Publicity manager, Children's

Closing date: 19th May 2024

Salary range: £30,500 – £35,600

Contract: The role is a full-time permanent position

Dreaming of working with bestselling authors and iconic children’s book brands?

We are seeking a talented and highly motivated Publicity Manager to join our Publicity team at Bloomsbury Children’s Books to work across our award-winning and internationally successful children’s publishing list, including Picture Books, Illustrated Non-Fiction, Fiction and Young Adult books.

Bloomsbury Children’s Books celebrated list is home to perfect picture books, page-turning middle-grade adventures, blockbuster YA fantasy and award-winning non-fiction. Its award-winning, diverse list includes authors and illustrators such as Katherine Rundell, Kalynn Bayron, Catherine Doyle, J.K. Rowling, Jessie Burton, Neil Gaiman, Tom Percival, Katya Balen and Lex Croucher. We are also home to the most famous children’s book brand in the world: Harry Potter.

We’re looking for someone with a real passion for children’s and young adult books to create campaigns that break out debut talent, build bestselling names to new heights, and connect readers everywhere with their next great read.

You will join us with innovative, standout campaigns under your belt, full of creative energy, and will thrive on working with an engaged, collaborative and ambitious team. Reporting into the Publicity Director, you will plan, organise and implement fully integrated PR campaigns and events that target key audiences and break new ground.

Our new Publicity Manager will be an experienced communicator with superb media and industry contacts, excellent communication skills and the ability to prioritise and remain calm under pressure. You will be a strong team player and a proven project manager who is adept at maintaining close working relationships across all departments and in particular with marketing, editorial, sales colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Create and manage sales-driving, multi-platform publicity campaigns on individual titles across all formats (physical, eBook, audio)
• Management of individual title budgets
• Proactively pursue new ventures and projects to help promote the list and its authors, staying abreast of key publishing trends, the wider book market and cultural sector
• Confidently communicate promotional activity to internal and external stakeholders, including liaising with Bloomsbury’s global offices
• Contribute to discussions around strategy and vision for the lists, including providing acquisition feedback from a PR angle
• Build and maintain relationships with authors, illustrators and agents; provide outstanding author care and have experience managing sensitive and/or confidential projects
• Initiate and maintain relationships with journalists, gatekeepers, event organisers, booksellers and retail partners

Knowledge, skills and experience

• A proven track record in handling publicity campaigns
• Excellent contact base across print, broadcast, podcast and online media
• Excellent understanding of the events space for children’s books with good contacts at literary festivals, industry and gatekeeper events
• Ability to discern objectives and implement strategy to achieve those objectives
• Ability to work to deadline and within budget
• Ability to multi-task, work flexibly and identify priorities
• An innovator able to look for new ways to promote our books
• Excellent communication skills in person and in writing
• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to work effectively with people from any background
• Ability to mentor publicity assistants and press officers

Additional information

The role is based at our London office 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP on a hybrid-working pattern of 2 days office based / 3 days home based (or fully office based if preferred). Allocated office days for this role are: Mondays and Tuesdays

Please apply with a CV and covering letter, which includes the campaign you’ve been most proud to work on and the book you most enjoyed reading in the past year, addressed to Human Resources (Word or PDF format only) via clicking the 'Apply' button detailing how you meet the requirements outlined above for this role by close date of 19th May 2024.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK – Bloomsbury Publishing does not sponsor visa applications.

Bloomsbury is a place where anyone of any background, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender identity, age, ability, or socio-economic status can thrive, feel comfortable, and be heard and accepted. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are willing to make any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please flag to the recruitment team if required.

Our work is driven by different perspectives and we strive for our culture to be one of belonging. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and identities.

Bloomsbury reserve the right to close the role early if we exceed the required number of applications.

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