Editorial Director

Who we are and what we do

Hachette Children's Group of the UK's largest children's publishers, our mission is to make it easy for children and young people everywhere to access books and see themselves reflected. We aim to maximise our readers' life chances by inspiring a lifelong love of reading, publishing books for every stage of their journey to adulthood from Enid Blyton to Alice Oseman's Heartstopper.

Hachette Children's Group is a division of Hachette, one of the largest publishing groups in the UK, with 11 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. Everyone here is proud to be in the business of opening doors and minds.

What you'll be doing

Are you a highly motivated and experienced commissioner of picture books, committed to finding the very best stories and concepts to delight young minds? Do you have a proven track record of managing a team and developing strategy?

Hachette Children's Books is seeking a self-starting Editorial Director to join their Picture Book team. Working with the Preschool and Picture Book Publisher, you will be responsible for delivering the creative and commercial success of an award-winning, bestselling list. Acquiring and commissioning high-quality, engaging picture books, you'll ensure the list reflects a wide range of talent and diverse voices. You will manage and support a team of editors, keeping the list on schedule and on budget, while meeting market needs. You will be someone with a passion for storytelling for the youngest of children and an eye for a standout text or exciting illustration style.

This is a brilliant opportunity for someone with energy and enthusiasm, creative vision and a strategic mindset.

Who we are looking for

We are looking for a proactive and experienced acquirer, commissioner and editor of picture books, with experience in leading and supporting a team. Knowledge of the Children's market will be necessary to develop and implement strategy, and an understanding of contracts with proven negotiation skills is a must. The ability to work closely and collaboratively with authors, illustrators, agents and in-house colleagues will be key, as will excellent communication and organisational skills. We're looking for someone with passion and flair who can generate ideas, spot talent and drive the growth of our picture book list.

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

The role will be based at our London office, Carmelite House, 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.