Membership and events executive

Closing date for applications: 12th January 2026

Salary: £27,500 per annum + benefits

Contract: This is a full-time role

Play a key role in keeping the vibrant bookselling community thriving by providing hands-on member support and helping bring major conferences, awards, and events to life.

The Booksellers Association (BA) is a membership organisation for all booksellers in the UK & Ireland, representing over 95% of bookshops. The BA exists to support, advise and work with its members to create excellent products and services for booksellers. This role is within both the membership and the events departments of the BA.

The membership department of the BA is responsible for maintaining the database of BA members. The department recruits and retains BA members, administering the recruitment and application processes, and is the first port of call for potential new members, as well as a resource for existing members. It is therefore at the front line of customer relations and has a key role in developing and delivering membership services to members of the Booksellers Association. The department is also responsible for outputs from our various databases and works closely with staff from all other business units, including the finance department, National Book Tokens Ltd and Batch Ltd.

The conference & events department of the BA is responsible for delivering a full and varied events programme for BA members and others in the book trade. Typically, there are four key conferences: the Irish Book Trade Conference, the Scottish Book Trade Conference, the Welsh Book Conference and the BA Annual Trade Conference. In addition to these conferences, we host a number of regional evening events as well as the Westminster Book Awards, taking place at the Houses of Parliament; a seminar programme at London Book Fair; and the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards ceremony. The events department will also be required to provide administrative support for the Nero Book Awards.


Responsibilities

Membership

• Support the application and joining process, uptake and processing of membership, and service delivery
• Provide front line advice (telephone, email, letter, online) to potential and existing members and ensure timely fulfilment of advice
• Work with others to coordinate and ensure effective member recruitment and retention
• Carry out recruitment follow-up calls and emails to past enquirers
• Update The Bookselling Year, the BA’s annual wallchart for members
• Issue the monthly e-newsletter for the BA Learning Skills Hub
• Manage the Net Promoter Score Survey, sending it to selected members on a bimonthly basis and collating and presenting the results
• Administer the Shopfloor Publishers Project, soliciting sign-ups from booksellers and publishers, matching them up and seeking feedback from both parties after the shop visits have taken place
• Help develop prospects database (including lapsed and event participants)
• Ensure high quality administration and records management for potential and existing members
• Take care of SANs (Standard Address Numbers) administration

Database management, reporting and outputs

• Support the operation and development of the membership and publisher databases, including liaison with IT
• Help administer membership subscriptions, including collection and logging of turnover and despatch of mailing
• Manage data entry and maintain accurate and up-to-date database records
• Generate member lists from the database for BA staff and BA partners
• Run database queries to select appropriate members’ details for mail shots, data sales and marketing selections

Events

• Support the management of all BA events and conferences
• Respond to member enquiries about events
• Process registrations and invoices for events and conferences
• Develop and manage the online registration system and booking forms, working with the conference & events manager, BA accounts department and IT department
• Liaise with delegates to collate relevant information and requirements, such as dietary, for each event
• Prepare name badges, delegate materials and event collateral
• Edit the BA events website, including creating new photo galleries and generating content
• Assist with a twice-yearly events newsletter, using email marketing software
• Prepare regular email bulletins to members about upcoming events
• Assist with technical support for virtual or hybrid events
• Work with the social media manager to promote events across BA social media channels
• Ensure that events run smoothly by working onsite, alongside the conference & events manager

Nero Book Awards

• Carry out administration for the Nero Book Awards: log entries, liaise with publishers, assist with the distribution of books to judges as necessary

Special projects

• Provide ad hoc admin support for BA staff on special projects. Examples would include grant administration, taking minutes at meetings, database logging, desk research, phone calls, mailings

Knowledge, skills & experience

• A good team player
• Hard-working, polite, friendly and cheerful
• Excellent customer service skills
• Microsoft Office experience essential, including good Excel skills
• Knowledge of and experience in using digital meeting platforms such as Teams and Zoom
• Accurate, logical, practical and organised
• Meticulous attention to detail§
• Tactful and diplomatic
• Enthusiastic
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Competent numerical skills

Additional information

Please note that the position will require a minimum of three days a week working at the BA’s offices in central London. The events side of the job will sometimes require working away from London, and at evenings and weekends, including staying away overnight.

Candidates for this role must have the right to work in the UK.

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.