Head of Sales, HCCB (12 month FTC) in London

HarperCollins Children’s Books is respected worldwide for its tradition of publishing innovative, entertaining and award-winning books that excite and capture the imagination of young readers. The division is recognised for nurturing new talent as well as publishing a highly regarded list of established best-selling authors. Our publishing includes timeless classics like The Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit, as well as perennial family favourites like Judith Kerr’s The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Michael Bond’s Paddington. HCCB is also home to some of the most popular authors in children’s literature today, including Derek Landy, Michael Morpurgo, Oliver Jeffers, Hannah Gold & Mikey Please, and features innovative publishing from some of the hottest licensed brands including Dr Seuss.

Key Responsibilities

• Work collaboratively with the Sales Director to ensure the success of all divisional titles and imprints, delivering on agreed growth targets and corporate objectives.
• Play a key role in developing marketing strategies with relevant teams, ensuring they are geared towards key retail stakeholders.
• Management of the HCCB Sales Executive role - lead, direct, develop and motivate.
• Play a key role in developing divisional strategies with editorial teams, ensuring they are well informed of the ever-changing UK retail landscape and that ongoing publishing reflects these factors.
• Working with the Sales Director on acquisitions and acquisitions strategies alongside senior stakeholders within the division.
• Preparation of annual sales budget and forecast throughout the year in conjunction with HCCB Sales Director.
• Effective & results-based management of key accounts, delivering revenue & profit in line with targets.
• Liaising with colleagues across Group Sales to ensure strong & appropriate representation of HCCB titles across retail channels.
• Share best practice across divisions through relationships with other Sales Teams.
• Build deep and broad relationships with key retail groups to maximise HCCB influence at retail.
• You will be expected to act independently in terms of day-to-day activities within the division. You will manage budgets and targets in conjunction with the Sales Director and commercial/finance teams.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• Significant senior sales & account-management experience within UK trade publishing, with a strong track record of delivering commercial growth across major retail accounts.
• Knowledge of the UK children’s market, including customer dynamics, consumer trends, physical and online retail, and the factors that drive successful frontlist and backlist performance.
• A proven record in handling major customers and negotiating wider business deals, alongside strategic publishing/sales input into acquisitions and marketing plans.
• Excellent relationship-management skills, with the credibility to influence both customers and internal stakeholders.
• Commercial judgement and strategic thinking, balanced with the ability to manage detail, competing priorities and time-critical decisions.
• Highly collaborative, with the ability to work effectively across teams (Editorial, Marketing/PR, Operations, Finance and the wider sales organisation).
• Advanced working knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint.
• Organised, resilient and proactive, with the ability to work under pressure, use initiative and maintain high standards.

Additional Information

HarperCollins operates a hybrid working policy where employees are expected to work from our London office three days per week. Please note, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. Candidates are required to have the right to work in the UK at the stage of application to be considered.

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position, please contact recruitment@harpercollins.co.uk with the subject line 'Vacancy Query' followed by the job title. We aim to respond within 5 working days.