Junior designer, HQM&B and Pavilion open

Closing date for applications: Friday 27th March 2026 GMT 12:00pm

Salary: £29,000

Location: London

Help bring books to readers by assisting with cover design, animations and marketing materials in publishing.

With a history stretching back over 200 years, HarperCollins is the second largest consumer book publisher in the world. Here at HarperCollins UK, we publish around 1,500 books a year for readers of all ages and interests. Our bestsellers include Bernard Cornwell, Adele Parks, Jonathan Franzen, David Walliams, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Memoirs of British prime ministers. Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy. George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. And legendary titles by legacy authors J.R.R. Tolkien, Agatha Christie and C.S. Lewis.

This is a junior position within the Design team for the imprint HQ, Mills & Boon and Pavilion. We are looking for someone with knowledge of design systems who is keen to take on a position in which they can learn and grow. The Junior Designer will be responsible for creating marketing assets including animations, proof design across all imprints and helping design covers for Mills & Boon. We are open to those with some design experience or those looking for their first role in this field of publishing.

Key responsibilities

• Designing marketing assets, including animations, for the team to use in sales and marketing
• Creating new, innovative and market-leading design concepts for Mills & Boon.
• Liaise with Head of Design regarding deadlines and finishes to ensure cover proofs go to press on time.
• Adhere to brand guidelines.
• Ensuring all picture permissions are cleared on time and within budget.
• Adopting a ‘big picture’ view of the workflow and knowing when to step in and restart a project.

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Photoshop, After Effects, InDesign, Illustrator, Design Degree/course/ some experience
• After Effects experience is essential
• Experience in cover design or packaging desirable but not necessary
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Strong communication skills
• Ability to carry out picture research and clearing of images
• A love of design and books
• Ability to multitask, work on own initiative and keep to deadlines.
• Excellent attention to detail
• Team player

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
• Free e-books and audiobooks, digital newspaper subscriptions and discounts on books
• Subsidised canteen and retail discounts
• Onsite prayer room

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.