Administrative/Editorial Assistant - Harper Fiction

In this role you will provide a wide range of administrative and editorial support for the Exec Publisher. This will involve support for their management role, including diary management, and also support for their title’s publishing processes, author and agent contact. This is a terrific opportunity for someone with excellent administrative skills to broaden their experience in an editorial department and to develop their editorial skills. This role requires regular liaison with authors, agents and other departments, as well as an ability to manage multiple requests for time commitments, good time management and a can-do attitude are essential.

HarperFiction is one of the biggest divisions within HarperCollins and contains a range of different teams publishing bestsellers, from Borough Press’s How to Kill Your Family to Voyager’s Babel, and from General Fiction’s Lucy Foley to Crime and Thriller’s Jeffrey Deaver, alongside giants such as Jeffrey Archer, Bernard Cornwell, Agatha Christie and JRR Tolkien.

Key tasks and responsibilities

Administration:

• Diary management for Exec Publisher

• Liaison on Exec Publisher behalf with authors, agents, direct reports and other departments.

• Organising and managing meetings with internal/external stakeholders

• Organising travel schedules, expense claims, agent lunches

• Arranging author and agent presentations and meetings, and preparing presentation documents

• Collating weekly sales data for sharing with authors and agents

• Liaising with freelancers, raising purchase orders and processing invoices

• Providing advance material for other departments e.g. sales, marketing, rights

• Writing rejection letters and dealing with general enquiries

• Logging and monitoring submissions

Editorial:

• Creating Advance Information sheets, monitoring and updating them

• Monitoring and amending metadata for the Exec Publisher’s titles; monitoring Amazon to ensure copy and jackets are up to date and feeding correctly

• Proof-reading jacket copy, catalogue copy, AIs

• Preparing cover briefs and launch documents for the Exec Publisher’s titles

• Sending finished copies to authors/agents and co-ordinating any publication round-ups

• With the Publisher’s support, managing titles from first manuscript through to publication:

• Reviewing copy-edits and proofreads from freelancers

• Checking and collating proofs, revises, and preparing files for print

• Preparing prelims and putting books through the production process

• Organizing and creating back ads

• E-book editorial checks

• Working closely with sales, marketing, production and design to ensure all material is available on critical path

• Raising new contracts, managing new contracts through the system

Skills and Experience:

• Previous work experience in an assistant/PA or administrative environment

• Strong communication, planning and organizational skills as well as attention to detail

• Excellent problem-solving, decision-making and prioritization skills

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and other apps and systems

• Have a high level of accuracy and attention to detail

• Be a book lover and enjoy commercial fiction

HarperCollins UK is part of a Global business within HarperCollins Worldwide and News Corp.  At HarperCollins we have large territories in Australia, New Zealand, India, Canada and the US.  In the scope of any role in HCUK, we would expect that you focus on both the domestic UK business and International territories to support and foster the future growth of HarperCollins worldwide.

Benefits

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

• 26 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 

• 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 

• 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 volunteering day 

• 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 

The Book Trade Charity offers financial support to people looking to enter the book trade but who may struggle to afford the costs of attending interviews and undertaking internships or entry level positions. For more information visit https://www.btbs.org/