Editorial assistant, Ebury Full Time

Penguin Random House

Closing date: 9th October 2024

Salary: £27,500 plus bonus and benefits.

Are you a great communicator and curious about the world around you? Would you like to join the UK’s largest non-fiction publisher?

We have an exciting opportunity for an Editorial Assistant to join the editorial team at Ebury, on a 12-month Fixed Term contract.

Making life tastier our food hub publishes incredible cooks and chefs, including Yotam Ottolenghi, The Batch Lady, Fitwaffle, Jane Dunn, Fraser Reynolds, Julius Roberts and Nathan Anthony.

Beautiful solutions for everyday needs our lifestyle hub publishes much-loved global stars and national treasures, including Charlie Mackesy, Dolly Parton, Monty Don, Carol Vorderman, Johanna Basford, Iris Apfel and Stacey Solomon.

Our authors are passionate, inspiring and down-to-earth personalities with life-changing stories and essential wisdom to share, and the most delicious and inventive, trusted recipes to cook.

You will work as part of a collaborative and supportive editorial team of eight people, with a passion for new and innovative ideas. The team works across the Lifestyle and Food hubs, but this role will focus mainly on the Lifestyle hub.

Reporting to a Senior Editor, the Editorial Assistant will be responsible for a wide range of administrative tasks, working across a mix of illustrated and text-led book titles.

Responsibilities

Day-to-day, you can expect to be:

• Providing general office administration e.g. booking meeting rooms, arranging couriers, minuting meetings, processing expenses, processing invoices, sending out proof mailings, arranging for author advanced copies
• Carrying out ad hoc diary management for the Publishing Directors and the wider team e.g. organising team meetings, organising schedules for book fairs and overseas trips
• Managing the internal book process under supervision, from acquisition to publication, to ensure that deadlines are met – including overseeing and managing spreadsheets and sales reports using Excel and Biblio
• Managing the input and accuracy of data on our publishing systems

Over time there will be opportunities to develop your editorial skills, too, with tasks such as:

• Researching book ideas, talent scouting and sharing verbal and written feedback, including presenting in team meetings
• Writing persuasive cover copy and keeping all title data up to date
• Acting as a point of contact for authors and agents

What you’ll bring

If you’re ready to get stuck into your first role in the industry, this is the best place to start.

We’re interested in seeing a genuine curiosity to learn, a passion for the kinds of books we publish at Ebury and for the lifestyle market (gardening, fashion, beauty influencers and so on), and an ability to work effectively as part of a team and in a fast-moving environment.

You’ll have:

• Excellent organisational and time management skills
• The ability to work to, and meet, deadlines
• The ability to respond and adjust to fast-changing priorities
• Exceptional attention to detail
• Effective communication skills, on email, in remote-working situations and in-person, with the ability to communicate clearly and build good working relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• A proactive approach, anticipating upcoming deadlines and prompting team members when necessary to help keep projects on track.

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.

Disability Confident

If you have opted into our disability confident scheme below are the minimum criteria you must meet to be considered for our interview scheme:

Minimum criteria

• Demonstratable interest in Lifestyle and Ebury
• Proven written ability showcased through your application
• Experience/ Knowledge of MS Office Excel/Word/ Outlook
• Demonstrable understanding of managing multiple stakeholders at varying seniorities
• Demonstrable communication skills

Please note, there may be occasions where the volume of applicants means we can’t take all eligible candidates to interview.

How to apply

Please apply with your CV and Cover Letter by 23:59 on Wednesday 9th October. As part of your cover letter, please answer the following question:

• Tell us about a lifestyle content creator (in any area such as beauty, fashion, home styling, craft) that you admire, and what makes their content compelling to you (in no more than 250 words).

Please note we will not accept applications without tailored cover letters.

Please state in your application that you found this role through Creative Access.