Who we are and what we do
John Murray Press is one of the fastest growing and most profitable divisions of Hachette UK, with imprints that encompass a range of bestselling, pioneering and prize-winning publishing. From stunning crime and contemporary fiction to lifestyle, memoir, history and thought-provoking non-fiction, we are home to bestselling and prize-winning authors such as David Attenborough, Miriam Margolyes, Mick Herron, Trevor Noah, Daniel Mason and Lisa McInerney Our prestigious imprint portfolio includes John Murray, Baskerville, John Murray One, Basic Books, Dialogue and Renegade. We pride ourselves on being entrepreneurial, curious, and excited about discovering and nurturing new voices that can shape and shake our world.
What you'll be doing
John Murray Press have an exciting opportunity for a creative, motivated and talented Senior Designer / Head of Design to join the team, working closely with the John Murray Art Director and the wider publishing team to deliver outstanding covers for a fantastic range of imprints, with a particular focus on literary fiction and narrative non-fiction.
Reporting into the Creative Director, the candidate will be a champion of industry-leading design and innovation, bringing proven talent to the list. They will have shared responsibility with the Art Director for overseeing the creative output of the John Murray trade imprints, commissioning freelancers, managing the workflow and the design budget, chairing the trade cover meeting, and developing appropriately targeted forward-thinking designs that meet business needs.
Please submit your Cover Letter and Portfolio within the Cover Letter section.
Who we are looking for
You'll be full of creative energy and thrive on working with an engaged, passionate, and close-knit team.
As this is an opportunity to be a key senior member of the team, you'll be adept at building strong working relationships with your peers and other departments, and you will be someone with outstanding leadership skills who strives for excellence. You'll be a highly organised and proactive individual with a meticulous eye for detail, fantastic sense of the market and excellent communication skills. This is a varied senior role and would suit an experienced, talented senior designer looking for the next step in their career. Experience in literary fiction and non-fiction cover design within the publishing industry is desirable.
RESPONSIBLITIES
* Helping oversee the creation of 125+ covers (internal and freelanced) and forward planning for our trade imprints (John Murray, Baskerville, Basic Books, John Murray One, Dialogue Books and Renegade), ensuring commercially forward-thinking designs meet business needs
* To be responsible for appropriate and distinctive product design (jackets, illustrations, format, typography, POS) in the context of market and editorial imperatives. To be personally responsible for designing approx. 50 covers per year.
* Working with senior colleagues to develop imprint and author brand identities.
* Potential to manage at least one internal designer
* To work collaboratively with the Creative Director & Art Director to ensure the design of the list meets its industry-leading prize-winning potential
* Negotiating with and commissioning illustrators, either directly or via agents and delivering clear commercial briefs and art direction for all areas of the market.
* To chair the John Murray Trade Cover Meeting with authority, clarity, and openness.
REQUIREMENTS
* Significant Design experience in publishing or relevant experience in a design environment
* Experienced Mac user, fluent with relevant software, e.g. InDesign, Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator
* Expert knowledge of target market and industry, as well as visual design in general in order to help develop new commercial concepts.
* Experience of and an on-going interest in commercial fiction and non-fiction design
* Creative and visually innovative designer with a meticulous eye for detail
* Excellent communication and presentation skills - being able to present design concepts, approaches and work in progress to various internal and external stakeholders. You will also be confident chairing cover meetings and expertly guiding the conversation.
* Strong financial understanding and budget management skills
* Line management experience
* Adaptable, organised, collaborative and an excellent problem-solver.
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 or Sheffield 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.
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