Senior Editor, Fiction Macmillan Children's Books (MCB) · Farringdon, London

Join our award-winning MCB and First Ink publishing team! As a Senior Editor, you’ll have the exciting opportunity to inspire a new generation by publishing outstanding fiction books for young readers from middle grade to YA and crossover.

Your team will be an essential part of a passionate and creative team dedicated to publishing a diverse, engaging and dynamic list for young readers. We have an exceptional list of authors and high-profile brands, which includes YA voices such as Tomi Adeyemi, Elle McNicoll and Hafsah Faizal, middle-grade authors like MG Leonard, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Pari Thomson, and non-fiction from influential figures such as Hamza Yassin, Marcus Rashford and Dara McAnulty.

Your role as a Senior Editor includes:

• Managing the lifecycle of your books from idea to launch.
• Developing fiction intellectual property (IP) and championing your books through to publication.
• Working collaboratively with authors, agents and internal teams to ensure each book reaches its full commercial potential.
• Managing and supporting existing fiction lists to ensure ongoing commercial success across global markets.
• Creating and developing innovative new IP that responds quickly to current trends.
• Identifying and acquiring new books for publication.
• Reading, evaluating and reporting on incoming manuscript submissions.
• Overseeing all assigned books from acquisition through to publication and beyond.
• Editing assigned titles at every stage of production.
• Researching and tracking industry trends to inform future book acquisitions.
• Drafting, negotiating and completing contract terms for new book acquisitions.
• Partnering closely with design, production, sales, rights and communications teams.

Essential experience, abilities and knowledge you’ll need to succeed:

• Significant experience working within the publishing industry, and a genuine passion for children’s and YA literature.
• A commercially minded approach with a proven ability to identify, track and react to market trends.
• Proven experience completing structural edits, developmental edits and line edits to a high standard.
• The ability to plan, track and manage complex publishing projects effectively.
• Effective spoken and written communication skills.
• Established professional relationships with literary agents and a wide network within the broader publishing community.
• An active dedication to promoting diverse voices and inclusive practices.
• A collaborative approach to building a supportive and vibrant environment.
• A strong drive for learning and a readiness to embrace different perspectives.
• A foundation of openness and honesty, taking responsibility for actions and learning from mistakes.

Desirable skills we’d love you to have:

• Experience working with systems and tools such as MS Office, Google Workspace and Biblio.

In return we can offer you a range of great projects, a supportive and collaborative working environment as well as a competitive salary and benefits package.

Salary: £38,000–£42,000 (dependent on experience and expertise)

Some of the benefits we offer:

• 28 days’ annual leave increasing with years of service + bank holidays
• Generous pension scheme
• Discounted private medical insurance or health cash plan
• Group income protection scheme
• Enhanced family pay and leave
• Flexible working hours and summer hours
• 2 volunteer days per year
• 75% off all Pan Macmillan books and regular staff book sales
• Season ticket loan/advance
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounts on shopping and gym memberships; Christmas club savings
• Daily free breakfast and monthly company lunch

Our commitment to diversity & inclusion:

At Pan Macmillan, we are committed to publishing a wide range of voices that reflect the full breadth of the communities we serve. Joining us means playing an active role in bringing our titles to life as part of a team that champions inclusion at every level.

We welcome applications from all individuals, including any age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief.

As a Disability Confident employer, we actively encourage applications from disabled candidates and people with long-term health conditions.

All personal information which we process in connection with your application will be treated in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice.