Positive Action Schemes & Open for all opportunities
See the details at the bottom of the page to read about the different categories of opportunities we support
59 Opportunities
Writing services assistant
Closing date for applications: Monday 16th March 2026 9:00am
Salary: £26,000
Location: Remote, with occasional meetings in London
Working pattern: Monday to Friday, 10am to 5.30pm
Reports to: Head of Writing Services
Contract: Fixed-term (12 months) with a view to extend
Join The Literary Consultancy as a Writing Services Assistant, providing administrative support and first-point-of-contact service for writers using our editorial and mentoring programmes.
The Literary Consultancy is the UK's first and leading editorial and manuscript assessment service, working nationally and internationally since 1996. TLC provides professional feedback to writers at all levels, from aspiring to professional, from a team of 90 editors, covering fiction, non-fiction, memoir, short stories, poetry and scripts. We also refer to trusted, qualified copy-editors, proofreaders and ghostwriters on a case by case basis. TLC's mentoring scheme, Chapter and Verse, supports writers toward completing ongoing book-length projects. We also host literary events for writers at our base, the world-renowned Free Word Centre in London, and an annual overseas writing retreat.
The Literary Consultancy is recruiting for the role of Writing Services Assistant. We are looking for an enthusiastic person to join our small but dedicated team and provide administrative support to the company across its writing services provision, from editing to mentoring and courses. You will be comfortable working in a customer-facing role, speaking with and offering support to writers at all stages of their writing journeys. Experience in an administrative role is essential, though it may be in another field or sector. We welcome career-switchers. There is no need to supply a CV or to declare academic qualifications for this role.
What you'll be doing
Administrative support (Writing Services)
- Responding to incoming client enquiries
- Hosting Discovery Calls for writers wishing to learn more about TLC
- Making sales calls and follow-up calls to customers
- Database entry and reporting across our services
- Customer journey management
- General admin and customer support for our Mentoring scheme Chapter & Verse
- General support of our TLC Editors & Mentors team
Administrative support (Programming)
- Responding to general membership and member emails
- Basic membership management (MemberPress)
- Events and courses sales reporting support
- General administration of our membership platform Circle
Administrative support (Prizes & Special Projects)
- Ad hoc admin support for partner programmes as they happen in our calendar, including prizes and competitions (e.g., the TLC LGBTQ+ Free Reads; SI Leeds Prize for Black & Asian Women; Bridport Prize; Desperate Lit Short Story Prize)
- Being a key point of contact for our ACE-funded Free Reads bursary scheme for low-income writers
- Tracking applications
- Keeping in touch with partners and applicants
- Liasing with partner organisations
Editorial support (Marketing)
- Generating and proofreading Writing Services related content for our website, monthly newsletter and social media platforms to ensure high quality content is available and up to date for writers engaging with TLC
Knowledge, skills and experience
- Previous administrative experience is highly desirable
- Proficiency in Office software and programmes (Word, Outlook, Excel)
- Strong communication skills: willingness to make calls and be proactive talking to writers and customers
- Excellent literacy
- A passion for literature, creativity and wellbeing
- Alignment with our values and company ethos
Benefits
- 22 days’ paid holiday entitlement plus bank holidays, increasing by one day per additional year of employment
- Enrichment week: one week of paid leave per annum for personal enrichment (volunteer work, skills training, creative pursuits, rest)
- Working from Home allowance
- £100 Waterstones voucher
- CPD-certified training through FSB Skills Academy
- Staff discount across services
- Being A Writer for-life membership
This role is a fixed-term 12 month contract with a view to extend. Our team works remotely, with occasional meetings in London. We are happy to consider applications from those interested in working 4 days per week instead of 5.
The deadline for applications is 9am GMT March 16th 2026. We will not close applications early, to allow for everyone to apply who might be considering it.
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.
Level of experience
- Entry
Required languages
- English
Required skills
- MS Office
Eligibility and Positive Action Schemes
What is a Positive Action Scheme?
A Positive Action Scheme, sometimes referred to as Affirmative Action, is a strategic initiative under the Equality Act 2010 which allows organisations to provide training opportunities to certain groups of the population as long as they can prove that:
- The opportunity is a training role and not a job
- That it is targeting a group of the population proven to be under-represented in the sector. For our opportunities, this is usually under-representation in terms of ethnicity, disability, or socio-economic background. Please note, this will be specified on each opportunity.
What is a third-party vacancy?
Third-party vacancies are roles advertised on the Creative Access website where candidates apply directly to the company that is recruiting. These opportunities are open to anyone and everyone to apply.
If you apply for a third-party vacancy, you will be updated on the status of your application from the company directly. In most situations Creative Access cannot provide application support or feedback for these roles.
How do you define the term ‘ethnically diverse’?
Creative Access follows the UK Government guidelines about what constitutes an ethnic minority.
How do you define the term ‘lower socio-economic status’ ?
The categories we use to define socio-economic status are based on the Office for National Statistics guide, plus guidance from Arts Council England. We ask candidates to register for Creative Access and self-declare a number of factors including eligibility for Free School Meals, accommodation type and whether or not you were the first person in your family to attend university.
How do you define the term disabled?
Under the Equality Act 2010, a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.