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Our careers
Our business needs to be powered by talent from a wealth of different backgrounds for our broad range of roles. Discover the next chapter of your career in our current vacancies.
Job description
Job description
- Salary:
£26,000 (+bonus +benefits)
- Location:
Chichester
- Contract Type:
Permanent
- Closing Date:
19 November 2026
Logo to appear on advert:
- Summersdale
Hachette
Editorial Assistant
Who we are and what we do
Octopus publish books for everyone. We love to enlighten, nourish, entertain and most of all inspire readers and listeners everywhere.
Octopus is a division of Hachette, one of the largest publishing groups in the UK, with 10 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. Everyone here is proud to be in the business of opening doors and minds.
This position sits within Summersdale Publishing, part of the Octopus Group. Summersdale is a vibrant, award-winning publisher that provides entertaining, informative and innovative content in the genres of general non-fiction, health and well-being, and gift and humour across books, games, decks and other non-book product. We produce a diverse range of over 130 titles per year, with a backlist of over 800 titles.
What you'll be doing
The role
The focus of the role will be to project manage allocated titles, seeing each one through a full series of stages, as well as general editorial and admin tasks. You will be actively contributing to idea generation, creative direction and IP development.
Project management:
- Managing editorial processes (in-house and freelance) for each title and working to a set deadline
- Regularly updating the project management system and other in-house information databases (a working knowledge of Biblio would be advantageous)
Editorial work:
- Writing briefing documents for new projects
- Reviewing manuscripts
- Copyediting
- Structural editing
- Proof reading
- Blurb and copy writing
- Briefing and liaising with freelancers
- Contributing to the development and creation of new book ideas (including presenting new ideas at the acquisitions meeting)
- Market/competition research
- Photo and picture research
- Content development/layout design briefing
- Cover ideas development and layout/design briefing (including presenting new ideas at the huddle meeting)
- Compilation of in-house books
- Occasional writing of in-house devised projects
General:
- In addition to the duties and responsibilities listed, the jobholder is required to perform other duties assigned by their manager from time to time.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for someone with a good academic record, ideally with previous office experience, who is really looking to make their mark in this rich, and varied role. You will need to be highly organised, inquisitive and flexible to the ever-changing demands of the fast-paced business and will need to display a genuine commitment to a career in publishing.
Candidates will also need to demonstrate that they have:
- A hands-on approach and willingness to get stuck in!
- First class writing skills and an excellent eye for detail
- A strong eye for design and creative flair
- Commercial awareness
- The ability to handle a fast-paced environment
- Self-motivation and initiative
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
- Dental 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
- An active range of staff-led employee networks that are voluntary, including AgeWise, Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing, Women in Tech and religious networks
- Season ticket loans
- And much more!
The role will be based at our Chichester office, 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.
We want everyone to have the opportunity to perform at their best during our recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, you can let us know at the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ section of your application. We’ll make sure you’re supported throughout the process.
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 https://btbs.org/grants
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Location
Chichester
Summersdale Publishers, Midland House, 1 Market Avenue, Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom, PO19 1JU
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Meet our recruiter
Wing Ho
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Benefits
28 days + holiday
Rent deposit loans
Dental Insurance
Private medical insurance
Pension plan &
life assurance
Summer hours
2 community days
Cycle to work scheme
Retailers discounts
Development programmes
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