Senior Commissioning Editor /Editorial Director, Crime & Thriller, Hodder & Stoughton

Who we are and what we do

Hodder & Stoughton is a major publisher within Hachette UK, one of the UK’s biggest publishing groups. Hodder Crime & Thriller publishes global bestsellers, distinctive new voices and iconic brands. Our authors include John Grisham, Peter Robinson, John Connolly, Sophie Hannah, Erin Kelly and Will Dean.  We publish a broad range of fiction, from action/adventure to psychological suspense, horror to legal thrillers, police procedurals to historical crime. We want our books to engage, entertain and enthral the reader.

What you’ll be doing

We are looking for a Senior Commissioning Editor/ Editorial Director to build on our list of commercial publishing. This is a senior role and you’ll be responsible for contributing to the overall strategic development of the list as well as looking to attract new authors with major sales potential. We’re looking for someone with a passion for Crime & Thriller writing, an avid reader with strong market awareness across the whole genre who can spot an opportunity and lead it to fruition.

Who we are looking for

This is an exciting role for someone whose experience in acquiring and commissioning commercial fiction has given them a keen market awareness, a vision for growth and the skills to publish strategically.

Energy, focus and initiative will be very important to deliver a range of bestsellers in the Crime & Thriller market with the full support of a dynamic and collegiate team. Reporting to the Publisher, you will be immersed in the crime-writing community, as well as social media and market trends, in order to spot and pre-empt smart publishing opportunities, and an enthusiastic champion of your books from conception through to publication and beyond.

The ideal candidate is:

• Passionate about commercial fiction with a proven track record of successful publishing in the Crime & Thriller field
• Supremely creative, commercially savvy, strategic and entrepreneurial
• Has excellent agent and industry contacts, across all territories
• Has sound experience and knowledge of digital publishing and trends
• Experience of IP creation
• Strong negotiation skills
• Keeps a keen eye on backlist opportunities
• Understands the financial drivers of the business to deliver sales targets
• Is collaborative and a team player, and can work closely and constructively with colleagues across the business to deliver success

What we offer

Our staff are our greatest asset and our benefits reflect this. In addition to 25 days annual leave days per year + bank holidays, we have an extensive list of benefits that include: a wide-ranging training library, development programmes including mentoring, Cycle to Work vouchers, Private Medical Insurance, eye care vouchers, up to 70% off book purchases, a charity book shelf, 2 volunteer days per year to use at your charity of choice, many employee networks to join, delicious subsidized canteen food, summer hours (finishing at 1pm on Fridays during the summer months!), season ticket loans, rent deposit loans, generous pension schemes and much more!

This role can be based at our London office, or at any of our new regional offices in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield or Bristol.

The role will begin working from home due to ongoing Covid19 restrictions, but once normality resumes this role will be based at one of our UK offices, 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