Production Controller

Department: Production, Trade & Academic

Reporting to: Production Director

Contract: Full time (35 hours per week) and permanent contract

Salary: Circa £24,000 to £26,000 per annum depending on experience

Job summary

Production Controller with a minimum of 1-2 years’ production experience in a book publishing environment required to oversee the production and manufacturing of the prestigious Yale University Press London’s Trade & Academic frontlist and backlist, including reprints, reissues and ebooks. Must demonstrate solid InDesign and Acrobat skills, an expert ability to manage schedules, experience in liaising with external vendors, have an exceptional eye for detail and head for organisation. Working very closely with colleagues in inventory and editorial, the successful candidate will have a strong collaborative and team ethic. The list is predominantly printed mono inside, but there will be the opportunity to work on colour titles both on this list and on YUPL’s Art & Architecture list.

Purpose of job

This is a fantastic opportunity to join the small Trade & Academic production team and to take responsibility for the production and on-time delivery of our always exciting and thought-provoking frontlist (some 40 titles a year), frontlist paperback adaptations (approx. 20 titles a year) and a healthy and growing number of hardback and paperback reprints, including a burgeoning ASR and POD program. Tasks are either worked on directly in house or outsourced to freelance suppliers. The Production Controller is the in-house InDesign expert, adapting archived files where necessary, and creating new files if needed. This role is also the principal production liaison with our colleagues at Yale University Press in the USA and facilitates the transfer of book assets, resizing and adapting the files if required. The role also requires direct communication with our list of world-class authors

At Yale University Press London, we strive to continually assess our current practices and workflows to improve and evolve what we do and how we do it. As such, the Production Controller is constantly reviewing work produced with a view to making improvements in quality, cost-effectiveness and visual impact. For this to succeed a certain degree of outward facing is required to identify what our peers and competitors are producing.

About us

About us
Originally founded in New Haven Connecticut in 1908, Yale University Press has a unique position as the only American university press with a full-scale publishing operation in Europe, publishing serious non-fiction and fiction in translation, that contributes to a global understanding of human affairs. Our diverse and prize-winning list includes numerous prestigious museum and gallery partnerships, the Pevsner architectural guides series, and books by globally respected authors including Carmen Bambach, John Carey, Terry Eagleton, Nicholas Kenyon, Yasmin Khan, Geoffrey Parker, Thomas Piketty, Griselda Pollock, David Rieff, Zeynep Tufekci and Can Xue.

Equal opportunities

Yale University Press London is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age. We value, promote and seek diversity.

Key responsibilities and Core duties

Task 1: To oversee on-time book production and final delivery for the frontlist (hardback, paperback, ebook) ensuring the highest quality of print reproduction and to or below budget.

Details: Supply of templates for the typesetter to follow, image optimisation, image section creation (either worked on in house or outsourced), map and figure generation (outsourced), physical book production and delivery to warehouses, ebook production; all in really close collaboration with editorial and production colleagues.

Task 2: To take responsibility for all stages of the frontlist and backlist reprints program.

Details: Financial profiling, close liaison with the inventory manager, leading a fortnightly reprints meeting, rebuilding book assets from archived material (amending files in InDesign where necessary), book production, liaison with US production. To also work on and take joint or whole responsibility for the ASR and POD list.

Task 3: To update and maintain the company archive of assets.

Details: Retrieval, updating and uploading print and ebook assets to an external DAM (CodeMantra’s CollectionPoint).

Additional duties undertaken

• To take responsibility for production updates to the company database and circulate weekly production reports
• To provide export invoices for freight forwarder use
• To process invoices for payment and resolve cost discrepancies
• To liaise with authors and distribute complimentary author copies
• To safely file author-supplied material and return it after use
• To produce bound proofs for marketing colleagues
• To assist the Production Director in identifying trends and opportunities in the book and ebook production market

Person specification – Key knowledge & skills

Essential:

• 1-2 years’ experience in book production, definitely mono, but preferably also four colour
• Advanced InDesign and Acrobat skills, to enable the adjustment of book jackets and covers and create text templates, amongst other tasks
• Solid experience in Photoshop and good knowledge of image editing and what is necessary to ensure optimal print reproduction (both mono and colour)
• Meticulous eye for detail in preparing files for print and checking the accuracy of proofs; a high degree of accuracy also required in schedule management and paperwork creation (print orders, commercial invoices, and so on)
• Practical knowledge of typography, particularly regarding typeset pages of text
• Proven organisational ability and an ability to multi-task, prioritise and keep to tight deadlines
• Understanding of production budgets and experience in pro-actively seeking cost efficiencies in all areas
• External vendor management (typesetters, cartographers, illustrators, repro houses, printers, freight forwarders)
• Problem solver and initiative-taker; flexible and collaborative worker
   

What we can offer

Yale University Press London offers a generous package of benefits including accommodation deposit and travel loans, a cycle purchase scheme, a lively social scene and a generous pension scheme. As Co-organisers of the annual Bedford Square Arts Festival, our staff enjoy access to the Bedford Square gardens at lunchtimes throughout the summer months.

The location

The role will be based in our offices on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury WC1, with convenient access to the Northern and Central lines as well as many bus routes.

Please send your CV and supporting covering letter (including availability, notice period details and current salary) to: vacancy05@yaleup.co.uk ensuring you include “Production Controller” in the email subject line.

Closing date 10 December 2021

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