Join to apply for the Editorial Director, Ebury role at Penguin Random House UK

Are you already an accomplished Editorial Director, an ambitious Commissioning Editor ready to take the next step or perhaps someone from the entertainment industry keen to make a move into publishing? This is a rare chance to take up a key role at Spotlight, the entertainment hub at Ebury.

About the team

Ebury Spotlight is the entertainment and culture hub at Ebury, publishing books across music, comedy, sport, film and television, digital content creation, gift and humour, and trend-led narrative non-fiction. Recent and forthcoming titles include Greg James’ All the Best for the Future, Ted the Dog, Liverpool FC’s Official 20 Celebration, Paloma Faith’s MILF, Sir Geoff Hurst’s The Last Boy of ‘66, George Harrison’s The Third Eye, Mark Cavendish’s Believe, Jess and Norma and Louise Thompson’s Lucky

The role

We are looking for someone who is an experienced, passionate, go-getting commissioner with a bestselling track record, or alternatively, someone well-established elsewhere in the entertainment industry keen to explore their networks to build a list of their own. We’d love to speak to you if you are immersed in pop culture, entertainment and sport, and a self-starter ready to innovate, generate ideas, make direct approaches, create IP and cultivate a strong network of contacts in the industry.

Key responsibilities:

• Commission and publish a portion of the list directly
• Create and deliver a strategy to develop a list of books through every stage of their life, from acquisition to publication
• Cultivate relationships with authors, agents, talent managers and wider industry contacts
• Have a strong market awareness and use it to determine viability and profitability, in line with commercial objectives
• Lead and contribute as a senior member of the Spotlight team, championing the whole list and contributing to the publication strategy of books beyond their own list

What you’ll bring

• Brimming with ideas and insight on who’s going to be the next bestselling entertainment author and how you’d package and publish their book
• A proven track-record in editing, acquiring, proactively commissioning new ideas and profitably publishing entertainment titles. Alternatively, a proven track-record of working in the entertainment industry with a good sense of ideas and a strong network of contacts to make books happen
• Creativity and a sound commercial judgement
• Confident negotiator who can challenge when required
• Comfortable acting as an internal and external ambassador for Ebury Spotlight
• Great at communicating publication strategy to authors and agents and as you lead on publication of your titles
• Flair for good copy and design
• Well-practised in prioritising, multi-tasking, time management and working to deadline
• Keen team player, who is collaborative, but also comfortable working autonomously and making decisions
• Passion for, and experience in, entertainment publishing, or the entertainment industry
• Proven author care /entertainment talent experience
• Confident partner for Marketing, Publicity, Sales and other internal teams to develop each book’s strategy, positioning, copy and design

Application instructions

Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role. Include a paragraph on an existing, upcoming or wish list entertainment book that you think could be a good fit for the Spotlight list.

Up to circa £50,000 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

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 will spend a minimum of two days in the office and flexibility to be in the office as needed on a third day for occasional focus work as a team.