Marketing assistant

Closing date: 2nd October 2025 at 11.55pm

Salary: £28,500

Launching a publicity career in the publishing industry? An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the multi-award-winning marketing team at HQ.

Specialising in commercial fiction, non-fiction and digital publishing, HQ is a young, ambitious and award-winning division of HarperCollins Publishers. Here at HQ we launch debuts and develop new talent, build brand authors and publish Sunday Times bestselling authors such as Adele Parks, Caroline Hirons, Erica James, Sarah Morgan, Linwood Barclay, ‘Big Has’ Hasan Semay, June Sarpong and Davina McCall.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and creative marketing assistant to support our team and assist on campaigns for our bold, brave and inclusive fiction and non-fiction publishing across the HQ, HQ Digital, Pavilion, Akan Books and Juniper lists. We welcome applications from all communities and particularly encourage applications from communities underrepresented in publishing.

As marketing assistant, you will provide campaign and administrative support to help the marketing team deliver successful campaigns and reach readers. You will also support on our organic social media and newsletter channels and work with other team members on our biggest campaigns.

Responsibilities

• Supporting the marketing team on delivery of campaign collateral so that all activities are on time and within budget
• Working closely with other members of the team on marketing campaigns for our books and authors
• Provide general administrative support for the department including uploading retailer merchandising and creating sales material, assisting on key author presentations, minute-taking and financial admin such as raising POs and liaising with suppliers and organising competitions
• Liaising with key stakeholders within the division to ensure effective communication
• Creating and implementing social media campaigns for authors across the list
• Running digital advertising campaigns on dedicated titles
• Inputting on content creation for the HQ Blog and Newsletter
• Supporting a culture of collaboration, working closely with the wider marketing team to ensure that all communication is effective and timely

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Someone who enjoys reading widely across commercial fiction and non-fiction – from hot new thrillers to book club picks, cookery to memoir and lifestyle publishing
• Experience of managing, developing or creating a social and online presence
• Any publishing or marketing experience would be a bonus, whether that’s work experience, experience as a bookseller or as part of a publishing society
• Someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment with the ability to prioritise and manage workload effectively
• An excellent communicator able to build relationships quickly and effectively
• Creativity essential!
• A team player with excellent communication and people skills
• Enthusiastic and passionate
• Helpful and flexible with strong organisational skills
• A strong eye for detail

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

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/

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 reach out directly to tarni.crossley-lees@harpercollins.co.uk with subject heading ‘Vacancy Query’ plus the job title 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 the 'Apply' button. We do not accept email applications.

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