Head of Publicity/Publicity Director
- Application Deadline: April 14, 2023
- Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, London
General Summary
The Black & White Publishing Group - Bonnier Books UK's latest publishing division - is looking for an experienced and dynamic publicist to join its rapidly growing team. This is a unique opportunity to join an exciting new team at the very early stage of launching imprints and building the lists. Ideal for someone who is keen to enact meaningful change, this role offers close collaboration with the divisional MD and core team, working with autonomy in a dynamic and nimble environment.
The Black & White Publishing Group comprises lifestyle non-fiction, as well as commercial and literary fiction from our London and Edinburgh offices. It includes Dublin-based Irish imprint Eriu; music imprint Nine Eight; business and smart-thinking imprint Heligo Books; and narrative non-fiction imprint Ithaka Press.
In this role, you will be responsible for shaping the publicity strategy across the Black & White Publishing Group. You will oversee the planning and execution of far-reaching publicity campaigns, with one senior publicity manager reporting into you, and will be directly responsible for delivering campaigns for select titles. You will manage the publicity budget across the division, be accountable for and report on campaign performance. You will work closely with the rest of the team to inform our acquisition and publishing decisions, set priorities and deliver on our business goals.
The ideal candidate will thrive on being part of a small, busy, and collaborative team, and being involved at every step - from acquisition to campaign delivery. They will have experience working across a range of titles including literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, business, music and more. The position is ideal for a keen self-starter, with a solid track record of delivering successful campaigns, and capable of working with a great deal of autonomy.
Key responsibilities
- Lead the PR strategy for the Black and White Publishing Group, at a divisional, imprint and title level
- Create and deliver highly effective publicity campaigns, to drive sales and revenue for all the books published under the Black & White publishing group - fiction and non-fiction
- Measure campaigns performance against set KPIs and provides consistent analysis
- Manage one direct report and freelance resources
- Work closely with the publishing team to inform our acquisition and publishing decisions, set priorities and deliver on our goals
- Support a culture of collaboration and transparency, as well as deliver best-in-class author care, working closely with the sales and editorial teams
- Act as primary contact internally for their authors and allocated campaigns, and manage author-facing discussions for select authors only
- Establish a solid network of bookseller and industry-side contacts
- Plan and manage events for authors, launches and showcases as required
Work with great people
Skills & Requirements
Qualifications and Experience
- Strong track record of delivering successful adult fiction and non-fiction publicity campaigns, ideally on similar titles, to meet or exceed targets
- Exceptional media management, and ability to deliver high-profile press placements across print, digital and broadcast on a regular basis
- Proven ability to deliver best-in-class author care, and excellent reputational management for both authors and the business
- Experience managing budgets and reporting on KPIs
- Impeccable communication skills, with an ability to work effectively and collaboratively with internal and external team-members, manage expectations and apprehensions
- Skilled in author development and building trusting long-term relationships
- Proven ability to deliver long-term strategies to build and grow consumer awareness, and to adapt publicity strategies to reach key audiences
- Ability to operate with a high level of autonomy and prioritise effectively, meet deadlines, targets, and maintain a high level of execution
- Pro-active in raising potential issues, working with management to identify solutions and opportunities to do better
- Reactive, flexible, and able to deliver on ad-hoc short-term projects as required
- Desirable: some crisis and reputational PR experience
Great Place to Work
Competitive Salary
Working with a team of passionate, talented people
Internal learning and development programmes
Career Development opportunities
Fun social events
About the company
At Bonnier Books UK, we believe that every book matters. We love to publish stories and content that open our eyes to new perspectives and bring us closer together. We offer a nurturing home for our authors, illustrators and brand partners, publishing bestselling books for readers and listeners everywhere. We know that fantastic stories can come from anywhere and our purpose is to bring them to as wide an audience as possible, a simple ethos that has led to us becoming one of the country’s leading publishers.
The offspring of Bonnier Books, a family-owned top-15 world publisher headquartered in Sweden, we are inspired by a rich literary heritage but not bound by convention. We think in generations rather than quarters, and strive always to operate in an open, curious way that contributes to the future of the planet and its people. As a climate-neutral publisher we are an active participant in the Science Based Target initiative, committed to a strategy to limit global warming to 1.5 °C.
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