Commissioning editor/senior commissioning editor

Closing date for applications: Thursday 19th March 2026

Salary: £33,000+ dependent on experience and location (+bonus +benefits)

Location: Sheffield or London

Spot new talent, work closely with authors and agents and oversee the development of high-profile fiction titles.

At Orion, we believe every story matters. Open, agile, passionate and innovative, our mission is to bring the best publishing to the greatest variety of people. Ambitious to continually raise the bar, we believe good stories can come from anywhere and so encourage and value contributions from everybody here. Orion is a division of Hachette, one of the largest publishing groups in the UK, with 11 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. Everyone here is proud to be in the business of opening doors and minds.

As the publishing home of Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, Santa Montefiore, Joanne Harris, Lorraine Kelly, Chris Whitaker, MJ Arlidge, Jessa Hastings, Samuel Burr and Kirsty Capes, Orion Fiction is a commercial fiction powerhouse. We are an imprint that celebrates its history of brand publishing and uses our award-winning expertise to build new blockbuster brands for future generations. We pride ourselves on putting the reader at the heart of everything we do.

What you'll be doing

• You will be responsible for commissioning, editing and developing an inclusive, commercial and consumer-focused list at Orion Fiction as well as supercharging the publishing growth of our existing authors.
• You will work collaboratively with authors, agents and key internal departments, delivering exemplary communication and care in your publishing.

The job title is dependent on experience, the ideal candidate will have a proven track record of commissioning and publishing successful titles, as well as being keenly alert to trends and the challenges of the changing market.

Who we are looking for

• We are looking for a creative and ambitious Commissioning Editor/Senior Commissioning Editor to drive the commercial publishing at Orion Fiction, with a broad remit across commercial fiction including the crime and thriller space.
• Reporting to the Publishing Director, this is a rare opportunity at an exciting time of growth to help shape the future of Orion Fiction.
• You will have strong commercial instincts, a wide network of contacts across the industry and comfortable leading the strategy for high-profile publications.

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
• Dental 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 AgeWise, Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing and religious networks
• Season ticket loans
• And much more!

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

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 your interview, please let us know.

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

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.