Editorial Coordinator, Penguin Random House Children’s

Have you got the eye of a hawk and a passion for working collaboratively in a fast-paced environment? 

If so, an exciting opportunity has arisen for an Editorial Coordinator to join the Penguin Random House Children’s Managing Editorial team. You will be working across a wide variety of books for children and young adults, helping to ensure they are delivered on budget, according to schedule and to the highest possible standard. 

The role 

This is not a commissioning role, nor is it an entry-level position. You’ll need knowledge of, and a passion for, books for children and young adults, outstanding grammar, spelling and punctuation skills, and a strong understanding of the stages through which text and illustration progress during the editorial, design and production process. Previous experience of copy-editing and proofreading would be beneficial, as would experience of supporting on key administrative tasks to ensure the smooth running of company operations. 

Working within the industry-leading Puffin brand, this role offers the potential to engage with some of the best-loved children’s books, young adult books and authors. There will be scope for you to work on a wide range of text types, with a focus on fiction, but also some illustrated non-fiction. 

Backed by a team that’s eager to support and develop you, we’re keen to give you scope to contribute to projects, books and brands, and to shape and improve in-house processes for maximum efficiency. 

Key responsibilities: 

• Scheduling and managing the creation of ‘offset’ titles 
• Overseeing the process for reprint corrections 
• Copy-editing and proofreading a range of materials, such as manuscripts, covers and proofs 
• Liaising directly with our in-house commissioning editors, designers and production colleagues, as well as freelance proofreaders and copy-editors 
• Checking copyright and imprint information is correct 
• Referring to and updating house and series style guides to maintain high editorial standards 
• Attending regular work-in-progress meetings with editorial, design and production and helping to maintain clear and accurate schedules 
• Supporting the children’s division on key administrative tasks such as processing creative purchase orders, and operational projects intended to improve processes, workflow and speed to market 
• Assisting the managing editorial team, including minute-taking and maintaining information on databases 

What you’ll bring: 

• Proven professional proofreading and copy-editing experience in a book publishing environment* 
• Impeccable spelling, grammar and punctuation skills* 
• Excellent communication skills, including confidence in building relationships with a wide range of colleagues, both in-house and freelance* 
• Exceptional organisational skills, with demonstrable experience of juggling multiple deadlines and priorities* 
• Proficiency in using Microsoft Office (including Excel) and Adobe Acrobat, and confident adapting to new online systems and databases* 
• A solutions-focused mindset and adaptable to a wide variety of tasks 
• Experience working with Biblio and other publishing systems 

Application instructions 

Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on Sunday 24th November. 

Please ensure you include a cover letter, as it is a crucial part of our assessment process. The cover letter offers an opportunity to show how your experience and interests align with the role requirements. Typically, we expect the cover letter to be between 500 and 1000 words. 

Please note we are looking for someone to join the team as soon as possible, but we are also happy to accommodate a reasonable notice period for the right candidate. 

Salary 

£29,000 – £32,000 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits. 

What you can expect from us 

Our people are the heart of our business, and we work hard to support a culture of responsibility and recognition. 

Our benefits include: 

• Financial – discounted shopping, season ticket loan, rental deposit loan 
• Wellbeing – healthcare cash plan, employee assistance, gym loan 
• Lifestyle – taste card, tech scheme, free and discounted books 

For our full benefits list please visit: https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/what-we-offer/ 

Hybrid working 

While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. The Penguin Random House Children’s team work three days per week from our Embassy Gardens office. 

About Penguin 

We’re the UK’s largest publisher; made up of some 2,000 people and publishing over 1,500 books each year. Our doors are open to all kinds of talent. In a constantly evolving industry, we work hard to stretch the definition of the word publisher. Here, you’ll work with a breadth of talent who all play their part to make each of our books a success. Together, we make books for everyone because a book can change anyone. 

The recruitment process 

You can read about our recruitment process at https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/how-we-hire/ 

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we offer interviews to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role, and opt-in on their application form. The essential criteria for this role are marked with an asterisk* as part of the ‘What you’ll bring’ section. There may be times when the volume of applications means we cannot take all eligible candidates to interview. 

We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing [email protected]. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable to for us to support your request. 

Please note, we are not able to accept agency CVs for this role. Any CVs sent speculatively will not be eligible for a fee. 

Company: Penguin Books Limited 

Country: United Kingdom 

State/Region: London 

City: London 

Postal Code: SW11 7BW 

Job ID: 275330

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