Are you passionate about children’s publishing? Do you have an editorial eye and want to work on some of the biggest children’s brands and picture books?  We have a new opportunity for an Assistant Editor to join our Puffin Picture Books team on a full-time and permanent basis, based at our office in Embassy Gardens, Nine Elms.

The Opportunity

From classic brands such as Beatrix Potter, Spot and The Very Hungry Caterpillar to picture-book creators including Tom Fletcher, Nadia Shireen, Nathan Bryon, Dapo Adeola, Rachel Morrisroe, and Nick Sharratt, the Puffin picture books team work with some of the biggest names and brightest new talents to bring stories to life that change and shape lives.

In this role, you’ll primarily be supporting the growth of our pre-school, picture-book and classic brand publishing. Joining an editorial team of 12, you will be responsible for managing the editorial workflow and project-managing a wide range of titles through to publication. There will also be the chance to develop and hone your editorial skills working across the breadth of the list, making this a well-rounded role where your development is as important as the support you’re giving.

You will have a confident and flexible approach and be able to work well under pressure without compromising quality. This is a varied role, so good organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects are essential.

What you’ll bring

You don’t have to come from a traditional publishing background to be considered for this role, although perhaps you’re an excellent Editorial Assistant looking for a next move. Nonetheless, we’re looking for someone with a passion for children’s books and the enthusiasm to jump in and help out on a range of exciting projects. This role would be ideal for a candidate who is looking to build a successful career in publishing and offers the opportunity to develop your own editorial tastes with the support of an experienced and exciting team.

You’ll be organised, have excellent attention to detail and will be a collaborative team player with an ambitious outlook towards your work. This role will work closely with a variety of editors, designers, authors, agents and brand owners as well as various teams internally from rights and production to sales and marketing colleagues.

If you’re ready to join the Puffin Picture Books team in this exciting new role, please apply by midnight on Thurdsay 21st March, sending us your CV and cover letter.

As part of your Cover Letter, we’d like you to respond to the following question (no more than 200 words):

• We’re looking for someone with a passion for picture books. Tell us about a picture book of the last two years which has impressed you. What stood out?

• This position will offer a lot of opportunities to get involved in exciting projects across the team. Please share with us an example of a project you have worked on and the role you played within the team.

About Penguin:

We’re the UK’s largest publisher; made up of some 2,000 people and publishing over 1,500 books each year. Our doors are open to all kinds of talent. In a constantly evolving industry, we work hard to stretch the definition of the word publisher. Here, you’ll work with a breadth of talent who all play their part to make each of our books a success. Together, we make books for everyone because a book can change anyone.

Salary: c.£30,000 depending on how your skills and experience alignn with the role, plus bonus and benefits. 

Competitive benefits package: Our people are the heart of our business, and we work hard to support a culture of responsibility and recognition.

Our benefits include:

• Financial – discounted shopping, season ticket loan, rental deposit loan

• Wellbeing - healthcare cash plan, employee assistance, gym loan

• Lifestyle – taste card, tech scheme, free and discounted books

For our full benefits list please visit: https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/what-we-offer/

Hybrid working: While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. For this role we expect that you will spend three days per week working at our offices in Nine Elms.

The recruitment process: You can read about our recruitment process at https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/how-we-hire/

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we're part of the offer an interview scheme. This is where disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role can opt in to get to the next recruitment stage. There may be some situations where volume of applicants means we can't take all eligible candidates to interview. We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable to for us to support your request.

Please note, we are not able to accept agency CVs for this role. Any CVs sent speculatively will not be eligible for a fee.

Company: Penguin Books Limited 

Country: United Kingdom 

State/Region: London 

City: London 

Postal Code: SW11 7BW 

Job ID: 268031