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Book publishing production assistant

Book publishing production assistant

locationLondon, UK
ExpiresExpires: 06/01/2023
Production / Post-Production & Technical
Permanent position
Entry
£20,000 to £30,000 per year

Closing date: 6th January 2023

Salary: £20,000 - £30,000

Location: London

 

 

Are you keenly interested in how books are created, produced, and delivered? Join an exciting non-fiction publisher in this junior-level role.

Michael O’Mara Books is an award-winning, independent publishing house known for its innovative and diverse non-fiction list, comprising best-selling biography, autobiography and lifestyle in addition to popular science and history. The company was set up thirty-five years ago and now, with a backlist of over a thousand titles, it is still a family firm, producing bestsellers and one hundred and fifty new books a year.

Michael O’Mara’s children’s imprint, Buster Books, publishes commercial children’s puzzle, activity, reference and picture books, and in 2015 they launched an art-inspired imprint, LOM ART.

Michael O’Mara Books is looking for a production assistant to join the Buster Books imprint, working alongside the production director and assistant controller. Focused mostly on our children’s list in this entry-level role, you will work with the small Production team to help ensure that all our books are beautifully produced and delivered on time, at the best possible price. We work with reprographics, print and shipping suppliers all over the world; it’s the Production department that make all the hard work of the Editorial and Design teams into real, tangible books.

Please note that this is not an editorial, writing or design role - it's working with suppliers and project management across the life of a book.

This publisher's current hybrid working practice is three days in the office and two days working from home each week. Therefore applicants will need to be based in the London area.

 

Responsibilities

  • Liaise with in-house departments and external suppliers in all aspects of printing and delivery, to ensure books are delivered on time and on budget
  • Quality control across Production, e.g. origination, paper, printing and binding, finishing and delivery, to ensure our books are the best they can be
  • Help to draw up Production estimates and title costings for circulation to other departments at O’Mara, particularly for the UK Sales and Foreign Sales teams
  • Work with the other members of the team to process price requests, printing and binding orders, shipping orders and other necessary documents, including invoices
  • With the help of our freight forwarder, arrange delivery of our books from overseas printers to specific destinations around the world
  • Submit regular progress reports in order to keep books on schedule and attend meetings as necessary

Knowledge, skills, and experience

  • Confident with a calculator - we do a lot of sums, percentages, costings and exchange rate conversions!
  • Must have a good working knowledge of MS Word and Excel
  • Good communication skills in-house and negotiation skills with external suppliers in order to get the best pricing for each printing
  • Extremely organised, meticulously accurate and capable of juggling different projects at the same time
  • A keen interest in how good-quality books are created, produced and delivered throughout the process
  • Likes a challenge, enjoys problem-solving and unpicking a supply chain puzzle, and has fun spotting even the tiniest of numerical and typographical errors!
     

Please apply with your CV and cover letter as one document.

Due to the high number of applicants, we won’t be able to get in touch with those who haven’t reached the interview stage.

Please note that all applicants must have the right to live and work in the UK.

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

Please make sure that you state in your application that you found this role via Creative Access.

Fields of study

  • Mathematics / Statistics
  • Media / Communication
  • Logistic / Production

Required degree level

  • Level 6 (e.g. Bachelor's degree)

Level of experience

  • Entry

Salary range

  • £20,000 to £30,000 per year

Required skills

  • MS Office
  • MS Outlook
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