Purpose of the Role

An exciting and rare opportunity to head up the marketing team at one of the UK’s leading non-fiction publishing divisions. The role is to create and implement integrated marketing strategies and campaigns – with a heavy emphasis on digital assets and delivery – to drive profitable sales and to develop and strengthen key author brands. The role covers both frontlist and backlist titles across physical and digital formats.

The successful candidate will be a senior voice in the division, working alongside the Publisher, Sales Director and Publicity Director to help drive strategy and long-term planning. They will bring their knowledge of the market and prior marketing experience to produce outstanding campaigns that will deliver consumer cut-through, drive sales across all formats and build upon the author’s profile.

HarperNonFiction is a cutting-edge and consistently profitable division that publishes commercial non-fiction across four main areas: Entertainment; Narrative (including the Mudlark imprint); Lifestyle (including the established Thorsons imprint and select cookery titles); and Gift and IP. Authors include brand names such as Debbie Harry, James Smith, Oloni, Amy Schumer, Jay Shetty, Adam Buxton, Siya Kolisi, Marcus Wareing, Cathy Glass, Paulo Coelho. HarperCollins UK in turn is part of a global business within HarperCollins Worldwide and News Corp.

We are looking for someone who:

• Quite simply has the ambition to lead one of the best marketing teams in the business

• Has an active interest in the latest marketing trends and campaigns from across the book industry as well as the wider entertainment and media sector

•   Enjoys reading widely with an active interest in the publishing industry and a particular interest in trade non-fiction

•   Is a team-player, looking to share their learnings with the wider division, in order to foster a culture of shared learning

Skills

• Excellent people skills and ability to work collaboratively

•   Creativity essential – being ahead of the curve; being the marketing director cited by agents at editorial lunches!

• Commercially astute

•   Excellent negotiation and relationship skills

• Excellent organisation skills – coordinating the team’s delivery of what the books need, in a timely fashion

•   Excellent marketing skills

•   Excellent communication skills – the ability to communicate clearly and with confidence, both verbally and in writing

Responsibilities

• Overseeing and developing marketing strategy for the HarperNonFiction publishing programme, including our biggest brands on the list, whilst delivering the strategy for debut or one-off voices that we are looking to break out into the market

• Alongside the Publisher and Sales Director, input into the strategic direction of the division

• Leading the HarperNonFiction marketing team of four people

• Overseeing and delivering strategic and creative campaigns for key releases and authors across the division

• Overseeing and developing innovative, creative and targeted marketing activity including all planning, briefing and delivery – from pre-awareness through to launch and beyond

•   Striving for innovation across all channels to produce market leading campaigns that will create cut-through and deliver on sales targets

• Ensuring that delivery of all creative, media, and digital plans are on brief and in budget

•   Overall responsibility for the marketing budget, and reporting on spend through the year

• Ensuring all marketing campaigns are implemented to optimum efficiency with demonstrable metrics

• Measuring and evaluating campaigns, share learnings and optimising for future activity

• Prioritisation: a systematic approach to overarching divisional priorities. Which titles do we need to focus on to ensure we deliver the fiscal? Which are nice to haves? How do we say ‘no’ to extraneous requests? How do we prioritise digital and Amazon across all its formats (physical, audio, ebook)?

• Working alongside the consumer insight team to understand readerships and inform target audiences

• Working with brand and media partners to leverage reader interest and expand our consumer reach

• Supporting a culture of collaboration and integration, working closely with Publicity, Sales and Editorial to ensure that all stakeholder needs are met

• Overseeing and developing strong agency, media and blogger relationships to help maximise all communications opportunities and activity

 Experience

• Good experience working in a busy marketing department, experience at a trade publisher preferable

• Comfortable across all channels of the marketing mix

• Ability and excellent track record in generating great creative work with proven ROI

• Ability to amplify creative thinking across various media disciplines

• Brand management experience desirable

 Benefits

•  Hybrid working model (2+ days in the office) 

• 26 days holiday plus bank holidays (option to buy and sell holiday days) 

• Enhanced pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave 

• Private healthcare cover and life assurance 

• Free access to HeadSpace, employee assistance programme (24 hour helpline), mental health first aiders, and a wellbeing portal 

• Season ticket loans (from day 1 for entry level) and cycle to work scheme 

• Employee networks: HC All In (open forum), Elevate (for ethnic minority colleagues), HarperParents, Menopause at Work and Pride at HC 

• Unlimited training on our Learning and Development portal, management courses (up to MA level) and mentoring programmes 

• Virtual GP and eyecare vouchers 

• Gym membership discount 

• Onsite physiotherapy (London only) 

• Charitable donation matching and volunteering day 

• We're a certified Carbon Neutral company 

• Free e-books and audiobooks, newspaper subscriptions and discounts on books 

• Subsidised canteen and retail discounts 

• Onsite prayer room 

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to our Talent Acquisition Manager at stephanie.jemmett@harpercollins.co.uk with subject heading ‘Vacancy Query’ plus the job title and we will aim to get back to you within 5 working days.