Publishing Director, Harvill (Vintage)

We are seeking an experienced Publishing Director, able to build on the strength of Harvill’s reputation and ambitiously lead the new direction of the imprint with clear strategic vision and market-leading publishing.

About the team: Addictive storytelling from around the world. Harvill books transport readers – to new worlds, new experiences and new ways of thinking. We publish the most exciting voices from around the world with unmissable contemporary novels, electrifying thrillers, spellbinding historical fiction and immersive and world-building storytelling. The list is home to major writers such as Haruki Murakami, Jo Nesbo, Erin Morgenstern, Abir Mukherjee, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Tommy Orange, Yoko Ogawa, Joseph O’Connor, Denise Mina and Elaine Feeney.

The role: The Publishing Director will report to the Managing Director of Vintage and be part of the Vintage Leadership Team. You will be responsible for the creative, cultural and commercial success of Harvill and will be expected to set high standards for your editorial team, always leading inclusively. Harvill is home to many of the world’s greatest writers and the Publishing Director is responsible for the positive experience of all authors on the list.

Key responsibilities:

• Work with the Managing Director and senior team to set clear strategic goals and targets for the imprint’s new future as a fiction only list; a high degree of prioritisation and collaboration is required in partnership across the publishing teams, in particular sales, marketing and publicity.
• Setting the fiction publishing strategy; collaborating with the editorial team on long-term plans, keeping abreast of trends and staying connected to external perspectives to inform acquisitions and creative publishing.
• Publishing market-leading bestsellers: ensuring every aspect of a Harvill book is carefully considered from the clarity of the pitch and positioning to the quality of the package and publishing strategy.
• Ultimate responsibility over all Harvill acquisitions, ensuring robust and inclusive conversations and close attention to publishing performance.
• Maintaining author relationships, taking care to ensure authors are published well, cared for and have positive relationships with their core publishing team.
• Managing every aspect of the imprint’s day-to-day business including a razor-sharp focus on cost management and hitting editorial milestones on the publishing critical path.
• Responsible for the Harvill team from hiring, performance and development to well-being.
• Ensuring Harvill’s network is broad and influential, from agents to booksellers and key influencers, including strong links with international publishing teams and agents where relevant.

What you’ll bring:

• Proven track record of publishing excellence, able to demonstrate critical and commercial success in fiction for a sustained period.
• Intellectually and culturally curious, endlessly driven by the highest creative standards.
• A thoughtful and experienced people manager, proven ability to motivate and mobilise teams to deliver excellence and achieve commercial goals.
• A strategic thinker who can articulate a vision for the imprint as a whole and communicate it in compelling ways, ensuring internal teams, agents and authors are engaged with the list.
• A strong negotiator who can successfully navigate complex deals and auction environments with clarity.
• Ability to manage the complexity of publishing decision-making, listen to different viewpoints, be decisive and able to articulate why certain publishing positions are taken by the imprint.
• Captivating communicator who can articulately bring books to life from the point of acquisition through to publication and onwards.
• Creatively confident and distinctive, experienced in working with designers, marketeers and publicists to create standout covers and imaginative campaigns, perfect for the books and their audiences.
• Commercially astute and competitive, able to use a breadth of data and market knowledge to improve publishing decision-making, and motivated by the financial health of the imprint and how to grow its commercial contribution and industry-leading position.
• Socially conscious, able to take a clear leadership position ensuring Harvill and Vintage make continuous progress towards their inclusion and environmental goals.

Application instructions: Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on 1st May. Competitive with the market and dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

What you can expect from us: Our people are the heart of our business, and we work hard to support a culture of responsibility and recognition. Our benefits include: Financial – income protection, life assurance, childcare allowance; Wellbeing – healthcare cash plan, critical illness cover, health checks; Lifestyle – enhanced parental leave, tech scheme, free and discounted books.

While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. Vintage’s office days are Tuesday and Thursday, and for this role you will be expected to be in a minimum of two days a week and to attend all in-person meetings.