Senior Designer, Penguin General

Penguin General are recruiting a Senior Designer to work across all of our imprints. Joining a team of nine (including a Studio Manager and Picture Editor) you’ll be surrounded by hard-working and talented designers who put creativity at the heart of everything we do. 

The Opportunity 

You will have a proven track record of designing and commissioning outstanding covers that break new ground and appeal to the broadest audience – from literary fiction through to narrative non-fiction – excellence in your field is the only requirement.  

Talented and versatile, your creative instincts and design skills will be matched by your understanding of the book market and ability to communicate your ideas clearly and confidently. 

Candidate Profile 

• Proven track record of designing and commissioning outstanding book covers. 

• Adept at developing strong relationships with our Editorial, Sales and Communications teams. 

• Ability to manage multiple projects at once, whilst also collaborating with team members and providing guidance where helpful.   

• Confidence in communicating with authors and agents.  

• Strong commissioning experience in illustration, photography and design. 

• In-depth knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite including InDesign and Photoshop. 

About Penguin General 

Penguin General is one of the eight publishing divisions that make up Penguin Random House UK. There are five imprints at Penguin General: Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, 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. 

At Penguin General, we publish a diverse range of books from prize-winning novelists and bestselling authors like Bernardine Evaristo, Ali Smith, Richard Osman, Zadie Smith, Meera Sodha, Elif Shafak, Barack Obama. In genres that span literary fiction, politics, lifestyle, business, history, crime, and popular fiction. 

Application instructions 

Please apply with your CV and cover letter by 11:59pm on Sunday 18th August. Please also attach an additional document including examples of your cover design work. 

What you can expect from us

Salary: £36,000 - £50,000 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:  

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. Penguin General colleagues typically work from the office three days per week. We are happy to discuss this further as part of the interview process. 

Please note that over the course of 2024 all of our London-based teams will permanently relocate to our Embassy Gardens office in Nine Elms.  

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. 

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.