Senior Commissioning Editor, The Bodley Head (Vintage)

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Senior Commissioning Editor, The Bodley Head (Vintage), London

Client:

The Random House Group Limited

Location:

London, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

EU work permit required:

Yes

Job Reference:

eba25fc7d2dc

Job Views:

4

Posted:

14.02.2025

Expiry Date:

31.03.2025

Job Description:

This is an exciting, newly created position at Vintage’s prestigious non-fiction imprint, The Bodley Head. We’re looking for someone to make an immediate impact, bringing in outstanding, bestselling writers who will help shape the future of our growing list – an ambitious and engaged acquirer who will commission books in two strands: smart self-development, and business and finance.

About The Bodley Head

Our highly dedicated imprint currently publishes around 30 books each year across a wide range of subjects, from history, science, big ideas, the natural world and global current affairs, to deeply reported narrative non-fiction and memoir.

We publish high-quality and long-lasting books by authors of exceptional talent and expertise such as Merlin Sheldrake, Ai Weiwei, Kamala Harris, Catherine Elkins, Minouche Shafik, Lady Hale, Timothy Snyder, Ed Yong and Yanis Varoufakis. Recent publications include Alexei Navalny’s Patriot, Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks and Meditations for Mortals, Joya Chatterjee’s Shadows at Noon and Mustafa Suleyman’s The Coming Wave.

The role

The Bodley Head continues to grow as a team and as a list; this appointment will extend the range of our expert-led publishing into smart self-development and business and finance. You’ll be joining an editorial team of five and reporting to the Publishing Director. You will commission, edit and publish a minimum of 8-10 titles per year in these two dynamic areas of the market.

Whatever the subject, we seek out experts who are captivating writers, whose books expand minds and enhance lives. We will publish self-development books that equip readers with the insights and tools to thrive, to act with intention and achieve their life goals, that offer guidance and help us live richer lives. And business and finance books that reveal the world’s inner workings, that entertain with gripping narrative and tell the stories of exceptional individuals, that anatomise success and investigate and challenge.

Key responsibilities:

• Identifying projects, generating ideas, making proactive approaches, evaluating proposals and developing a distinctive, personal commissioning style.
• Having the ambition, vision and energy to take something from concept to typescript; editing books from beginning to end.
• Being alive to trends and reader appetites, understanding what is going to be interesting tomorrow, adapting to changing markets.
• Determining viability and profitability of acquisitions; dealing with negotiations around the book before and after acquisitions. Having a publishing vision for all aspects of a book’s package.
• Managing the complete publishing cycle of your books, championing acquisitions and liaising with key departments across the business, as well as with authors, agents and other external partners to coordinate successful book publication.

What you’ll bring:

You may be in a senior editorial role and eager to work at a high-profile non-fiction imprint. Or an experienced commissioner ready to take the next step. Or you may have a track record of talent-spotting excellence from outside book publishing.

• Proven success in successfully addressing this audience need, in the UK book market, in audio or international markets, or in podcasts or long-form journalism.
• Sharp commercial instincts, demonstrable knowledge of these areas of the market, and an immersion in the target reader’s media landscape.
• A focus on all markets across all formats.
• A natural curiosity and an inquisitive nature, as well as an ability to talent-spot and be on top of reader priorities.
• The ability to work effectively under pressure while keeping to schedule, with strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• An excellent communicator, in person and on the page, and a strong team player.

Preferred criteria:

• A strong agent network and an ability to make international acquisitions.
• Active engagement with Penguin Random House’s diversity and inclusion goals.

Application instructions:

Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on Tuesday 25th February.

Please ensure you include a cover letter, as it is a crucial part of our assessment process. The cover letter offers an opportunity to show how your experience and interests align with the role requirements. Typically, we expect the cover letter to be no more than one or two pages in length.

We anticipate that first stage interviews will take place w/c 17th March. We will keep candidates updated through the recruitment process.

£43,000 – £50,000 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

What you can expect from us:

Our people are the heart of our business, and we work hard to support a culture of responsibility and recognition.

Our benefits include:

• Financial – income protection, life assurance, childcare allowance.
• Wellbeing – healthcare cash plan, critical illness cover, health checks.
• Lifestyle – enhanced parental leave, tech scheme, free and discounted books.

For our full benefits list please visit:

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. At Vintage, we consider what environment enables the best work for individuals, teams and the company. Vintage colleagues work from our Embassy Gardens office on Tuesdays and Thursdays and, once team and divisional considerations have been taken into account, have the flexibility to choose where to work on other days of the week.

About Penguin:

We’re the UK’s largest publisher; made up of some 2,000 people and publishing over 1,500 books each year. Our doors are open to all kinds of talent. In a constantly evolving industry, we work hard to stretch the definition of the word publisher. Here, you’ll work with a breadth of talent who all play their part to make each of our books a success. Together, we make books for everyone because a book can change anyone.

The recruitment process:

You can read about our recruitment process at

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we offer interviews to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role, and opt-in on their application form. The essential criteria for this role are listed as part of the ‘What you’ll bring’ section. There may be times when the volume of applications means we cannot take all eligible candidates to interview.

We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable to for us to support your request.

Please note, we are not able to accept agency CVs for this role. Any CVs sent speculatively will not be eligible for a fee.

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