Editorial Assistant, Preschool, Brands and Classics
This is an exciting opportunity for an efficient and enthusiastic individual to join our friendly publishing team, working on a wide range of books for children.
About Macmillan Children’s Books:
Macmillan Children’s Books (MCB) is a leading UK children’s publisher with over 150 years of experience creating captivating stories. We create books for all ages and in all formats and genres, and we are proud to publish bestselling authors including Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, John Patrick Green, Jill Murphy, Chris Riddell and many more.
Your team:
The Preschool, Brands and Classics list is home to leading authors including Rod Campbell and Camilla Reid, heritage brands such as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and high-quality licensed publishing including Moomin, Sylvanian Families and LEGO. We are a small and friendly team within the wider Colour Publishing division, working closely with the design, production, sales, marketing and rights teams to create market-leading titles for every child.
Your role:
As Editorial Assistant, you will play a crucial role in supporting the editorial process from start to finish. You will be responsible for the smooth running of our administrative processes and supporting the Senior Editorial team with important editorial and administrative tasks to help us ensure our books stay on track and are of the highest quality. You will have the opportunity to assist in the development and production of a wide range of children’s books, including preschool novelty titles, picture books, activity books, gift books, ebooks and audiobooks. Reporting to the Publishing Director, you will be a key support across the development of new titles and have responsibility for our reprints and management of backlist titles. We are looking for someone who is passionate about children’s books and media, is highly efficient, and can multitask and meet deadlines.
Your key responsibilities:
Day-to-day administrative and editorial support to the Publishing Director and Senior Editorial team of the Preschool, Brands and Classics list for MCB
Responsible for the preparation, minuting and follow-up of specified in-house meetings
Using publishing management systems (Biblio, Vista, Tableau, File Director, Bookscan), including setting up new titles
Checking and updating metadata for all titles, providing sales figures and market research as requested
Raising payment paperwork and processing invoices
Helping with the creation of sales materials
Coordination of reprints and reissues, including supplying updated material and files
Drafting back cover copy, providing proofreading support, and checking proofs and layouts when required
Preparing and checking ebook, audiobook and ‘search inside’ files and metadata
Essential experience, abilities and knowledge you’ll need to succeed:
Excellent administration skills with the ability to organise, prioritise and manage workflow
Experience working with systems and tools such as MS Office, Adobe Creative Cloud, Google Workspace and Biblio
Effective written and oral communication skills
Exceptional attention to detail
Numeracy skills
A willingness to learn new skills
Aptitude for team work
Proven interest in children’s books and media as well as current market trends
Desirable skills we’d love you to have:
Some practical experience working in the publishing industry, as a bookseller or in a related field
What you’ll get in return:
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: £27,500
Closing date: 13 July 2025
Some of the benefits we offer:
28 days’ annual leave increasing with years of service + bank holidays
Generous pension scheme
Discounted private medical insurance
Group income protection scheme
Enhanced family pay and leave
Flexible working hours and summer hours (early finish on a Friday during summer months)
2 Volunteer Days per year
75% off all Pan Macmillan books and regular staff book sales (highly reduced rates)
Season ticket loan/advance
Cycle to work scheme
Discounts on shopping and gym memberships; Christmas club savings
Daily free breakfast and monthly company lunch
This is a full-time, permanent role, and will be based in our offices in Farringdon, London, with some flexibility to work from home each week.
All applicants must be able to demonstrate the right to live and work in the UK in order to be considered for this role.
At Pan Macmillan, we are highly committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at every level of our organisation. We welcome applications from all individuals, including any age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. Our efforts to promote DEI are ongoing, and we continually strive to learn and improve our policies and practices. You can read our full Diversity & Inclusion Pledge here: https://www.panmacmillan.com/about/diversity-and-inclusion
We want to ensure that all candidates are supported throughout the recruitment process, if you have any reasonable adjustments or accessibility requirements please contact Kayelle Danyluk (Head of Talent Acquisition) at kayelle.danyluk@macmillan.com
Please note that all personal information which we process in connection with your application will be treated in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice available here: https://panmacmillan.com/recruitment-privacy-notice. Please read our Recruitment Privacy Notice before submitting your application
- Department
- Macmillan Children's Books (MCB)
- Locations
- Farringdon, London
Farringdon, London
Workplace & Culture
We pride ourselves not just in winning awards and publishing the bestselling books in the market, but also on the wellbeing and satisfaction of everyone who works with us. This is a company where all voices are heard and new, creative ideas are welcomed.
We seek to recruit and develop talent from all backgrounds, creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. This has a profound impact on our perspective and ideas, encouraging us to learn from each other and to nurture the best talent leading us to publish books that appeal to the broadest possible readership.
Our mission is to publish the very best authors and illustrators successfully and sustainably because we believe that books enrich people’s lives and help build empathy and understanding.
Our values
To ensure that everyone who works at Pan Macmillan delivers on our mission and shares the same goals, we have developed a set of values that define our working culture and are the foundation of our publishing. These values were derived in consultation with the whole company and they are deliberately illustrated in a circle to underline a lack of hierarchy in importance.
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