Editorial assistant

Closing date for applications: 13 June 2025

Salary: £27000 + bonus + benefits

Octopus is looking for an enthusiastic editorial assistant to provide administrative and editorial support to senior editorial colleagues in the acquisition and production of new titles.

Octopus publish books for everyone. We love to enlighten, nourish, entertain and most of all inspire readers and listeners everywhere.

Octopus 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.

What you'll be doing

The successful candidate will work across the Mitchell Beazley, Cassell, Ilex and Philip's imprints. They will help with all aspects of administration, co-ordination and driving of the publishing programme in all media, as well as supporting the editorial team more widely.

Tasks will include:

• Administrative support for the Mitchell Beazley, Cassell, Philip's and Ilex imprints.
• Supporting the publishing needs of four commissioning editors.
• Working on the smooth running of food, drink, gardening, sport, music, popular culture, craft, mapping and puzzle titles both illustrated and non-illustrated.
• Proofreading sales materials, pitches and jacket copy.
• Working on advance sales materials, creating keywords and writing Title Information Sheets.
• Maintaining the publishing database.
• Checking proofs and ebooks.
• Liaising with internal/external contacts to ensure adherence to the critical path.
• Managing invoices, purchase orders and payments.
• Setting up of new titles on systems.
• Looking after the permissions admin.

Who we are looking for

We are looking for a highly organised, diligent candidate with excellent English and strong communication skills, to join a lively and creative team in Octopus's Colour Division. It's a perfect first step on a publishing career and would suit a graduate with a determination to succeed in a collegiate and supportive environment. An ability to organise and prioritise your workload is vital, and a quick learner with experience in the Microsoft suite and InDesign is preferred. This is an entry-level role, so no experience in publishing is necessary.

Please apply with a CV, covering letter and answers to the following questions:

• What is it about this role that appeals to you? Please be specific to the division and imprints you are applying to.
• Can you give an example of when you've had to cope with multiple tasks with pressing deadlines? Explain how you managed and prioritised your workload.
• What do you think are the ingredients of a commercially successful colour non-fiction book?

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

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.

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

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