Senior Commissioning Editor/Editorial Director, Harvill Secker (7-month FTC)
We are looking for an entrepreneurial, organised and strategic Senior Commissioning Editor or Editorial Director to join the Harvill Secker imprint of Vintage on a 7-month contract beginning October 2022, to cover a period of parental leave.
Harvill Secker is the dynamic, international imprint at Vintage. We publish with creativity and ambition across bestselling crime, crossover fiction and thriller to prizewinning literary fiction and non-fiction. Our writers include Jo Nesbo, Susan Stokes-Chapman, Haruki Murakami, Denise Mina, Erin Morgenstern, Elaine Feeney, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Abir Mukherjee, Tommy Orange and Kirsty Logan.
We’re looking for a knowledgeable, commercially-minded editor to work across our Crime, Thriller and General Fiction titles.
You’ll need a proven ability to prioritise work effectively in a fast-moving environment and see projects through from conception to completion. You will be a broad and curious reader and have an in-depth understanding of the publishing landscape. You will be highly efficient, proactive, with an attention to detail, excellent time management skills and an ability to remain calm and work to deadlines when under pressure.
Great communication skills are a must, as you will be a key point of contact for our authors and their agents as well as colleagues across Penguin Random House.
We are looking for someone to start end of September 2022, latest mid-October. We’re currently working in a hybrid mix of time both in the office and working from home and are happy to discuss flexible working options at interview stage. This role will be based in our new Embassy Gardens office in Nine Elms.
Please apply with a CV and covering letter at your earliest convenience, and by midnight on Sunday 14th August.
What you can expect from us:
Salary: £40,000 - £48,000 at Senior Commissioning Editor level, or up to £55,000 at Editorial Director level, dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus benefits.
Our employees are the heart of our business. We have a range of benefits to reflect our commitment to our employees, some of which are:
• 27 days paid holiday entitlement in year one (plus bank holidays), increasing a day each year up to 30 days
• Medical cover
• Life assurance
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Discounted gym membership
• Generous pension scheme
• Summer working hours (role dependent)
• Volunteering policy and charity matching
• Employee Assistance programme
• Mentoring programme
• Extended gender neutral parental leave
• Access to books and eBooks across Penguin Random House UK
• Each site has trained mental health first aiders
• We plant a tree for every new employee to our business
Our creativity is inspired by different perspectives, so we want our culture to be one of belonging, where everyone feels welcome and where differences are celebrated.
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 want to make sure disabled applicants can be their best at each step of the recruitment journey. If you need adjustments during the application process, we encourage you to get in touch with us at http://PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk.
Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable to for us to support your adjustment request. Find out more about our approach here: www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/applying-for-roles-with-a-disability
We partner with The Book Trade Charity, who provide financial assistance for people looking to get into the publishing industry; you can find more information and talk directly here: http://booktradeentrysupport.org/
Please note, we are not able to accept agency CVs for this role. Any CVs sent speculatively will not be eligible for a fee.