Publishing Director, Penguin Life and Penguin Business - Penguin General

We’re looking for a Publishing Director to lead Penguin Life and Penguin Business. With responsibility for a team of eight and reporting to the Managing Director, this role presents the opportunity to shape the long-term strategy for the list and champion some of the most inspirational voices in our society.  

About Penguin General 

Penguin General is one of the eight publishing divisions that make up Penguin Random House UK. There are six imprints at Penguin General: Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Business, Penguin Life, Viking and Sandycove. The latter is based in Dublin. 

General is made up of extremely talented colleagues, who set a high bar in terms of quality of output, who take pride in their work and strive for both individual and collective success. We advocate a ‘learning mindset’: being curious and humble about what we don’t know in order to grow. We strive to create a working culture that is progressive, energizing and fun, where difference is valued. Colleagues are treated with respect, stretched to learn and develop their skills, and can turn up to work as their authentic professional selves.  

About Penguin Life and Penguin Business 

Penguin Life publishes books to help you live well. We gather together the best and most passionate experts, creative thinkers and inspirational voices immersed in their fields who share a passion for shifting people’s perspectives, creating positive change and living well. From psychology, neuroscience and inspirational thinking, to fitness, the environment and parenting, we’re dedicated to publishing non-fiction that makes a lasting impact and helps you feel great. Our authors include Dr Rangan Chatterjee, Ruby Wax, James Nestor, Meik Wiking, Professor Russell Foster and Julia Samuel. 

Penguin Business publishes inspiring books that are packed full of practical advice to help you reach your goals, whatever they might be. We seek out fresh perspectives from emerging and established voices on performance and success, offering visionary ideas on leadership, transformative career advice, cutting-edge insights on finance and economics, and trusted analysis of the biggest global business stories of the day. Our chart-topping books include the million-copy bestseller Start with Why by Simon Sinek, Sunday Times bestsellers The Squiggly Career by Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis and Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo, Seth Godin’s legendary Purple Cow, and every entrepreneur’s bible, The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. 

The Role 

• Lead and develop the long-term strategy for Penguin Life and Penguin Business and own our acquisition and publishing 

• Manage the Penguin Life and Penguin Business team from hiring, performance and development to wellbeing 

• Together with the team, cultivate great relationships across internal departments and the external publishing, cultural and media landscape 

• Attract and retain the best authors by ensuring an exceptional author experience 

• Drive growth and profitability by balancing creativity and commerciality 

• Shape and enhance the overall vision and reputation of Penguin Life and Penguin Business 

• Contribute as a member of the Penguin General Management Team, supporting the cultural, creative and commercial health of the division 

Candidate Profile 

• Track record of acquisition across Life (essential) and Business (preferred) fields 

• Proven team leadership experience, able to mentor, challenge and support as an inclusive leader 

• Collaborative mindset, keeping in close touch with internal and external contacts such as agents and colleagues across departments and international territories to build productive working relationships 

• Experience creating high-quality content that drives conversation and sets trends 

• Proven negotiation experience, able to close deals effectively 

• Entrepreneurial approach, keen to collaborate for mutual commercial success 

• Talented communicator, able to capture attention and build rapport 

• Excellent talent management and project management skills 

• A great listener, welcomes questions and constructive feedback from all levels and can apply learnings 

Application details 

Please apply with CV and cover letter addressed to Preena Gadher outlining why you’re the right person for the role by midnight on Sunday 1st October. First interviews will be held at our Pimlico offices the week commencing 9th October.  

What you can expect from us 

Salary: competitive basic salary, depending 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: While our offices are places for you to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, having flexibility about where you work is just as important for doing your best work and for your wellbeing. For this role, there are meetings and activities that you will need to attend in person, at our offices in Pimlico. 

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 offer interviews to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role, and opt-in on their application form. There may be times when the volume of applications means we cannot 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.