Editorial assistant, Pavilion

Closing date for applications: 16 October 2025

Salary: £28,500

Launch your publishing career at the heart of illustrated non-fiction and gain hands-on editorial experience helping shape visually striking books from concept to publication.

We have an exciting opportunity for someone looking for an editorial assistant role within 4 colour publishing. Pavilion is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers specialising in illustrated non-fiction publishing across food & drink, craft & lifestyle, gift & popular culture. We create confidently unique titles and take pride in building a strong identity for each book with our integrated editorial and design team.

As editorial assistant, you will facilitate the smooth running of the department and provide administrative and editorial support to the publishing director and commissioning editors. As an efficient and hard-working member of the team you will, amongst other things:

• Maintain the smooth running of the division alongside the other assistants, managing the division’s roster of meetings and collating minutes as required
• Assist with desk editing
• Liaise with external freelancers on bookings and purchase orders
• Ensure that books meet critical path in conjunction with the design and production teams
• Archive materials and deliver sales material to export, marketing and publicity teams
• Read and report on a range of non-fiction submissions
• Briefing illustrated ebooks and ensuring accessibility
• Researching and organising text and image permissions
• Communicate with authors and agents on a regular basis
• Offer significant support to the publishing director and commissioning editors as necessary

In addition to this, there will be regular opportunities for the successful candidate to develop their editorial skills, working on edits, assisting with creative briefs for books, writing creative copy, and booking and attending photoshoots. In time, the editorial assistant will take on their own authors under the supervision of their line manager.

This role is ideally suited to an organised and detail-focused candidate who has both initiative and energy and is looking for their first entry-level role in commercial publishing. They will have a keen interest in all genres of commercial non-fiction, read widely, and be excited at the prospect of applying creative flair to the editorial process, ensuring that our publishing continues to stand out at the forefront of a competitive market.


Responsibilities

• Reading submissions and submitting reader reports
• Managing freelance editorial bookings
• Supporting on editorial work as necessary
• Taking on responsibility for authors as arranged, with assistance from a designated managing editor
• Proofreading jacket copy, catalogue copy, AIs, and divisional documents as necessary
• Organising and creating marketing and pitch materials, as well as extra endmatter
• Writing copy as required
• Creating cover briefs and briefing designers
• Liaising with the production team and editors, helping to ensure critical path is met
• First point of contact with other departments for general editorial queries
• Take ownership of creating effective metadata for the publishing director as requested
• Raising purchase orders as necessary
• Sending books to authors and agents as requested
• Pulling together PowerPoint presentations
• Collate and distribute the weekly updates and minutes to the team

Knowledge, skills & experience

• Some administrative and organisation experience
• A passion for Pavilion titles and voracious reader or consumer of lifestyle content
• Excellent attention to detail
• Advanced MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint knowledge
• Excellent organisational skills
• Strong verbal and written communication skills

Benefits

• Hybrid working model (3 days in the office)
• 28 days holiday plus bank holidays (option to buy and sell holiday days)
• Enhanced pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave
• Private healthcare cover and life assurance
• Summer Hours
• Free access to HeadSpace, employee assistance programme (24 hour helpline), mental health first aiders, and a wellbeing portal
• Season ticket loans (from day 1 for entry level) and cycle to work scheme
• Relocation Rent Support Loan
• Employee networks: HC All In (open forum), Elevate (for ethnic minority colleagues), HarperParents, Menopause at Work, Pride at HC, Social Mobility Network and Neurodiversity at Work
• Unlimited training on our Learning and Development portal, management courses (up to MA level) and mentoring programmes
• Virtual GP and eyecare vouchers
• Gym membership discount
• Onsite physiotherapy (London only)
• Charitable donation matching and 2 volunteering days
• We're a certified Carbon Neutral company
• Green Electric/Hybrid Car Benefit Scheme (salary sacrifice)
• With Trees for Life we plant a tree in the Highlands of Scotland for every permanent hire
• Free e-books and audiobooks, digital newspaper subscriptions and discounts on books
• Subsidised canteen and retail discounts
• Onsite prayer room

Additional information

At HarperCollins, we value authenticity and integrity in our recruitment process. To ensure a fair and accurate evaluation of all applications, we ask that all responses to assessment questions reflect your own thoughts, experiences, and capabilities. This allows us to fairly assess your knowledge, skills, and experience to determine how they align with the role. We value diverse perspectives and genuine contributions, even if answers are not perfect. The use of AI tools or external assistance to generate responses is discouraged unless explicitly permitted for specific tasks.

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please get in touch via the email found on our website by clicking 'Apply' and we will aim to get back to you within 5 working days. Please note, if you are interested in the role you would need to submit your application via Applied. We do not accept email applications.

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 internships or entry level positions. For more information visit https://www.btbs.org/

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

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