Contracts manager

Closing date: 22nd November 2024

Salary: £38,000 - £42,000 dependent on experience (+bonus +benefits)

Take your next steps in publishing with the Contracts & Business Affairs team at this leading publisher.

Hachette UK is a creative powerhouse and the UK's second largest book publishing group. Our mission is to make it easy for everyone to discover new worlds of ideas, learning, entertainment and opportunity. We're made up of 12 autonomous publishing divisions and over 60 imprints with a rich and diverse history and an incredible range of authors. We're also the market leader in e-books and publish a range of bestsellers in audio format, the fastest growing part of our business.

John Murray publish books of excellence and lasting value written by authors with passion and expertise. We're home to popular fiction and non-fiction writers alongside some of the most progressive new voices in publishing. Established in 1768 and with a rich and illustrious history, we are the oldest imprint in the business and oldest surviving trade list in British publishing.

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.

What you'll be doing

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Contracts & Business Affairs, the successful candidate will work across John Murray's specialist, trade and Quercus lists, working closely with their colleagues in the John Murray Press contracts team providing support including: 

• ensure contracts are drafted and negotiated to high standards working within company policy and KPIs
• advise editorial and publishing teams on contractual elements of acquisitions
• draft and review contracts, and negotiate amendments as needed
• draft, check and amend other contractual paperwork, including addenda, novations, reversions and cancellations
• handle internal and external contract queries
• take part in IP creation projects in an advisory role
• assist in training and developing junior colleagues in the team, including potential line management of the team's Contracts Assistant
• build and maintain successful working relationships with colleagues at all levels of the Contracts & Business Affairs Department, John Murray Press, Quercus, and other relevant HUK teams

Who we are looking for

• Proven experience in contracts (or business affairs/legal) in the publishing, media or entertainment sectors 
• Advanced drafting skills
• Ability to conduct effective negotiations
• Thorough understanding of copyright and contract law; relevant knowledge of other intellectual property law e.g. trademarks.  
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office 365
• Knowledge of, or aptitude for, relevant applications/systems
• Commercial awareness and financial literacy
• Ability to communicate and build positive working relationship with contacts at all levels 

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!

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.

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.