We’re looking for an Editor, or experienced Assistant Editor to join the team at Penguin Life and Business for 6-9 months.  We are looking for someone to start in the position as soon as possible.

About Penguin Life and Penguin Business 

Penguin Life publishes books to help you live well. We gather together the best and most passionate experts, creative thinkers and inspirational voices immersed in their fields who share a passion for shifting people’s perspectives, creating positive change and living well. From psychology, neuroscience and inspirational thinking, to fitness, the environment and parenting, we’re dedicated to publishing non-fiction that makes a lasting impact and helps you feel great. Our authors include Dr Rangan Chatterjee, Ruby Wax, James Nestor, Meik Wiking, Professor Russell Foster and Julia Samuel. 

Penguin Business publishes inspiring books that are packed full of practical advice to help you reach your goals, whatever they might be. We seek out fresh perspectives from emerging and established voices on performance and success, offering visionary ideas on leadership, transformative career advice, cutting-edge insights on finance and economics, and trusted analysis of the biggest global business stories of the day. Our chart-topping books include the million-copy bestseller Start with Why by Simon Sinek, Sunday Times bestsellers The Squiggly Career by Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis and Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo, Seth Godin’s legendary Purple Cow, and every entrepreneur’s bible, The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. 

About the role
You’ll be responsible for guiding a range of books through the critical path to publication. You’ll be editorially experienced, and capable of taking on multiple projects, some of which you’ll be joining halfway through.

The role is a great opportunity to get involved in lists that spread across a range of non-fiction, including smart thinking, lifestyle, self-help and memoir.  On a day-to-day basis, you can expect to be:

• Working closely with authors on existing projects at different stages of publication 

• Editing manuscripts for a select number of titles

• Writing title information sheets, cover copy, and other marketing materials

• Briefing covers and interior design

• Liaising with in-house teams and agents

• Working with our Rights team across international editions

• Presenting titles at monthly sales launches and other meetings and

• Contributing to new ideas meetings, with new projects in mind.

There is also the opportunity to commission, working alongside the editorial team.

What you’ll bring

We’re looking for someone with demonstrable editorial experience working on non-fiction. You may currently be an Assistant Editor looking for their next challenge, or an Editor wanting hands-on experience on a different type of list. What’s important to us is that you:

• Have proven skills in working with authors and agents

• Have proven skills in editing

• Can multitask and handle competing priorities

• Have a good understanding of the marketplace: retailers, media, audiences and competitors

• Are confident in partnering with internal teams across the business to champion each book

• Have proven negotiation skills.

Application details 

Apply with your CV and cover letter, and a review of a book in this area in under 150 words, by Thursday 7th March.

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.

Salary: Between £31,500 - £35,000 depending on how your skills and experience align with the role, plus benefits.

Competitive benefits package: 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: We’re experimenting with a hybrid way of working that suits the needs of each team. 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. For this role we expect that you are in the office around twice a week, at our office in Pimlico.   Please note that over the course of 2024 all of our London-based teams will permanently relocate to our Embassy Gardens office in Nine Elms. We’ll be happy to answer any questions on this as part of the interview process.

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're part of the offer an interview scheme. This is where disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role can opt in to get to the next recruitment stage. There may be some situations where volume of applicants means we can't take all eligible candidates to interview. We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk. 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: SW1V 2SA 

Job ID: 268446