Senior Commissioning Editor

Job description

Who we are and what we do

Part of Hodder & Stoughton, a division of Hachette - Yellow Kite is one of Britain's most renowned publishers of cookery, wellbeing, lifestyle, health and self-help books. We are the publishers of global brand name authors including Deliciously Ella, Esther Perel, and soon to be, Roxie Nafousi (2025), Professor David Nutt, Gelong Thubten, All on the Board, Slimming Eats, Eckhart Tolle, The Food Medic, Gordon Ramsay, and Twochubbycubs - and have launched the publishing careers of bestsellers such as Steven Bartlett and Kirsty Gallagher.

We create 'books that make life better' from leading talent and experts in their field - all who are paving the way for change.

Catalyst is our brand new commercial lifestyle imprint, publishing 'Books that Ignite' and offering authors 'A home for expansion' in the digital age, from major self-help trailblazers to celebrities and big brands - including Nick Grimshaw, Sunday Times Bestseller Johannes Radebe, Man with a Hammer, Africa Brooke, Hussain Manawer, Erica Davies, Murphy's Sketches, Adele Roberts, Thomas Lelu and Amber Lyon.

Hodder & Stoughton, for over 150 years, has been one of Britain's leading publishers of non-fiction and fiction - from original thinkers and market leaders, our unwavering mission has been to publish the most compelling voices in every genre. We continue to find new ground, new audiences and new voices with every title we publish. We are passionate readers and believe in the power of words to change lives.

Based at Hachette UK's riverside headquarters in London, it is home to a creative, committed and convivial team of talented colleagues, working together to publish great books we love With over 150 years of ground-breaking publishing from book lovers,

What you'll be doing

Are you an Editor who can turn a green shoot of an idea into a bestselling book for the digital age? Who is big on the power of creativity to bring dreams to life? Who is grounded by an analytical and commercial edge? Who wants to help curate books that reach as many readers as possible who need them? And work with brilliant authors to expand their mission, brand or profile in a new, dynamic way at pivotal moments in their careers?

We are looking for a talented Senior Commissioning Editor who is evangelical about Non-Fiction lifestyle publishing, you will be working predominantly across our Yellow Kite imprint, with some commissioning for Catalyst, acquiring 8-10 exciting new projects a year and discovering the biggest new names in publishing across a broad spectrum of areas including inspirational memoir from well-known figures, self-help, health and personal development, gift, IP and cookery - from people with vast and engaged social media followings or incredible profiles who are making waves in their respective industries.

Yellow Kite and Catalyst are both at enormously exciting times in their next chapters of growth - and we would love someone with their finger firmly on the pulse, who is passionate about the publishing industry, who wants to have an impact on the world with their commissioning and unearth opportunities before anyone else does... We want to chat to candidates who are hungry to learn, who are supportive, full of energy, collaborative and work brilliantly as part of a team, who can build trusted relationships with authors and agents - and who want to support on the brand development and long-term strategy for the imprints - particularly for Yellow Kite's new chapter.

Reporting to the Yellow Kite and Catalyst Publisher, Lauren Whelan, you will play an instrumental role in the growth, direction and development of our brand's development and future publishing.

Experience we're looking for

• Deeply attuned to emerging trends and talent across social media (Facebook / Instagram / TikTok and beyond) within the lifestyle / cookery / self-help / personal development and health space - in the UK and internationally
• Ability to work in a fast-paced and busy environment
• Great negotiation skills
• Entrepreneurial yet able to take calculated risks
• Outstanding author care and communication skills
• Commercially and strategically minded about all areas of the publishing journey
• Creative, thoughtful and passionate about lifestyle publishing and publishing books that make lives better!
• Excellent organisational and project management skills - successfully seeing a book from acquisition through to publication with clear direction and an infectious energy
• A supportive colleague and a fantastic team player
• A successful track record of commissioning across YK / Catalyst remit

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.

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