Head of Campaigns (Penguin General) - 12-month FTC

Can you create PR campaigns to reach the maximum number of readers, as well as launch careers for new writers?  Do you want to work with some of the world’s bestselling, award-winning writers, in both fiction and non-fiction?

Penguin General is looking for a creative, experienced and enthusiastic senior PR professional with a passion for fiction and narrative non-fiction to join our award-winning Communications team as Head of Campaigns to cover a 12-month period of parental leave. Our authors include Elif Shafak, Zadie Smith, William Boyd, Pat Barker, John Preston, Leigh Bardugo and Hanif Kureishi.

The Opportunity

You will get to work with some of the most creative publishing colleagues in the business, alongside a team of experts in a friendly and inclusive environment that values individuality, champions creativity, and celebrates individual and team successes. You will be involved in every stage of the publishing process from early acquisitions meetings to devising and executing campaign plans and much more.  You will represent a strong voice in the division and will need to establish yourself as a trusted expert for colleagues and contacts both within and outside the organisation.  You will build strong working relationships with authors and agents to provide the highest level of author care.

You can expect to:

• Independently create, plan and drive strategic media and events campaigns for major titles across our Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton and Viking imprints

• Play a key role in the acquisition of new books, providing PR feedback and contributing to and attending pitches to acquire new talent

• Communicate and collaborative effectively with internal departments, including sales and marketing, editorial, rights and international colleagues

• Maintain and develop excellent relationships with high-profile and influential stakeholders, such as authors, agents, journalists and global publishing partners

What You’ll Bring

You’ll have a proven track record of independently producing standout book publicity campaigns for new and established authors, and ideally have experience of line management. You will be confident writing engaging press materials, organising large scale events, and representing Penguin General’s authors and books to the media and event organisers.

You’ll also: 

• Have excellent communication skills and be confident pitching and presenting internally and externally

• Have experience working with high-profile names, building authors’ profiles and securing PR coverage that communicates their message sensitively and effectively

• Be well networked with media contacts and be knowledgeable and curious about all forms of media

• Be highly organised with excellent time management to juggle concurrent campaigns with different lead times

• To be a strategic thinker, adaptable, curious and inspiring, bringing new ways of thinking and ideas to the team

• Demonstrate analytical ability and financial awareness for your campaigns

• Think in innovative and creative ways to create buzz for our books

Application Details 

If this sounds like you, please apply with a CV and cover letter. As per of your cover letter, please tell us about the campaign you’ve been most proud to work on in your career.  Closing date for applications is midnight on Tuesday 5th December.

About Penguin:

We’re the UK’s largest publisher; made up of some 2,000 people and publishing over 1,500 books each year. Our doors are open to all kinds of talent. In a constantly evolving industry, we work hard to stretch the definition of the word publisher. Here, you’ll work with a breadth of talent who all play their part to make each of our books a success. Together, we make books for everyone because a book can change anyone.

Salary: circa £47,000 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

Competitive benefits package: Our people are the heart of our business, and we work hard to support a culture of responsibility and recognition.

Our benefits include:

• Financial – income protection, life assurance, childcare allowance

• Wellbeing - healthcare cash plan, critical illness cover, health checks

• Lifestyle – enhanced parental leave, tech scheme

For our full benefits list please visit: https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/what-we-offer/

Hybrid working: We’re experimenting with a hybrid way of working that suits the needs of each team. While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. For this role we expect that you will work from our London office on Vauxhall Bridge Road, attending key meetings and working as part of the team usually three days per week, with home working on the other days. We are open to discussing the exact balance of office to remote working through the recruitment process.

The recruitment process: You can read about our recruitment process at https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/how-we-hire/

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we're part of the offer an interview scheme. This is where disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role can opt in to get to the next recruitment stage. There may be some situations where volume of applicants means we can't take all eligible candidates to interview. We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable to for us to support your request.

Please note, we are not able to accept agency CVs for this role. Any CVs sent speculatively will not be eligible for a fee.