Current Vacancies
Senior Commissioning Editor: MBS/Lifestyle
- Full time, Permanent
- Combined home and office working pattern. Home working only considered for the right candidate (office based in Exeter, Devon).
- Salary: £35,000
- Closing date: Sunday 12th September
About Us
David and Charles Ltd is an independent publisher with a rich history of publishing across a breadth of categories, most recently with a focus on arts and crafts.
This role will take responsibility for new books in MBS and lifestyle categories that appeal to the same reader as our art and craft books. Books already publishing in this area include titles such as Mood Crystals and The Witch’s Yearbook; while backlist titles such as Keeping Chickens and Cost Effective Self Sufficiency are relevant examples of how we see this list developing.
Our environment is relaxed, and we have little hierarchy. We want to support our people to do their best work and we are a socially responsible business. We offer 25 days of holiday per annum, with additional benefits such as life assurance and income protection policies.
About You
We are seeking an entrepreneurial Commissioning Editor with a creative drive and eye for detail. You should have a passion for the subject matter, encompassing home, lifestyle and new age categories.
You will be comfortable working with a commissioning approach focused on structured data, using online insights from keyword and social media research, combined with sales indicators from comparable titles. While this data provides the platform for each new commission, you will be able to add your creative ideas and a unique focus for each new title.
Responsibilities of the role include:
- Acquiring approximately 15 new titles per year, from acquisition to repro, on time and on budget.
- Researching the market by visiting shows, through media, social media and online sources to identify new trends and publishing opportunities.
- Bring new ideas forward for presentation and review with sales and marketing teams.
- Create P&Ls to assess the feasibility of new titles.
- Contract authors.
- Manage and support Desk Editors to ensure the smooth running of editorial workflow.
- Continually look for efficiencies in time and money while producing high quality books.
- Manage and update business systems for new titles, including creating initial ONIX records written to optimize online sales conversion.
- Present titles at sales meetings to UK and international distributors.
Skills required:
- Experience in a senior editorial or commissioning role within similar categories.
- Project management skills.
- Excellent written English, with strong editorial accuracy.
- Good communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate well with multiple parties.
- Good organisational skills, including time management.
- Good negotiation skills.
- Competent financial knowledge and understanding of the book P&L process.
- Experience of Microsoft Office and Adobe InDesign
- A commitment to excellence, with energy and determination.
We have a combined home and office working policy, typically split as 3 days in the office, 2 days at home. For an exceptional candidate, we will consider home-based working only.
Application with CV and covering letter to Colin Carter, Colin@davidandcharles.com.