Assistant editor

Closing date: 10th February 2025

Salary: £29,000–£34,000 dependent on experience and location (+bonus +benefits)

Location: The role will be based at our London office, Carmelite House, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.

Do you have an excellent foundation in editorial, and are you looking for the next step in your career? Do you have a love of illustrated books and a keen eye for detail?

Part of Headline at Hachette UK, Welbeck Illustrated has a mission to publish beautiful books that find a passionate audience all around the world. We create illustrated titles that are published in more than 30 languages and 60 countries, covering lifestyle, food, drink, fashion, music, film, sport and more. We work with brands from Chanel to Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the Guardian to FIFA, and with expert authors from botanists to mixologists. Our recent publications include New York Times bestseller Taylor Swift: The Stories Behind the Songs, the Little Books of Fashion series and Sunday Times bestseller Formula One 2024.

The Assistant Editor at Welbeck Illustrated supports the commissioning team day-to-day with both administrative and editorial tasks. 

What you'll be doing

The role covers close involvement in all editorial activities leading to the successful publication across all illustrated non-fiction titles, including but not limited to: 

• copywriting, 
• contributing ideas for new illustrated projects, 
• managing editorial processes, 
• project managing new editions and reprints (with progression to managing some new projects), 
• publishing programme maintenance, 
• metadata and keyword entry, 
• picture research navigation, 
• assisting with costings as instructed, 
• liaising with editorial freelancers, 
• taking in corrections on InDesign files and checking plotters.

Who we are looking for

At Welbeck Illustrated we are looking for an efficient, commercially savvy candidate with outstanding editorial skills and a creative eye.

• Our ideal candidate will have excellent attention to detail, strong copywriting skills and the ability to manage projects effectively with proven organisational methods. 
• We need someone with impressive communication skills who can liaise with in-house departments such as sales and marketing, design, production and operations, as well as external contacts such as authors and editorial freelancers. 
• Editorial experience is necessary, but we welcome applications from candidates from outside the book publishing industry.

What we offer

Our staff are our greatest asset, and our benefits reflect this:

• 28 annual leave days per year, increases to 29 days after 2 years' service and goes up to 30 days after 5 years' (+ bank holidays)
• Private medical insurance
• Generous pension schemes
• Rent deposit loans
• 2 community days per year
• Summer hours (finishing at 1pm on Fridays during the summer months)
• Retail discounts through Hachette rewards
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Eye care vouchers
• Wide-ranging training library
• Development programmes (including mentoring)
• Up to 70% off book purchases
• A charity bookshelf
• 12 Staff-led employee networks that are voluntary, including Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing and religious networks
• Season ticket loans
• And much more!

“Welbeck is a buzzing imprint where everyone has a voice – you can channel your creativity and at the same time become integral to the team. Not only do we get to make beautiful books that entertain, engage and inspire, but we get to work with the most talented people in the industry. What’s not to love?”

Heather Boisseau, Editorial Director

“I know it’s a cliché, but no two days at Welbeck are the same, with such a unique range of titles on all the subjects we love, like music, fashion, sport and cookery. It’s this variety of titles that make it such a fantastic place to work, with the challenge of shaping the books to appeal to our stylish readers.”

James Empringham, Art Director 

Our commitment

Hachette employs people on the basis of their abilities. We aim to attract and develop talent from a base as broad as the world of readers we want to reach, with a wide and representative range of age, faith, disability, race, gender, sexuality and socio-economic, regional and cultural backgrounds.

If you are shortlisted and need us to make any adjustments to help you attend for interview, please let us know.

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

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 junior roles. For more information visit www.booktradeentrysupport.org