Custom Publishing and Licensing Manager (Macmillan Education)

Location: London

Closing date:  November 3rd 2021

Macmillan Education have an exciting opportunity for a Custom Publishing and Licensing Manager. In this role, you will take responsibility for the successful delivery of Custom Publishing projects and lead on all the Licensing for all third-party licensing deals (rights out) as well as intercompany licenses. You’ll support the Head of Custom Publishing in communicating and liaising with the Regional sales teams to ensure projects are financially viable, meet customer expectations and deadlines are achieved. You will also manage the Custom team in London responsible for planning to ensure that all projects meet publication dates, costs and required standards.

Key tasks

Licensing:

• With senior managers, develop global licensing policies, processes and systems for managing licensing for third-party (rights out/sales) and intercompany deals
• Build and maintain close relationships with colleagues in other departments to ensure that licensing policies are both consistent with the company goals and objectives and sensitive to the markets served.
• Ensure that content is always licensed under appropriate license conditions and in line with the rights that we have acquired.
• Deal with incoming enquiries, assessing suitability for licensing and determining appropriate next steps for all third-party (rights out/sales) and intercompany deals.
• Negotiate profitable licensing arrangements and liaise with the legal department to draft accurate licensing agreements in accordance with licensing policies.
• Manage license agreements throughout their duration ensuring key milestones are met and making appropriate arrangements for renewal or cessation at the end of the licensee term, as necessary.
• Undertake regular (monthly) analysis of licensing activity in order to assess progress against budget, identify new opportunities, and highlight any issues that are impeding progress. Prepare and present reporting on all licensing activity.

Custom Publishing:

• Manage Custom Publishing department, including the holistic welfare of the team. Direct and indirect line management responsibility includes annual appraisals, objectives and career development support.
• Ensure that projects are fully and appropriately resourced, managed and all required documentation is made available to relevant staff, delivering all projects on time, within budget and to required standards.
• Identify, contact and brief high-quality authors and other 3rd party suppliers and be accountable for reviewing and approving author variation agreements (AVAs), licensing agreements, ensuring 3rd party rights are checked and cleared, and other contractual documentation as required.
• Be accountable for the tracking and reporting of schedules, budgets, project status, and any risk/risk mitigation issues to all stakeholders as required; troubleshoot and respond quickly to issues to reduce impact on time/cost/quality.
• Determine when packagers and other freelance resources should be contracted, and to
• oversee editorial and publishing tasks in-house as appropriate.
• Manage and supervise the (Senior) Project Leads on assessing project proposals and making recommendations to the Head of Custom Publishing.
• Support the Head of Custom Publishing in communicating and liaising with Regional Publishing Hubs and Sales teams.

Skills/knowledge:

• Prior print and digital licensing experience, preferably in a book publishing role, with a good understanding of different licensing models and methods
• Knowledge of copyright and related intellectual property law
• In-depth understanding of publishing processes for print and digital
• Broad understanding of the global ELT market
• Ability to organise/manage teams
• The ability to manage a varied and demanding workload and set job-related priorities
• Strong communication and negotiation skills
• Highly literate and numerate
• Flexible approach and the ability to adapt to fast-paced, changing environments
• Managing budgets and preparing project P&Ls

Experience

• Experience of managing teams in different locations
• Project management experience across a number of complex publishing projects
• Experience of working within an environment run according to highly structured procedures
• Experience of designing and implementing workflows and managing publishing information systems

Qualifications and Experience:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent combination of education and experience

Occasional travel abroad when appropriate and as required.

All candidates are working remotely until the offices reopen where you will be expected to be based in the office in line with our working from home policy.

To apply: Please submit a CV and covering letter outlining your experience and interest in the role as well as your salary expectations and notice period.

At Springer Nature we value and celebrate the diversity of our people. We recognise the many benefits of a diverse workforce and strive for an inclusive workplace that empowers all our colleagues to thrive. Our search for the best talent fully encompasses and embraces these values and principles.

Visit the Springer Nature Editorial and Publishing website at www.springernature.com/editorial-and-publishing-jobs  for more information about our Research E&P career opportunities.