Editor - DK +, Play

Salary: starting from £32,500 depending on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

Location: London

Love children's books and entertainment? Help create illustrated titles with brands including LEGO, Pokémon and Crunchyroll.

DK is bold, global, and growing. From bestselling gardening titles and award-winning cookbooks to international fiction and beautifully crafted children’s books, our publishing is broad, innovative, and constantly evolving. Across every genre, our publishers, editors and designers work hand-in-hand with authors to create books of the highest quality – authoritative, eye-opening, and enduring.

Do you enjoy thinking of new and creative ways to explain non-fiction to children? Are you on top of the latest trends in children’s books, toys and entertainment? Have you had experience in managing illustrated book projects?

DK is recruiting an Editor to help create books with exciting brand partners such as LEGO, Minecraft, Pokémon, Crunchyroll, and more, to create exciting books for young fans of toys and gaming, and their families. You will get to work on lists with award-winning books, which are published for today’s kids and families, in a talented and motivated team.

We’re looking for a resourceful, versatile editor who is highly organised, with experience managing illustrated books from concept to completion. You will be working with authors, licensors and internal and external creative teams to produce brilliant books that are delivered both on time and on budget. We also want someone who is brimming with ideas, and who can suggest new creative books and ideas on the page.

You should be comfortable:

• Managing your own editorial projects at different stages of development
• Supporting senior editors and wider editorial team with their projects
• Liaising with freelancers, authors and/or external stakeholders in a professional manner
• Shaping editorial content from outline stage and working with designers in a collaborative way to produce books of the highest standard
• Contributing to brainstorms and pitching new ideas
• Collaborating with other departments, including Sales, Production and MPR
• Keeping up with trends in the children’s entertainment and book space

Essential

• Managing illustrated books: You have proven experience taking projects from concept to completion, whether working independently or with support from a senior editor.
• Editorial eye: You know how to shape content from the initial outline and possess a sharp editorial eye.
• Organisation: You're highly organised and great at keeping projects on track, on time, and on budget.
• Collaboration: You thrive when working with authors, licensors, and our internal teams (Sales, Design), as well as external partners.
• Communication: You have strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Adaptability: Ability to adapt to creative changes.
• Proactivity: You're a motivated self-starter who can manage titles independently while still welcoming guidance.
• Passion: You have a genuine passion for reading and children's entertainment brands.

Nice to have

• Presentation: You’re confident and skilled at presenting your ideas to others.
• Market knowledge: You have a good knowledge of the children’s book and licensing market.
• Experience with external stakeholders: You have experience working with external stakeholders, such as high-profile contributors or major global brands.

This is a great opportunity for a junior editor or editorial / publishing assistant looking to step up and develop as an editor, and work with exciting global brands. If successful, you will join a team that supports your on-the-job learning, development, and wider training needs.

To apply, please submit your most recent CV and cover letter. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

As part of your cover letter, please:

• Tell us why you want to work at DK and highlight any relevant experience you have.
• Include an example of when you managed a project from start to finish, either independently or alongside a senior colleague.

We are eager to see your own unique voice and talent, not the words generated by an AI tool. Please refrain from using AI in this application.

Additional Information

We have a range of benefits to reflect our commitment to our people, some of which are:

• 25 days paid holiday entitlement in year one, plus bank holidays
• Generous pension scheme
• Volunteering policy and charity matching
• Employee assistance programme
• 70% discount on company books
• Cycle to work scheme and discounted gym membership
• Shopping discounts
• Flex Fridays (1pm Finish*)
• Up to 30 days remote working from abroad*

*Subject to certain criteria being met.

And we plant a tree for every new employee to our business

DK is committed to building a diverse workforce that reflects the varied communities that read our books across the world. We encourage applications from all individuals, regardless of age, religion, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or social background. DK is proud to announce that we have adopted The Halo Code.

DK is a member of the disability confident scheme. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies.

DK supports flexible working and has introduced a new ‘smart-working’ policy with a hybrid approach of working weekly from home and in DK’s office. This is a hybrid role requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in our Pimlico office. As this is non-negotiable, please ensure you are within a reasonable commuting distance of London before applying.

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 or undertaking internships. 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.