Senior designer

Closing date: 28th March 2025

Salary range: £34,000-£40,000 per annum, depending on experience

Department: Children’s Fiction Design

Reports to: Publishing Director

Working pattern: Hybrid – minimum of two days per week in the office; up to three days per week working from home.

Location: 5th Floor, HYLO, 105 Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8LZ

This is a fantastic opportunity for a commercially astute designer looking to make their mark, crafting designs that capture young imaginations and set market trends.

Bonnier Books UK Children’s Trade is looking for a senior designer to join its award-winning design team, creating high impact covers across its successful children’s imprints.

You will need a particularly strong track record in children’s fiction from middle grade to YA as you will be focusing on cover design and working on illustrated interior layouts for the company’s growing children’s trade division. The successful candidate will have proven experience in children’s trade publishing, with solid experience in commercial design. You will be a clear and confident communicator, with the ability to collaborate effectively with the editorial, sales, and production teams to ensure that projects are delivered on time and to the highest standard.

This role includes overseeing the work of other designers, with the experience to direct the list’s creative vision and provide constructive feedback on team projects. In return, we offer the opportunity to join a modern, vibrant, and ambitious publisher with fantastic benefits

Key responsibilities

• Designing impactful covers to brief, across a broad range of lists and genres.
• Demonstrating a strong understanding of the children’s fiction and YA market, with an awareness of commercial trends.
• Liaising with other departments, including editorial, production, and sales, to ensure that projects are delivered on time and to the highest standard.
• Preparing and supplying print-ready cover artwork to exact printer specifications, with the technical expertise to troubleshoot pre-press issues efficiently.
• Presenting your concepts and covers with confidence, to key stakeholders, including editors, sales teams, and senior leadership.
• Overseeing the direction of the list and providing feedback to other designers in the team.

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Proven experience in a design role in publishing, with a strong focus on children’s fiction.
• A clear communicator, capable of working effectively with various teams and functions across the business.
• Commercially astute with a proven awareness of the children’s fiction and YA market.
• Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple projects, meet deadlines, and maintain meticulous design files.
• Expert knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite.
• A team player with a proactive approach, with the ability to give and receive constructive feedback.

Why join us?

The children’s division at Bonnier Books UK is a hub of creativity and collaboration, filled with people who are passionate about storytelling. You’ll be part of a supportive team that values bold ideas and celebrates the magic of books. Together, we create stories that shape childhoods and inspire generations.

Please include a portfolio PDF when you apply.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

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