Return to jobs 
Join the British Museum's dynamic Publishing team and contribute to sharing human history and culture through print
Overview
Salary £28144
Location Bloomsbury
Expires Expires at anytime
Organisation summary: The British Museum, established in 1753, houses a collection that is a chronicle of human civilization, culture, and art spanning over two million years. As a premier cultural institution, the Museum showcases iconic artefacts such as the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies, and offers employee benefits like generous annual leave, pensions, exclusive museum activities, and professional development opportunities.
- Support the Production and Sales & Marketing teams in publishing operations.
- Manage stock, coordinate deliveries, and assist with production administration.
- Facilitate the delivery of reprints, update design files, and track orders.
- Distribute promotional materials and maintain sales and rights databases.
- Perform a variety of administrative tasks for the Publishing team, including invoice processing and record-keeping.
- A degree or equivalent experience in publishing, media, or a related editorial field.
- Proven administrative abilities and multitasking skills.
- Strong proofreading skills and attention to detail.
- Experience in building relationships with external clients and customers.
- Self-motivation and the ability to work independently.
About the role: The Publishing Assistant works across a range of administrative tasks to support the Publishing team to deliver an exciting publishing programme for the British Museum. Straddling the Production and Sales and Marketing teams, the role links two key areas of activity to ensure timely delivery of new and reprinted titles and to guarantee the widest reach for the Museum’s publications.
Working closely with the Production Manager, the Publishing Assistant runs stock management reports, arranges deliveries and collections and assists with the administration of production tasks including liaising with external suppliers and preparing and administering paperwork as required. The Publishing Assistant fulfils a key role in the delivery of reprints for the department – circulating material, coordinating with colleagues to collate required updates, updating design files, liaising with suppliers, tracking orders and deliveries.
Working closely with the Sales and Marketing Manager, the Publishing Assistant circulates promotional material to interested parties, liaising with colleagues both inside and outside the Museum to ensure the books reach the widest-possible audience. The Publishing Assistant keeps meticulous records and updates and circulates changes to metadata and updates and maintains the sales and rights database for the team. The Publishing Assistant provides administrative support to the whole Publishing team including processing invoices, archiving digital and print titles and keeping excellent records.
This is an exciting opportunity for a junior publishing professional with a demonstrable interest in the work of the British Museum and illustrated publishing who is capable of juggling a varied and time-critical workload.
Job requirements: Degree or equivalent Experience in publishing, media or other editorial area Demonstrable administrative skills Ability to juggle complex and demanding workload Strong proofreading skills and a keen eye for detail The ability to manage and develop good relationships with external clients/customers Self-starter
About the British Museum: Founded in 1753, the British Museum’s remarkable collection spans over two million years of human history and culture. The Museum is a leading visitor attraction, and its world-famous collection includes the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies, the Sutton-Hoo finds, and the Lewis Chessmen. The Museum also holds an extensive collection of prints and drawings spanning 600 years, including works by the greatest graphic artists Dürer, Michelangelo and Rembrandt.
Benefits: Generous annual leave allowance of 25 days (rising to 30 days after 10 years’ service) plus 2.5 privilege days and plus bank holidays. Membership of the civil service defined benefit pension scheme Free entry to a wide range of museums and exhibitions Participation in private and public Museum activities, including talks by leading curators from around the world and behind-the-scenes opportunities to learn how museums care for and manage their extraordinary collections. Interest-free travel, bicycle, and rental deposit loans Professional and personal development opportunities Employee Assistance Programme Discounts on food and gift shop purchases
Additional details: We have a legal responsibility to ensure that employees have the right to work in the UK. If you currently do not hold the right to work in the UK, we can only sponsor a limited number of roles that meet eligibility criteria. To offer a sponsorship, the job role you apply needs to be in the list of eligible occupations. Additionally (with some limited exceptions), the role will need to meet the minimum salary threshold of £38,700 or the going rate for the job, whichever is the highest.
The British Museum is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all staff and job applicants. We aim to create a working environment in which all individuals can make best use of their skills, free from unlawful discrimination or harassment. We value the benefits that a diverse workforce brings to a museum which represents world culture.
The Museum is committed to ensuring that no job applicant suffers unlawful discrimination because of any protected characteristics. Our recruitment procedures aim to ensure that individuals are treated because of their relevant knowledge, skills, and experience. We offer a flexible way of working scheme that allows our employees to work remotely in a way that suits them and the organisation.
The Museum also adheres to the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for pre-employment screening of Civil Servants.
