Project editors - DK + (permanent and fixed-term vacancies)

Salary: Starting from £38,000 (per annum) depending on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

Location: London

Put your editorial experience to work on illustrated books, managing projects alongside authors and creative teams.

DK is bold, global, and growing. From bestselling gardening titles and award-winning cookbooks to international fiction and beautifully crafted children’s books, our publishing is broad, innovative, and constantly evolving. Across every genre, our publishers, editors and designers work hand-in-hand with authors to create books of the highest quality – authoritative, eye-opening, and enduring.

Are you on top of the latest trends in pop culture and licensed entertainment? Have you had experience in managing multiple visual book projects? Are you ready to take a role in connecting non-fiction content to fans in innovative and creative ways?

We are currently recruiting for two exciting Project Editor opportunities to help shape our lists and partner with some of the world’s biggest brands.

Project Editor, Entertainment (6-Month Contract)

Join our team for a 6-month period to help shape our list with exciting partners. You will collaborate with iconic brands like Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Dungeons & Dragons, and Warhammer, producing exceptional books for these fan bases and beyond. This is a brilliant opportunity for an ambitious mid-weight editor to gain valuable commercial experience within a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Project Editor, Pop Culture, Sport and Custom (Permanent)

We are looking for a creative, commercially minded and idea-driven editor to help shape our Pop Culture and Custom lists as we expand our licensed Sports publishing. You’ll be brimming with ideas, ready to suggest diverse, exciting new directions to explore across popular culture. You will collaborate with partners such as F1 and leading names in music, producing high-quality, fan-favorite books and taking ownership of the editorial process. You will help to define the future of our list, working on both new book concepts and product development.

The Project Editor Role

Regardless of the role, we’re looking for a resourceful, versatile Project Editor who is highly organised, with proven experience in managing illustrated books from concept to completion. You will work closely with authors, licensors, and internal and external creative teams to deliver brilliant books on time and on budget.

What you’ll be doing:

• Managing books from concept stage to print.
• Liaising with authors, freelancers, and licensors.
• Collaborating with key departments, including design, marketing, and production.
• Shaping editorial content and commissioning high-quality work.
• Keeping a pulse on trends in pop culture and book space.

Essential skills required:

• Strong project management skills and editorial expertise.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach.
• The ability to communicate confidently with diverse external stakeholders such as authors, illustrators, and creative teams.
• While direct licensing experience isn't essential, a passion for sports or pop culture and entertainment brands and sound commercial awareness is a must.

We are looking for someone with a background in publishing who is full of ideas, willing to try new things, and open-minded. You should have sound commercial awareness, and be willing to act on opportunities. You are the type of person who is flexible and adaptable to changes. Moreover, you will be working independently on projects, confident in your abilities, open to trying new things, and eager to learn.

How to Apply:

To apply, please submit your most recent CV and cover letter. In your cover letter, please clearly state whether you are applying for the Project Editor, Entertainment (6-Month Contract), the Project Editor, Customs (Permanent), or both. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

As part of your cover letter, please tell us:

• Highlight any relevant experience you have, including an example of when you managed a project from start to finish
• Books that you wish you have worked on and why.
• (Optional) Which licensor(s) do you think we should be working with?

We are eager to see your own unique voice and talent, not the words generated by an AI tool. Please refrain from using AI in this application.

Our Benefits:

We have a range of benefits to reflect our commitment to our people, some of which are:

• 25 days paid holiday entitlement in year one, plus bank holidays
• Generous pension scheme
• Volunteering policy and charity matching
• Employee assistance programme
• 70% discount on company books
• Cycle to work scheme and discounted gym membership
• Shopping discounts
• Flex Fridays (1pm Finish*)
• Up to 30 days remote working from abroad*

*Subject to certain criteria being met.

And we plant a tree for every new employee to our business

DK is committed to building a diverse workforce that reflects the varied communities that read our books across the world. We encourage applications from all individuals, regardless of age, religion, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or social background. DK is proud to announce that we have adopted The Halo Code.

DK is a member of the disability confident scheme. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies.

DK supports flexible working and has introduced a new ‘smart-working’ policy with a hybrid approach of working weekly from home and in DK’s office. This is a hybrid role requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in our Pimlico office. As this is non-negotiable, please ensure you are within a reasonable commuting distance of London before applying.

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 or undertaking internships. 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.