Commissioning Editor/Senior Commissioning Editor, HarperNonFiction

Do you know your Zendaya from your Molly Mae, your Newscaster from your News Agent, your Kylie Jenner from your Kylie Minogue, and your TikTok mega brand from your Instagram star?

Our successful and proudly commercial Non-Fiction team is looking for a Commissioning Editor/Senior Commissioning Editor to work across the breadth of our Lifestyle and Entertainment lists. Working closely with our industry-leading Analytics and Insight team, and the Managing Director of the division, the successful candidate will unearth and commission a new wave of author talent, across all areas of trend-led publishing, narrative memoir, pop culture, current affairs, entertainment and lifestyle. They will have a keen interest in seeking out voices from under-represented communities, with an eye firmly on the zeitgeist. Passion, ambition and team spirit are more important in this role than specific genre expertise.

The editor should be creative, entrepreneurial and dynamic, bursting with new ideas, and able to demonstrate excellent commercial instincts, strong desk editing skills and a meticulous eye for detail. The role will suit candidates who have both initiative and energy and who are excited to think creatively about how we commission new books and discover new writing talent. The ideal candidate will have experience of working within a non-fiction commissioning team and will be keen to begin or build upon their own commissioning career. Illustrated books experience would be helpful but is not essential.

Key Responsibilities

• Commission 10-12 titles/ year of your own, creating strategies in conjunction with key team members to launch your books to the top of the charts.

• Ownership of your stable of authors, seeing their books through to publication for physical, digital and audio editions.

• Ensure that the publication process is carried out to the highest standards of quality and accuracy, to budget and within deadline

• Keep abreast of current publishing trends, cultural and social shifts and market dynamics, as well as displaying intuition about future trend developments.

• Prepare cover briefs, write cover copy and information sheets, and check proofs

• Copywrite and check sales and marketing materials, e.g. catalogues, presenters

• Research and prepare pitch presentations for new business, including liaising with designers internally and externally

• Manage budgets, schedules and critical paths

• Liaise with authors, artists and agents and working with the project editorial team managing freelance copyeditors and proof-readers

• Occasionally editorial collaboration with the M.D. & Publisher on some of  the division’s biggest titles.

Experience / Skills Required

• Demonstrable editorial experience in commercial non-fiction books

• Strong and active interest in social media and digital developments within the industry

• Ability to understand and interrogate insight and audience analytics to inform commissioning.

• Proven copy editing and proof reading skills

• A good eye for detail

• Well organised with the ability to prioritise and manage workload, and ability to deal with a mixture of long and short-term demands

• Excellent communication skills (presentation) and strong written skills (catalogue and cover copy)

• Financial awareness. Full familiarity with budgeting and cost-control processes in relation to specific projects and lists

• Highly self-motivated and driven to exceed expectations

• Calm under pressure

• A good team player who is capable of working on their own initiative and carry through projects

Benefits 

• Hybrid working model (2+ days in the office) 

• 28 days holiday plus bank holidays (option to buy and sell holiday days) 

• Enhanced pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave 

• Private healthcare cover and life assurance 

• Summer Hours  

• Free access to HeadSpace, employee assistance programme (24 hour helpline), mental health first aiders, and a wellbeing portal 

• Season ticket loans (from day 1 for entry level) and cycle to work scheme 

• Relocation Rent Support Loan  

• Employee networks: HC All In (open forum), Elevate (for ethnic minority colleagues), HarperParents, Menopause at Work and Pride at HC 

• Unlimited training on our Learning and Development portal, management courses (up to MA level) and mentoring programmes 

• Virtual GP and eyecare vouchers 

• Gym membership discount 

• Onsite physiotherapy (London only) 

• Charitable donation matching and  2 volunteering days 

• We're a certified Carbon Neutral company 

• Free e-books and audiobooks, newspaper subscriptions and discounts on books 

• Subsidised canteen and retail discounts 

• Onsite prayer room 

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to [email removed - click apply for more details] with subject heading ‘Vacancy Query’ plus the job title and we will aim to get back to you within 5 working days.

Please note, if you are interested in the role you would need to submit your application via Applied. We do not accept email applications.