This is an exciting opportunity to join the busy, fast-paced HarperCollins Children’s sales team, providing support to UK Key Accounts, Group Sales functions and the wider UK trade sales teams.

The role will require an extremely high level of organisation and detail, as well as an ability to rapidly acquire a high level of competency on company systems and confident use of Microsoft Office applications.  Most of all we’re looking for personable, bright individual who can learn quickly and use their own initiative.

The role offers solid experience, including shadowing the account handlers for major UK retailers, as well as the potential for the right candidate to look after some accounts directly.  Working across the HarperCollins Children’s Books list, it’s a real opportunity for gaining an unmatched insight into the commercial UK and International book markets. As well as being heavily customer-facing, the role will work across authors and brands from across the most exciting, bestselling authors and brands in the market, including David Walliams, Oliver Jeffers, Judith Kerr, David Baddiel and Paddington Bear.

Key Responsibilities

• Administrative support to the HarperCollins Children’s Books UK Sales Team

• Distribute advance samples/ proofs to retailers

• Create internal and external PowerPoint presentations and Excel reports  

• Answer internal and customer queries quickly and effectively

• Organise and assist with author signings

• Management and distribution of POS and key sales material – working closely with Marketing, PR, field sales and the key account team to deliver this efficiently and in a timely manner

• Ad-hoc administrative tasks – e.g formatting presentations, creating graphs and charts through Excel

• Liaise with the Field Sales team, Divisional Sales teams, Marketing, PR, Distribution, Editorial and Commercial Finance

• Process customer and event orders in a clear and timely manner, liaising with Glasgow distribution, credit control and customer services to ensure the effective distribution of orders so that invoices are raised and books dispatched in the business’s best interests

• Raise any required marketing PO’s

• Generate order forms

• Internal champion across brands and accounts to key stakeholders

• TCM competition tracker maintenance and weekly TCM reports

• Management of select accounts (dependent on candidate)

Experience Required

• Administrative experience

• Experience of Word, Excel and PowerPoint

• Sales and customer service experience desirable

• Previous experience in a Publishing role at Assistant level, or bookseller experience desirable but not essential

Skills Required

• Organised, efficient and pro-active

• Ability to communicate at all levels, both written and verbally

• Professional, reliable, able to work quickly under pressure and use own initiative

• Effective team player

• Confidence and aptitude to work across databases and systems

• Excellent attention to detail

• Keen interest in books, and Children’s books in particular

• Outstanding communicator

• Collaborative and proactive

• Keen to progress with an interest in sales

Benefits 

• Hybrid working model (3 days in the office)

• 28 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 

• Summer Hours  

• 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 

• Relocation Rent Support Loan  

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

• 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 2 volunteering days 

• We're a certified Carbon Neutral company

• Green Electric/Hybrid Car Benefit Scheme (salary sacrifice)

• With Trees for Life we plant a tree in the Highlands of Scotland for every permanent hire

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

• Subsidised canteen and retail discounts 

• Onsite prayer room 

The Book Trade Charity offers financial support to people looking to enter the book trade but who may struggle to afford the costs of attending interviews and undertaking internships or entry level positions. For more information visit  https://www.btbs.org/

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to recruitment@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.

Please note, if you are interested in the role you would need to submit your application via Applied. We do not accept email applications.