Deputy publishing director

Closing date: 7th October 2024

Salary: £55,000 - £65,000 dependent on experience and location (+bonus +benefits)

Location: 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.

This is a rare opportunity to join our team at an exciting time of growth, to help shape the future of Hodderscape and unlock new readers for our authors.

With over 150 years of ground-breaking publishing from book lovers, original thinkers and market leaders, our unwavering mission has been to publish the most compelling voices in every genre. We continue to find new ground, new audiences and new voices with every title we publish. We are passionate readers and believe in the power of words to change lives.

Hodder & Stoughton is a division of Hachette, one of the largest publishing groups in the UK, with 12 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. Everyone here is proud to be in the business of opening doors and minds.

Hodderscape is our vibrant science fiction, fantasy and horror imprint, publishing adult and young adult speculative fiction. Our authors include Stephanie Garber, Laini Taylor, Kerri Maniscalco, Elizabeth Lim, Chloe Gong, Pierce Brown, Becky Chambers and Tad Williams. We are never afraid to be out of this world, and we are looking to publish the very best commercial SFF.

What you'll be doing

You will be working with the Publishing Director of Hodderscape to manage the Hodderscape imprint, leading on strategic objectives to ensure overall growth, and managing complex brand publishing and customer relationships.

You will be responsible for helping to define and embed a clear publishing strategy, as well as working closely with the team to commission and publish the very best SFF titles in the industry. You will actively seek a multitude of voices to represent the broadest possible audience to reach through your publishing, while driving the strategy of you list, identifying gaps and market trends.

Who we're looking for

We are looking for a talented new Deputy Publishing Director to join us with a broad remit to commission across the full spectrum of Science Fiction and Fantasy and manage exciting and complex SFF brands. 

You will be:

• a pro-active team player with highly developed commissioning skills
• significantly experienced in working in Science Fiction and Fantasy and up-to-date on current market trends
• able to communicate your vision clearly and innovate and spot potential publishing opportunities
• full of enthusiasm and ideas for the future of Hodderscape and SFF
• able to manage brand authors and handle global publications and technically complex titles
• driven by commercial success and excited to work in an ambitious team

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.

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

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