 )

Purpose:

To provide strategic and operational leadership for PRS for Music’s copyright framework, ensuring the integrity, governance and performance of all copyright‑related membership activity. The role safeguards the accuracy of registrations, ownership splits and data ingestion, and serves as the organisation’s authority on copyright administration—balancing operational control, member stewardship and long‑term transformation.

As the senior lead for copyright services delivered by ICE, including direct oversight of the Additional Processing Team, the role is accountable for service excellence and continuous improvement across all outsourced and internal copyright operations.

The role shapes the evolution of PRS’s copyright operating model, driving readiness for emerging data standards, automation opportunities and future transformation.

As our Copyright Operations Lead – Fixed Term Contract , Some of your day-to-day duties will include:

Strategic Ownership & Copyright Governance

• Act as the organisational owner of copyright membership processes, policies and controls.
• Lead the strategic agenda for copyright administration, aligning delivery with PRS objectives.
• Maintain a robust copyright control framework ensuring data integrity, auditability and risk mitigation.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards including CWR, CIS, CIS-Net, ISWC and related identifiers.

Supplier & Service Performance Leadership

• Provide oversight of the ICE Additional Processing Team to ensure operational effectiveness and achieve business goals
• Assist the Contract Management team with SLA and KPI performance, in driving measurable service improvement.
• Represent PRS Member requirements in change negotiations, securing outcomes that protect member interests.
• Collaborate with ICE to support future processes and service models, ensuring alignment with PRS’s strategic direction.

Publisher Engagement & Member Stewardship

• Champion excellence in member experience across all copyright touchpoints.
• Lead structured engagement with key publisher members on copyright matters.
• Own escalation management for complex disputes, ownership conflicts and metadata issues.
• Ensure effective education and communication regarding OLR, CWR and copyright processes.
• Drive enhancements to Online Registration Services informed by member feedback.
• Drive initiatives that improve transparency and trust in copyright processing for members.

Copyright Systems & Operational Delivery

• Provide senior oversight of copyright system performance and optimisation.
• Ensure effective investigation and resolution of system and ingestion issues.
• Lead the implementation of process improvements and operational transformation initiatives.
• Define business requirements for copyright system enhancements and ensure technology solutions meet operational and member needs.

Data Integrity & Distribution Assurance

• Ensure the highest standards of copyright data accuracy across registrations and catalogues.
• Oversee audit and sampling of copyright ingestion via ICE and internal systems.
• Implement enhanced controls for high-revenue, high-profile and complex works.
• Monitor and reduce error rates, ownership disputes and revenue leakage.
• Embed structured root‑cause analysis to systematically reduce ingestion and ownership errors.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify systemic copyright risks and implement mitigation strategies.
• Develop and report on data quality, assurance findings and performance trends.
• Provide management reporting with actionable recommendations.
• Strengthen governance standards across copyright operations.
• Drive continuous improvement across policies, procedures and supplier delivery.

Leadership & People Management

• Provide direct line management and development for three senior roles.
• Set clear objectives aligned to data integrity, member satisfaction and operational excellence.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous learning.

At PRS for Music, we want you to bring the best version of yourself to work. We believe that celebrating individuality promotes a culture of acceptance and openness. Along with being whoever you want to be, in an ideal world you will also have:

Essential Skills:

• Significant experience in performing rights copyright administration within a PRO, publisher or related environment.
• Deep knowledge of copyright data standards (CWR, CIS, CIS-Net, ISWC, IPI/CAE) and rights management systems.
• Experience managing third-party suppliers and service-level frameworks.
• Strong background in copyright data quality, audit and distribution assurance.
• Proven ability to manage complex publisher relationships at senior levels.
• Demonstrated experience leading operational improvement or transformation initiatives.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams.

Desirable Skills:

• Experience working within or alongside ICE operating models.
• Knowledge of international collective management and mechanical rights data flows.
• Experience leading system migrations or large-scale process redesign.