The Company

Usborne is an independent, family business, creating books which spark curiosity in children of all ages. These range from books for babies such as the bestselling That’s not my… series of touchy-feely books, to YA fiction from acclaimed authors such as Holly Bourne and Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé – with everything from Magic Painting to Politics for Beginners in between. Whilst the company is now a market-leader in children’s publishing and one of the best-known brands in children’s books, the company retains a friendly and familial feel. If you want to work somewhere close-knit enough for people to know your name, but which has a first-class reputation around the world, Usborne is the place for you.

The Team

The UK Marketing & Publicity Team provides support to the UK Trade Sales Team and their customers by creating meticulously crafted campaigns which stimulate demand for Usborne books. From the sales materials they produce for the sales team to present to trade accounts (ranging from supermarkets to independent bookshops), to the consumer-facing print and digital adverts, the social media activity, the press coverage and events which encourage families to seek out Usborne books, the UK Marketing & Publicity Team is instrumental to getting Usborne books into the hands of children across the UK.

The Role

This role focuses solely on Usborne’s award-winning, author-led children’s and YA fiction list. The Senior Marketing Executive will work closely with other fiction marketers and publicists, the Fiction Editorial Team and the UK Trade Sales Team, to plan and execute effective and impactful campaigns with stand-out creative flair, which demonstrate a deep understanding of the books and their readers leading to increased book sales.

In the last five years Usborne fiction titles have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, the Costa Book Award, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the National Book Awards, the Books Are My Bag Readers Award, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Diverse Book Award; in 2021 we have published two New York Times bestsellers, and two Waterstones Books of the Month, as well as two charting-topping YA debuts.

The Senior Marketing Executive will play an integral part in this success story, working with authors including Sophie Anderson, Holly Bourne, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Peter Bunzl, Namina Forna, David Farr, Serena Patel, Helena Duggan and many more.

The Successful Candidate

The successful candidate will ideally have at least three years’ experience in a similar role, independently planning and executing marketing campaigns for a range of fiction books from debuts to bestsellers.

They will demonstrate a high level of creativity and an enthusiasm for coming up with novel strategies, coupled with a detailed and diligent approach to planning and executing multiple complex campaigns.

We’re looking for someone who has in-depth experience of the publishing process, has great market knowledge and an up-to-date understanding of book trade and trends together with excellent audience insight.

This person should thrive on working as part of a dynamic, close-knit team whilst taking ownership of their campaigns, showing initiative, thinking laterally and solving complex problems.

A willingness to adapt and change direction through feedback is key to the role in order to respond to the ever-changing landscape of trade publishing.

As with all marketing roles, strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential, along with impeccable attention to detail and excellent organisational skills.

Location and benefits

We offer a 35-hour working week from our Farringdon office in London, where after a successful probationary period we offer a hybrid working mode of 3 days in the office and 2 days working from home.

In addition to our transparent salary grading structure, for this role we also offer a range of benefits including:

· 25 days paid holiday entitlement rising with service to 30 days

· Generous Pension Scheme

· Employee Assistance Programme

· 50% Discount on Company Books

· Life assurance

We particularly encourage applications from Black and Ethnic Minority candidates who are currently under-represented within this area.