Senior Key Account Manager, NonFiction (6-Month Maternity Cover)

HarperCollins Publishers

Employment Type Contract 6 Month maternity cover

Location Hybrid ·London, UK

Seniority Mid-level

Perks and benefits

Work from home option

Wellness programs

Employee Assistance Programme

Enhanced maternity and paternity leave

Mentoring/coaching

Cycle to work scheme

Candidate happiness

8.66 (32797)

Job Description

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our Harper Non-Fiction and HarperNorth divisions, working with retailers, the publishing division, as well as the wider UK sales team.

HarperNonFiction is at the cutting-edge of commercial non-fiction, working with the biggest brand names and unearthing the hottest new talent. We lead the way in entertainment, sport, cookery, MBS and culture – including Peter Kay, Sarah Rossi, Felicity Cloake, Adam Buxton and Rory Carroll as well as internationally bestselling authors such as Cher, Jay Shetty, Paulo Coelho and Robin Sharma. Our books aim to get people talking and inspire new thinking. From bookshop favourites to Christmas blockbusters, our publishing teams are best in class.

HarperNorth was established in 2020, and we pride ourselves on discovering, nurturing and growing Fiction and Non Fiction voices from across the north of the country. Recent successes include double Sunday Times No.1 Bestseller Sophie McCartney, new works from Stuart Maconie and the breakout historical work NORTHERNERS from Brian Groom.

The role requires the ability to form strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, excellent organisation skills and a desire to be involved in the whole publishing process. The successful candidate will be responsible for delivering sales targets, through a high standard of account management, and effective development and implementation of company sales strategies. We are looking for someone who can take the initiative and is truly eager to work on our amazing list of authors.

The person will need to be able to collaborate with colleagues across the business to ensure overall business goals are met and play a key role in ensuring the commercial success of the divisions’ key authors and brands across the key UK accounts, from supermarkets and mass market channels to online and high-street.

Account management for selected key accounts

Manage retail budget, adding value and securing optimum promotional space across varied sales environments

Working with Sales Director to help pull together sales strategy and analysis on divisional titles, effectively integrating these with Group strategy

Liaising with divisional contacts across Marketing PR, Editorial, Publishing Operations, Design and Commercial Finance

Working with the wider Home Trade sales team to ensure our priority titles are represented in relevant meetings

Be a passionate advocate of our books internally and externally

Skills Required

Commercial knowledge or experience of the non-fiction market

Experience of maintaining and developing working relationships, to maximise the opportunities offered to the business

Knowledge of Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Experience of working in a busy environment, managing priorities effectively and delivering projects to a high standard and to deadline

Ability to communicate at all levels, both written and verbally

Organised, detail orientated, and able to work quickly under pressure and use own initiative

Effective team player

Willing to learn and take on new challenges

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

Onsite physiotherapy (London only)

Charitable donation matching and2 volunteering days

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

At HarperCollins, we value authenticity and integrity in our recruitment process. To ensure a fair and accurate evaluation of all applications, we ask that all responses to assessment questions reflect your own thoughts, experiences, and capabilities. This allows us to fairly assess your knowledge, skills, and experience to determine how they align with the role. We value diverse perspectives and genuine contributions, even if answers are not perfect. The use of AI tools or external assistance to generate responses is discouraged unless explicitly permitted for specific tasks.

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

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