Children\'s Prize Manager

Contract and location: Fixed term for three years, 4 days a week, UK-based hybrid working with minimum number of days per week in the London office to be agreed on contract.

Salary: £44,000-£48,000 depending on experience (FTE of £55,000-£60,000).

Reporting to: Director of Prizes.

Application details: Email covering letter (two pages maximum) and CV to contactus@bookerprizefoundation.org.

Deadline for applications: Midnight on Sunday, 8 February 2026.

About the role:

We are looking to recruit a dynamic and creative Children’s Prize Manager to lead the strategic development and delivery of the new Children’s Booker Prize supported by AKO Foundation, which launches this spring. The successful candidate will be tasked with ensuring the prize celebrates outstanding children’s literature, inspires young people to discover and read great contemporary fiction, and connects with communities globally. This exciting new role, which will be integral to the success of the Children’s Booker Prize, reports into our Director of Prizes, will manage a Schools Engagement Lead, and have additional support from the team Administrative Assistant – both positions that are also currently being recruited. The Children’s Prize Manager will also work closely with the wider Booker Prize Foundation teams on the communications, marketing and digital campaigns.

About the Booker Prize Foundation and the Children’s Booker Prize:

The Booker Prize Foundation is a registered charity, established in 2002, which is responsible for awarding the Booker Prize, the International Booker Prize and now the Children’s Booker Prize. It exists to inspire more people to read the world’s best fiction, driven by a simple belief: that great fiction not only brings joy to millions but has the power to change the way we think about the world. Our aim is to foster a love of reading and to support writers and readers of the future.

The Booker Prizes occupy a unique position in the literary sphere, enjoying an enviable reputation as a cultural institution that is highly respected, much loved and hotly debated throughout the world. Over the past 50 years, almost 700 extraordinary books have been brought to the attention of the public, influencing reading tastes and transforming culture in Britain and beyond, along with the careers of hundreds of authors from around the globe. In adding a year-round, far-reaching digital portfolio, the Booker Prizes are now the globally recognised home of great writing.

This spring, the Booker Prize Foundation is launching the Children’s Booker Prize supported by AKO Foundation. It is the first prize for children’s fiction and the first major new prize from the Booker Prize Foundation in two decades. The Children’s Booker Prize, which will be awarded annually from 2027, will celebrate the best contemporary fiction for children aged eight to 12 years old, written in or translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland. The aim of the prize is to engage and grow a new generation of readers by recognising and championing the best children’s fiction from writers around the world.

The founding partner and principal funder of the Children’s Booker Prize is AKO Foundation, a grant-giving charitable foundation focused on supporting charities that improve education and the wellbeing of young people, promote the arts, and combat the climate emergency. AKO Foundation has generously committed to supporting the prize for its first three years. The development of the prize over the last three years has been made possible with thanks to donations from a small group of philanthropic supporters.

The inaugural £50,000 award for children’s fiction will open for submissions in spring 2026, with the shortlist of eight books chosen by a panel of adult judges, chaired by the UK’s Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, announced in November 2026. The winner, to be announced in February 2027, will be selected by a combined panel of judges, with three child judges joining the adults. At least 30,000 copies of the shortlisted and winning books will be gifted to ensure more children can own and read the world’s best fiction.

Children’s Prize Manager key responsibilities:

• Prize management: Oversee all aspects of the management of the Children’s Booker Prize, including the rules, the submissions from publishers and the judging processes. Liaise with judges, publishers, authors and agents to ensure smooth operations and strong industry engagement. Manage the Schools Engagement Lead, working together to develop and manage child protection and safeguarding policies. Maintain the CRM database.
• Audience development: Design and implement strategies to grow awareness and participation with young people, their families and educators. Work closely with the content team to develop campaigns across digital platforms to promote the prize and its activities. Work closely with the Communications Manager on the PR strategy and delivery.
• Partnerships stakeholder relations: Work with the Director of Development and digital marketing colleagues to build and manage relationships with potential partners to support prize activities, including brands, literacy charities, arts and culture organisations, and media partners. Meet with and create reports for the AKO Foundation and other partners of the prize. Work with retail and library partners to ensure the prize is supported across major and independent retailers, public and school libraries. Represent the prize at industry events, conferences, and public forums.
• Event delivery: Oversee planning and delivery of prize-related events, including an award ceremony, author visits, festival/bookshop events and school engagement activities.
• Book distribution: Co-ordinate delivery of 30,000 shortlist books each year via key partners including the National Literary Trust, the Reading Agency, The Children’s Book Project, BookBanks and Onside.
• Education schools engagement: Manage the Schools Engagement Lead in their work to drive schools’ and children’s awareness of and meaningful participation in the prize.
• Evaluation: Coordinate with the wider team the evaluation of the prize and related initiatives to measure its ongoing impact.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Significant and proven experience in project management and stakeholder engagement.
• Experience of working with and ongoing contacts in children’s brands.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills and confidence in relationship-building.
• Strong attention to detail, the ability to multi-task and work with multiple teams.
• A demonstrable creative and strategic approach to audience development with children, their families and educators.
• The ability to manage budgets and deliver projects on time and within scope.
• Familiarity with PR, marketing, digital and event engagement strategies.
• Understanding of child protection and safeguarding requirements.
• Proficiency in collating and presenting information using Microsoft Office and will become adept at using shared office systems such as Asana, Slack.
• Passion for children’s literature and for promoting reading for pleasure among young audiences.

It would be desirable for the candidate to have:

• Knowledge of the children’s publishing sector, as well as current trends in children’s literature.
• Line management experience.
• Experience managing large-scale events for children.
• Experience working with schools or educational organisations.

How to apply:

Please send a covering letter of no more than two pages outlining your suitability for the role and a CV by midnight on Sunday, 8 February to contactus@bookerprizefoundation.org. In your covering letter, please explain why you are interested in the position and how your experience and skills match what we are looking for. We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries. Candidates will be invited to interview on 18 February, although this is subject to change.