Group Export Sales Executive (12 Months FTC)

About Walker Books

​Walker Books UK is part of the vibrant international Group that includes Candlewick Press, Holiday House, Peachtree and Pixel + Ink in the USA and Walker Books Australia. Renowned for its truly original publishing and outstanding quality, the Walker Books Group is home to a wide range of children's and young adult books.

Award-winning authors and illustrators for the group include Angie Thomas, Sydney Smith, M.T Anderson, Patrick Ness, and Jon Klassen. We are also enormously proud to publish beloved family brands including Lucy Cousin’s Maisy, Michael Rosen’s We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram’s Guess How Much I Love You and Martin Handford’s Where’s Wally?

Role summary:

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our busy Export team on a 12 month fixed term contract. This is a fantastic opportunity for a self-motivated individual seeking to further their career and grow their sales skills in an Export role. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Managing a portfolio of customers and achieving sales budgets
• Working with the rest of the export sales team towards achieving overall budget for Group Export
• Maximising sales of Third Party lists and achieving budget
• Processing and chasing orders, liaising with our distributors in the US and UK
• Providing customer care by responding to emails, answering questions, providing materials and preparing title lists as necessary
• Developing an understanding of customers’ needs and requirements, building a relationship to grow sales
• Looking for opportunities to grow sales with new and existing customers
• Analysing sales data for existing customers to identify gaps in buying and use to bring in extra sales
• Meeting with customers at bookfairs where applicable and delivering presentations of new titles
• Arranging video presentations and meetings with customers as required
• Keeping up-to-date with the market and tracking trends
• Processing drop shipment orders including tracking progress of orders with production, managing the invoicing and credit approval process and keeping order trackers up to date.
• Tracking contract renewal timings for customers with audio rights and liaising with Business Affairs to get contract renewals processed and ready for customers to sign.
• Working with sales agent in China to provide support materials as needed
• Attending London and Frankfurt bookfairs.

Please note the above is not an exhaustive list and does not necessarily include all the duties the job holder may have to perform. This job description may be amended to meet changing needs of the business.

Skills and Experience Required:

To be successful in this role, you will be able to demonstrate evidence of the following skills and/or experience:

• Experience of working in a sales role managing customer accounts
• Knowledge and experience of the Publishing industry
• Keen interest in books especially children’s books
• Excellent sales and interpersonal skills
• Exceptional organisational skills and meticulous attention to detail
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Able to communicate complicated or complex information in a clear and simple way
• High level knowledge of Microsoft Office including advanced Excel and PowerPoint
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team

What we offer:

• ​Hybrid working (at least two days in the office per week) once you have successfully passed probation
• 22 days annual leave per year plus bank holidays (with annual leave increasing with length of service up to 27 days)
• Enhanced Pension Scheme
• Health Insurance and Health Cash Plan
• Life Assurance
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay
• Access to an Employee Assistance Programme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Plus, other great benefits!

We are an equal opportunities employer and believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce encourages creativity and innovative working environment. We are committed to equal treatment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind. It is important that our teams represent all our readers, their families and their communities and we welcome and encourage all applications.

If you have any queries about this role or require any reasonable adjustments for your application or throughout the recruitment process, please let our team know by contacting us at recruitment@walker.co.uk.

Please note we reserve the right to close vacancies before the closing date where we have received sufficient applications. We recommend submitting your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.