Communications Assistant

Who we are and what we do

The Orion Publishing Group, a division of Hachette UK, publishes commercial, award-winning fiction, non-fiction and gift, and is home to bestselling authors and brands such as Ian Rankin, Adam Kay, Michael Connelly, Emily English, Stephanie Garber, Brandon Sanderson, Cathy Bramley, Philippe Sands, Candice Carty-Williams and Sylvester Stallone. We are also home to Laurence King Publishers, the world’s leading publishers on books and gift of the creative arts.

At Orion, we believe every story matters. Open, agile, passionate and innovative, our mission is to bring the best publishing to the greatest variety of people. Ambitious to continually raise the bar, we believe good stories can come from anywhere and encourage and value contributions from our staff.

Our multi award-winning and collaborative Communications team have a proud track record of delivering high-impact, creative, sales-driving campaigns to help bring our books and gifts to the widest possible audience. We are a generalist team, who work across the full breadth of our varied list and titles.

Orion is a division of Hachette, one of the largest publishing groups in the UK, with 10 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. We are proud to be in the business of opening doors and minds.

What you’ll be doing

You will be responsible for providing general assistance to the marketing arm of our Communications team. Your main focus will be proactively contributing to the smooth running of the department, balancing administrative tasks alongside offering campaign support to Directors and the wider team as required. You’ll also manage a select portfolio of your own campaigns, and have the opportunity to learn by shadowing on high-profile brands and launches.

As a key member of our team, your daily tasks will range from raising POs, coding our advertising receipts, handling bookshop and influencer mailings, taking meeting minutes, booking meeting rooms, managing important documents and more. You’ll also be liaising with authors and illustrators, providing timely and friendly communication and sharing campaign plans and assets. Alongside your day‑to‑day tasks, you’ll be supported in beginning to build your own publishing network, collaborating with booksellers, influencers and bloggers.

Our Communications team is at the heart of Orion’s publishing, and as such you’ll also have the chance for your voice to be heard in pre‑acquisitions meetings and showcase your creativity and consumer‑first thinking in contributing to campaign brainstorms for our books and gifts.

Who we are looking for

Our ideal candidate will be exceptionally organised, a strong team player and have meticulous attention to detail. You will relish working on a wide variety of tasks, and possess natural curiosity that will drive your desire to better understand consumer behaviour and support proactive problem solving across admin tasks. You’ll be a confident user of Microsoft Office apps and will be ready to learn publishing platforms such as Biblio and SAP. You will also be inquisitive about emerging trends, and eager to get stuck into all elements of the role with a desire to develop and learn marketing skills. Above all, you will be able to work collaboratively as part of a team, and will feel confident in liaising with multiple colleagues, with high‑profile authors, illustrators, agents, and booksellers, both in person at the office or events, and via email.

A passion for books and the media is essential, but prior experience in the publishing industry is not necessary. Experience of working in an office environment would be welcome.

What we offer

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
• Dental 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 AgeWise, Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing and religious networks
• Season ticket loans
• And much more!

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

Our commitment

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.

The Book Trade Charity offers financial support to people looking to enter the book trade but who may struggle to afford the costs of attending interviews and undertaking junior roles. For more information visit www.booktradeentrysupport.org