The Publishing Operations Manager will provide Publishing Operations services – from acquisition to publication and beyond – that support the existing catalogue, the current publishing and future growth ambitions of the HCCB Children’s Division. This is a vibrant busy and award-winning division, working on some of the biggest names in publishing. This role is an integral part of the ongoing success of the division. This role would suit someone with excellent project management skills who can come in and quickly take ownership of the publication process.

Key tasks and accountabilities:

• Represent the Publishing Operations function at acquisitions meetings, ensuring new titles are added to the publishing programme and publishing date and price change decisions are progressed and implemented.

• Maintain the central bibliographic database.

• Create and distribute regular and bespoke downloads and reports.

• Take minutes at scheduling meetings and ensure that changes are implemented and communicated to key stakeholders.

• Represent Pub Ops at pre-print and print sign-off meetings

• Ensure the distribution of product metadata (including covers) is in sync with the Marcomms strategy.

• Provide the publishing teams with clear and timely reminders for the completion of descriptive metadata.

• Attend the weekly covers meeting, capture and track updates ensuring the team stay on the critical path.

• Provide insight and support to the division regarding the distribution and presentation of our titles on retailer sites.

• Maintain the weekly priorities email - provide content creators with a weekly list of priority projects and dates of forthcoming commercial deadlines.

• Maintain the product progress tracker documents for all print, eBook and audio editions.

• Attend and take minutes for regular progress meetings, tracking key benchmark milestones within the critical path schedule.

• Escalate known challenges to delivering the publishing programme to the Pub Ops Director Editorial team and Production team to deal with challenges.

• Represent Pub Ops at the weekly Reprints meeting and flag any changes required on price changes, amends to specification, updates to covers etc.

• Highlight known anniversaries/reissues etc that may impact reprint decisions.

• Act as a conduit for requests from the 360 team for marketing assets, book proof covers, manuscripts, and spreads.

• Track and report on metadata compliance and critical path compliance

Your first three months

• Building knowledge of the HarperCollins Children’s list and authors

• Building relationships with key stakeholders within the business and who sit as part of the publishing process such as production, editorial, design etc.

• Become adept and knowledgeable of our systems and processes

• Have a good understanding of the priorities of the business and this role

Experience required

• Previous publishing experience

• Knowledge of publishing systems and processes

• Knowledge or experience of operations or exposure to roles with a commercial focus

Skills required

• Project / process management

• Ability to manage / analyse large amounts of data

• Organised

• Calm under pressure

• Problem-solver

• Collaborative, team player, who is comfortable working with a cross-divisional team

  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 

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