Project editor

Closing date for applications: 16th May 2025

Salary: £35,000+ dependent on experience (+bonus +benefits)

Contract: Permanent

Bring your eagle eye, editorial rigour and calm coordination to a role that’s all about turning great manuscripts into polished, publishable books.

At Orion, we believe every story matters. Open, agile, passionate and innovative, our mission is to bring the best publishing to the greatest variety of people. Ambitious to continually raise the bar, we believe good stories can come from anywhere and so encourage and value contributions from everybody here.

Orion is a division of Hachette, one of the largest publishing groups in the UK, with 11 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. Everyone here is proud to be in the business of opening doors and minds.

What you'll be doing

• You will work on a variety of fiction, non-fiction and illustrated titles, preparing manuscripts for production after they are handed over by the acquiring editor.
• You will commission freelancers, liaise with authors, handle copy-edits and legal reports, support the commissioning of sensitivity reads, collate proof corrections, support the briefing of picture content, check book covers and work closely with in-house departments.
• Titles will come from a range of our imprints, including W&N, Phoenix, White Rabbit, Orion Spring, Orion Ignite, Seven Dials and Trapeze. This is a non-commissioning role.

Who we are looking for

• We are looking for candidates with a proven track record of trade project editing or with the drive to transfer their non-trade experience to commercial trade publishing.
• Applicants must have meticulous copy-editing and proofreading skills, excellent communication and organisational skills and be keen to champion best practice to deliver excellence.
• You should be proactive, a multitasker and able to work both independently and as part of a team, demonstrating confidence dealing with colleagues both internally and externally.

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

The role will be based at our London office, Carmelite House, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.

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 for 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

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