Publisher, Fiction, Series Brands & Enid Blyton

Hachette Children's Group is one of the UK's largest children's publishers, our mission is to make it easy for children and young people everywhere to access books and see themselves reflected. We aim to maximise our readers' life chances by inspiring a lifelong love of reading, publishing books for every stage of their journey to adulthood, from Enid Blyton to Alice Oseman's Heartstopper.

Hachette Children's Group (HCG) is seeking an experienced Publisher to head up their Fiction publishing, including the Enid Blyton, Series Brands and core Fiction teams. This role will report to the HCG Managing Director and sit on the HCG Board. HCG’s Fiction lists cover 5+ Young Fiction up to YA, and include many bestselling and award-winning children’s authors, illustrators and brands in the industry, such as David Almond, Dean Atta, Leigh Bardugo, Cressida Cowell, Jim Field, Alice Oseman, Dermot O’Leary, Onjali Q. Rauf, JK Rowling, Francesca Simon, Alex T. Smith and Rainbow Magic and Beast Quest.

Enid Blyton is one of the best-known children’s authors globally and the brand has expanded in recent years to include highly successful TV and film productions. The management of the publishing and the brand will be a key focus of the Publisher’s role, supported by an experienced Blyton team. The Publisher will bring creative energy and innovation to the position, balancing this with an ability to deliver successful strategies for publishing and commercial growth, leading to excellent acquisitions, outstanding publishing and profitable, sustainable sales, across all formats and territories. They will be responsible for managing and motivating a large team of Editors and Designers in delivering this. Effective frontlist and backlist management will be instrumental to this role.

The Publisher will also have a pivotal role on the HCG Board, working collaboratively and productively with their senior colleagues to make a significant contribution to delivering its strategy for the wider Group. This is a unique opportunity for someone with energy and enthusiasm, creative vision and a strategic mindset; for someone with ambition and leadership potential who is looking for the next big step up.

We are looking for a proactive and experienced leader, with an excellent track record in acquiring and publishing bestselling Fiction content for the UK and global markets. Knowledge of the Children’s market will be essential to develop and implement strategy, as will a comprehensive understanding of contracts and proven negotiation skills. The ability to work closely and collaboratively with authors, illustrators, agents, in-house and sister-company colleagues will be key, as will excellent communication and organisational skills. We’re looking for someone with creative energy and passion who can generate ideas, spot talent and drive the teams in the growth of our fiction lists.

Our staff are our greatest asset, and our benefits reflect this:

• 28 annual leave days per year, increases to 29 days after 2 years' service and goes up to 30 days after 5 years' (+ bank holidays)
• Private medical insurance
• Generous pension schemes
• Rent deposit loans
• 2 community days per year
• Summer hours (finishing at 1pm on Fridays during the summer months)
• Retail discounts through Hachette rewards
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Eye care vouchers
• Wide-ranging training library
• Development programmes (including mentoring)
• Up to 70% off book purchases
• A charity bookshelf
• 12 Staff-led employee networks that are voluntary, including Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing and religious networks
• Season ticket loans
• And much more!

The role will be based at our London office, Carmelite House, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.

Hachette employs people on the basis of their abilities. We aim to attract and develop talent from a base as broad as the world of readers we want to reach, with a wide and representative range of age, faith, disability, race, gender, sexuality and socio-economic, regional and cultural backgrounds. If you are shortlisted and need us to make any adjustments to help you attend for interview, please let us know.