Client Publishing Director

Company Simon & Schuster, a global leader in general interest publishing, is dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages, and in all printed, digital and audio formats. Its distinguished roster of authors includes many of the world’s most popular and widely recognized writers, and winners of the most prestigious literary honours and awards. It is home to numerous well-known imprints and divisions such as Simon & Schuster, Scribner, Atria Books, Gallery Books, Adams Media, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and Simon & Schuster Audio and international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom, and proudly brings the works of its authors to readers in more than 200 countries and territories.

The Job Profile Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, the Client Publishing Director will lead the Client Publishing team and provide sales and distribution services to several award-winning independent client publishers from the UK, USA, Canada and Australia. Some of our current client publishers include Andrews McMeel, Authors Equity, Elliott & Thompson, Orenda Books, VIZ Media, Rebellion and Games Workshop. The Client Publishing Director will build relationships with clients and help devise and implement individualised sales strategies and growth plans for each client publisher.

The Job Role The successful applicant will own the overall relationship between Simon & Schuster UK and our client publishers, including direct client management responsibility for a number of those clients. You will lead the client publishing team and oversee delivery of those clients’ sales strategies and promotional planning, metadata, print sign-offs and logistics, sales reporting and analysis. They will work closely with the Sales teams, pitching client titles to them and ensuring they have effective sales materials, and will work closely with the Inventory team to manage client stock. They will identify new client opportunities and use internal and external networks in order to pursue, negotiate and sign new client agreements.

The Candidate Profile You will have experience working in client management/relationship management with publishing experience. You will have strong commercial and analytical skills, an awareness of the UK and international publishing markets, and an understanding of the unique needs of different client publishers. You will thrive on building relationships, be comfortable presenting titles to large groups, be confident discussing sales results, whether positive or negative, be flexible and determined to succeed. You will experience of managing teams and balancing multiple internal and external stakeholders as well as able to refine and optimise processes to deliver more efficient outcomes. You will have a meticulous eye for detail and the ability to multi-task, as well as a good understanding of MS Office. Familiarity with reporting systems including Business Objects, Cognos and BookScan will be desirable. The role may involve attending events outside of office hours from time to time.

Simon & Schuster UK is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity and gender expression. At Simon & Schuster UK, the spirit of inclusion feeds into everything that we do, we believe that opportunity, access, resources and rewards should be available to and for the benefit of all.