Production manager

Closing date for applications: Monday 2nd February 2026

Salary: £44,000 - £50,000 dependent on experience and location (+bonus +benefits)

Location: Based at our London or Sheffield office, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.

Lead a production team delivering a large and varied list of print and digital books, working across commercial and literary publishing.

Hodder & Stoughton is a division of Hachette, one of the largest publishing groups in the UK, with 10 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. Everyone here is proud to be in the business of opening doors and minds. With over 150 years of ground-breaking publishing from book lovers, original thinkers and market leaders, our unwavering mission has been to publish the most compelling voices in every genre. We continue to find new ground, new audiences and new voices with every title we publish. We are passionate readers and believe in the power of words to change lives.

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Production professional to manage a brilliant and friendly team of five, producing a wide range of books and eBooks. The team produces up to 250 new titles a year, encompassing commercial and literary fiction and non-fiction, mono and colour, all produced to the highest standards.

What you'll be doing

• Recruiting, training and developing line reports through regular meetings, performance reviews and training, to provide a motivated, competent team.
• Overseeing all aspects of production for the H&S list, to ensure that all print and digital products are delivered on time, to the required quality standards and within agreed budgets.
• Delivering a list of frontlist titles including complex non-fiction, high profile authors and colour books.
• Supporting Editorial, Art and Sales in delivering a commercial and cost-effective approach to all products.
• Leading the continuous review and improvement of departmental working practices and explore technical developments within the industry with a view to improving working practices and supporting innovation in the publishing programme.
• Working effectively with and develop strong working relationships with all suppliers. Investigate, trial and on-board new suppliers within the parameters of the group commercial purchasing strategy.

Who we are looking for

We are looking for someone with excellent production skills, ready to play a key role in the team and H&S's success. It is essential that you have strong organisational and time-management skills, are an outstanding communicator and negotiator, and are able to demonstrate solid commercial awareness and problem-solving skills. This is an ideal opportunity for a Senior Controller looking for the next challenge or a Manager looking for new experiences.

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

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 your 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

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.