Communications executive, lifestyle & international titles

Department: Communications

Reports to: Head of Publicity & Communications

Location: Britannia Street, London WC1X. Hybrid: minimum three days per week in the office after probation

Contract: Permanent, Fulltime

Passionate about books and interested in publicity? Help promote new titles through creative campaigns, media outreach and author events.

Thames & Hudson is an independent, family-owned illustrated book publisher based in London, with an international reputation for producing high-quality books across art, design, architecture, photography, fashion, history, archaeology and popular culture. Behind every book is a wide range of specialist, operational and support teams who help the company work effectively, collaboratively and to a high standard.

About the role

A great book needs the right people to hear about it. As Communications Executive for our Lifestyle & International titles, you’ll shape the campaigns that put our books on lifestyle, the outdoors, art and design in front of reviewers, journalists, festival audiences and book buyers. You’ll also be the friendly, organised link that gets our publicity materials to colleagues and partners around the world, from North America to France, Australia and Asia. It’s a busy, varied role, roughly 70–80% campaigns and 20–30% international liaison, and an excellent next step for someone with relevant experience who wants to grow their communications skills.

What you’ll be doing

• Planning standout campaigns. Create integrated communications campaigns for your allocated titles each season, from campaign plans and press packs to marketing materials, working closely with colleagues in Sales, Editorial, Rights, Export and beyond. You’ll review each campaign afterwards so we keep getting better use of our time and budget.
• Winning coverage. Identify the right audiences and media for every book, and pitch for reviews, features, interviews and extracts that raise awareness among readers, book buyers and the trade.
• Building relationships. Get to know journalists and media contacts through online and in-person outreach and networking, building the Thames & Hudson brand and driving sales.
• Bringing authors to audiences. Organise a wide variety of author events, including festival appearances and public talks, with a focus on looking after our authors and selling books.
• Working with social and advertising. Brief creative assets and social media posts, work with our content team on social strategies and timelines and, where needed, run advertising aimed at key audiences.
• Being our international link. Act as the main communications contact for colleagues in International Rights, Export Sales, Picture Rights and Editorial, and for our teams at Thames & Hudson Inc. (North America), Interart (France), Thames & Hudson Australia and Thames & Hudson Asia. You’ll also gather marketing and PR materials for our international bought-in titles from co-edition publishers.
• Keeping everything moving. Make sure communications materials reach international colleagues on schedule, help everyone understand the systems and workflows, join meetings with overseas teams (occasionally outside standard working hours) and support our all-company International Newsletter. You’ll have support from the Comms Assistant, and from your line manager when you need to drive change.

What you’ll bring

We are looking for someone with:

• Previous experience in a marketing, publicity or cross-communications role
• The confidence of a true team player, able to build positive relationships with colleagues, external stakeholders, authors and partners
• Excellent organisational, planning, documentation and communication skills
• Precise attention to detail, and the ability to respond flexibly and quickly to multiple priorities and deadlines
• A genuine interest in our books and key subject areas

You may also have:

• Experience working at an illustrated publisher
• Experience securing publicity across traditional and digital channels and organising a wide variety of events

Please do not be put off applying if you do not meet every desirable requirement. We are interested in hearing from candidates who can bring the right skills, judgement and potential to the role.

Working at Thames & Hudson

This role is based at our Britannia Street office in London. We work on a hybrid basis, with a minimum of three days per week in the office.

We offer a supportive, creative working environment, alongside a range of benefits including:

• 28 days’ holiday, plus bank holidays
• Profit share
• Interest-free season ticket loan
• Book and co-edition discounts
• Generous pension scheme
• Employee assistance programme and retail discounts
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Free museum entry
• Hybrid working: a minimum of three days per week in the office, where the role allows

We want Thames & Hudson to be a place where people can do thoughtful, creative and high-quality work, while feeling respected, supported and able to contribute.

Our values are creativity · integrity · respect · communication · excellence. They shape how we work with each other, our authors, our partners and our readers.

How to apply

Please apply with your CV and a cover letter explaining your interest in the role and how your skills and experience relate to the requirements above. Please follow the 'apply now' link on our website to the application form.

We know AI can be a useful tool at work, but please ensure your application is in your own words and reflects your experience and motivation. We’d like to recruit a human, after all.

If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know. We will consider requests carefully and do what we reasonably can to support you.

Equal opportunities

Thames & Hudson is committed to equality of opportunity. We welcome applications from candidates with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, and we are committed to making our recruitment processes fair, inclusive and accessible.

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.