Assistant editor, Puffin (Penguin Random House Children's)

Closing date: 5th January 2025

Salary: Circa £30,000 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

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.

We publish some of the biggest names in picture books from iconic classic brands such as The World of Peter Rabbit, Spot and The Very Hungry Caterpillar and bestselling heritage creators including Allan Ahlberg, Anthony Browne and Shirley Hughes, to major new talent including Tom Fletcher, Nadia Shireen, Rashmi Sirdeshpande, Nathan Bryon, and Dapo Adeola. We are passionate about bringing stories to life that change and shape lives.

This exciting role encompasses both editorial and administrative tasks. 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.

You don’t have to come from a traditional publishing background to be considered for this role, although perhaps you’re an excellent and experienced Editorial Assistant or an Assistant Editor looking for a next move. 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 to develop your own editorial tastes with the support of an experienced and dynamic team.

What you'll do

• Collaboratively working on the internal book process for specific books, with support from the wider team, including scheduling, compiling jacket and cover copy, proof collation, legal reads, Advanced Title Information population, and managing budgets.
• Proactively providing editorial support to senior members of the team throughout all stages of the book-making process, while taking responsibility for your own designated projects.
• Providing excellent author care and acting as a point of contact for authors and agents, answering questions where possible and passing other queries on to managers.
• Attending new project meetings, working with editors in reading proposals and actively engaging in conversations about new book ideas.
• Sending TCM Bookscan sales figures to designated authors and agents.
• Updating our systems with title accurate and high-quality data, including adding new titles, making changes to copy or schedules.
• Managing ad-hoc administrative tasks which may include taking minutes, organising diaries, and scheduling meetings.

What you'll bring

Essential

• Demonstrable interest in children’s and pre-school publishing.
• Demonstrable communication skills and understanding of managing multiple stakeholders at varying seniorities.
• Confident and flexible approach.
• Ability to work well under pressure without compromising quality.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects at once.
• Excellent attention to detail.

 Desirable

• Demonstrable understanding of project management.
• Proven editing and proofreading skills.
• Collaborative team player with an ambitious outlook towards work.

How to apply

Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on Sunday 5th January 2025.

As part of your cover letter, we’d like you to respond to the following questions (no more than 300 words in total):

1. 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?
2. 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.

Please ensure you include a cover letter, as it is a crucial part of our assessment process. The cover letter offers an opportunity to show how your experience and interests align with the role requirements. Typically, we expect the cover letter to be no more than one or two pages in length.

Please note we are looking for someone to join the team as soon as possible, but we are also happy to accommodate a reasonable notice period for the right candidate.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries. 

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