Publicity Director (Parental cover contract)

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Publicity Director to join our multi award-winning HarperNonFiction marcomms team on a fixed term contract to cover a period of parental leave.

HarperNonFiction is one the UK’s leading entertainment and lifestyle publishers publishing some of the biggest names and bestselling brands in nonfiction, with authors ranging from Jay Shetty to Grace Dent, Patrick Hutchinson to Debbie Harry, Marcus Wareing to Ant Middleton, Adam Buxton to Rhonda Byrne.

This is an exciting time of growth and change for us. In the role, you’ll design and implement integrated and strategic campaigns across our four publishing verticals and grow our lists and brands through entrepreneurial and creative thinking. The successful candidate will be a senior voice in the HarperNonFiction team, bringing their knowledge of the market and prior publicity experience to deliver outstanding campaigns.

Key tasks and accountabilities

• Create and deliver the PR strategy to support marketing campaigns, sales targets and business objectives

• Lead and manage the Non-Fiction publicity team

• Proactively contribute to acquisitions and publishing programme using knowledge of media trends and market information on what competitors are doing

• Work closely with editors to determine requirements of authors in line with company strategy and budget

• To share knowledge and potential of digital PR within the department and HarperCollins

• Lead PR team in presentation and development of pitches

• To gain greater leverage from corporate initiatives

• Has an active interest in campaigns from across the book industry as well as the wider entertainment and media sector.

Your first six months

• Plan, execute and deliver bestselling campaigns

• Develop strong relationships within the marcomms team, specifically line reports as well as across the wider business including sales, editorial and design

• Be a senior publicity voice in meetings

Experience required

• Significant PR experience

• Knowledge or experience of the publishing industry

• Experience in managing and leading a successful publicity team

• Excellent relationships with range of media contacts

• Celebrity/personality brand management experience

• Excellent track record in generating creative, strategic and innovative campaigns

• A creative, commercial and strategic thinker who is comfortable using consumer insight and market knowledge to produce best-in-class campaigns with real impact.

• Is ROI-focused, able to effectively measure results and evaluate campaigns, and share learnings with wider team and stakeholders.

• Excellent market and commercial knowledge, able to keep up-to-date with the latest trends, news, media and wider cultural landscape.

Skills required

• Proven capability in creating innovative PR campaigns

• Good writer, ability to plan, news sense, story telling ability, able to pitch a story, creative

• Business and commercial understanding

• Able to evaluate meaningfully

• Understanding of competitors strength and weaknesses, retail trends and media trends