Sales assistant, UK Special Interest

Closing date: 30th October 2024

Salary: £27,000

Contract: The role is a full-time permanent position

This is a superb opportunity to join a high-performing UK Sales team of an award-winning top 5 UK publisher. 

We are looking for an enthusiastic, well organised and confident communicator with excellent time-management skills and attention to detail to work within our fast-moving UK Sales department. 

Sales Assistants perform a key support role within the wider UK Sales team working across all Bloomsbury Consumer and Special Interest titles. The role will include assisting on the day-to-day administration and operations of the team and our customers. This particular appointment will support the Special Interest sales team and UK Area Sales Managers.

Based in our Bedford Square office this will be a hybrid-working position and will report to the UK Head of Special Interest Sales.

Key responsibilities

• General support for the Special Interest Sales Team and Area Sales Managers.
• Processing customer, author and event orders and standing orders each month.
• Liaising with distributor and other suppliers to ensure customer satisfaction, following up on delayed deliveries, shortages or other customer queries.
• Arrange invoicing and direct deliveries for custom publishing projects and regular orders and ensuring deliveries meet customers’ expectations.
• Ordering and managing the sending out of book and game samples, proofs, spinners, display racks, catalogues and other promotional material.
• Checking cover proofs and templates for Herbert Press, Caravel, Osprey books, and Osprey games.
• Managing stock levels for key selling titles to anticipate stock requirements for key customers.
• Ordering of stock for office use, conferences, fairs, or other events.
• Utilising internal and external systems to generate sales reports, including setting up and circulating daily, weekly and monthly sales trackers as well as ad hoc sales figures requests.
• Updating internal systems, including Biblio, Sales Force and Adestra to ensure information, including customer contact details, is correct, up to date and compliant with GDPR regulations.
• Creating and circulating order forms, promotional sales sheets, monthly newsletters and updating mailing lists for various SI lists.
• Providing admin support to the Special Interest Sales Director, Head of Special Interest Sales, and Bloomsbury Sales team, including Area Sales Managers, when required, and running reports for publishers and M&P departments.
• Compiling both print and electronic versions of the AI packs and any other sales material required by Area Sales Managers, agents or in-house sales staff.
• Producing promotional sales sheets for use by Area Sales Managers and other Sales staff using Adobe software.
• Preparing and circulating materials and presentations, managing meeting invites and booking meeting rooms for the quarterly Sales Conferences and other sales meetings.
• Coordinating dates for sales meetings and arranging accommodation and travel for Area Sales Managers.
• Monitoring events schedule set up by publicity and placing stock orders, as well as following up to ensure stock is received on time. 
• Absence cover for colleagues as required e.g. holidays/Flexi Fridays.
• Looking after a selected number of customers.
• General ad hoc admin and wider UK sales Tasks.
• Flexibility of hours might be needed for occasional out of hours work when travel and attendance of events such as fairs is needed.

Knowledge, skills and experience 

• Excellent communicator who is confident with dealing with people at all levels, particularly on the phone and over email/video
• Excellent attention to detail and focused on efficiency at all times
• Excellent time-management, prioritisation and organisational skills, with a close eye for detail and keen awareness of deadlines
• Experience of multi-tasking and prioritising a busy work-load with competing demands on your time
• Ability to adapt to changing daily tasks
• Strong numerical skills, excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong IT skills, particularly Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Teams
• Proficient with systems such as Biblio, Nielsen, Cognos and Vista would be helpful
• Experience in publishing or book trade environment helpful 

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) with occasional visits to the Oxford office depending on schedule. Allocated office days for this role are: Monday & Tuesday

As an Assistant role, this position is eligible for Bloomsbury’s Rental Deposit Loan Scheme. To assist candidates who want to start and to establish a career in publishing, Bloomsbury offers an interest-free rental deposit to support securing somewhere to live. The rental deposit loan can be up to £3,000 and will be paid back over 2 years.

Please apply with a CV and covering letter addressed to Human Resources (Word or PDF format only) via clicking the 'Apply' detailing how you meet the requirements outlined above for this role by 30th October 2024.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, Bloomsbury Publishing is unable to sponsor visa applications.

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

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