Commissioning Editor (FTC) - William Collins

Team: William Collins

Salary: 12 month FTC (Maternity Cover)

Location: London, UK

Closing: 11:59pm, 9th Oct 2022 BST

Overall purpose of the role

HarperCollins is one of the UK’s foremost, diverse and innovative multi-platform publishers. We publish a wide range of books, from cutting-edge contemporary fiction, to block-busting thrillers and from fantasy literature to children’s literature and enduring classics. We also publish a great selection of non-fiction titles, including history, celebrity memoirs, biographies, popular science, dictionaries, maps, reference titles and education books, and our digital business is thriving. With nearly 200 years of history, we publish some of the world’s foremost authors, from Nobel prize-winners to worldwide bestsellers. In addition, we also publish the works of Agatha Christie, JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis.

Our William Collins and 4th Estate division are looking for an Commissioning Editor to cover the maternity leave of the current post within the William Collins team.  In this role you will not only be managing the world famous religious list, but you will also be acquiring your own titles. Reporting to and working closely with the Publishing Directors in William Collins, you will have ownership of your own stable of authors, seeing them through from acquisition to publication. You will acquire across different genres, encompassing religion, mindfulness, spirituality, popular culture, sport, wellness, music, other contemporary ideas and looking for authors across a wide range of sources, but especially social media.  This is a role with a great amount of potential for growth, and there are opportunities to play a part in establishing a new list and building author brands. 

Key Accountabilities:

• Maternity cover for the current Commissioning editor to help grow the list.

• To commission, edit and publish titles successfully and profitably for the William Collins list.

• Build and foster relationships with agents, with a view to bringing in the best new talent and commissioning new titles for William Collins.

• In addition, identifying promising un-agented authors, organisations or brands and directly approaching them for book projects.

• Working closely with HCUS imprints, in particular Harper One, to maximise world English publishing opportunities for relevant books.

• To foster strong relationships with authors and agents, responding to queries, providing regular updates on publishing strategy in conjunction with the Publishing Directors and Executive Publisher.

• To work closely with the production team and publishing operations teams to keep titles on critical path; collating author and copyeditor queries on to manuscripts when necessary.

• Ensuring strong market knowledge to inform publishing strategies.

• Briefing jackets and liaising with designers, seeing covers through from start to finished proof.

• Copywriting and checking sales/marketing material.

• Creating strategy documents for key titles, and presenting these to the wider team as required.

• Ownership of metadata/AIs for individual authors, ensuring this fits with emerging trends in the market, and is completed in line with critical path.

• Writing cover/catalogue/ copy as required.

• Presenting titles at monthly International, Rights meetings, sales and marketing meetings.

• To raise and check contracts as required.

Skills/Competencies

Essential:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Self-starter/ takes initiative

• Ability to see a project through from ideation to completion

• A problem solver

• Quick-thinking

• Creative 

• Quick reader

• Well-versed in understanding commercial opportunities within the religious market.

• Extremely organised

• A keen eye for detail

• Interpersonal and diplomacy skills

• Technically competent

• Computer skills: Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Desirable:

• In tune with innovations within the industry

• Strong understanding of the William Collins list

• Has ideas on how the William Collins list can expand

Disposition

• Passionate about religion, spirituality, mindfulness, philosophy and politics

• Energetic and enthusiastic

• Curious

• Enjoys a challenge

• Dynamic team member

• Diplomatic

• Excellent at building relationships

• Flexible – able to work evenings and weekends as required to attend launches/events

Benefits

• Hybrid working model (2+ days in the office)

• 26 days holiday plus bank holidays (option to buy and sell holiday days)

• Enhanced pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave

• Private healthcare cover and life assurance

• Free access to HeadSpace, employee assistance programme (24 hour helpline), mental health first aiders, and a wellbeing portal

• Season ticket loans (from day 1 for entry level) and cycle to work scheme

• Employee networks: HC All In (open forum), Elevate (for ethnic minority colleagues), HarperParents, Menopause at Work and Pride at HC

• Unlimited training on our Learning and Development portal, management courses (up to MA level) and mentoring programmes

• Virtual GP and eyecare vouchers

• Gym membership discount

• Onsite physiotherapy (London only)

• Charitable donation matching and volunteering day

• We're a certified Carbon Neutral company

• Free e-books and audiobooks, newspaper subscriptions and discounts on books

• Subsidised canteen and retail discounts

• Onsite prayer room

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to our Talent Acquisition Manager at stephanie.jemmett@harpercollins.co.uk with subject heading ‘Vacancy Query’ plus the job title and we will aim to get back to you within 5 working days.