Editorial Director, Pavilion

Location Hybrid London, UK 3+ days office based

Seniority Senior

• Closing:11:59pm, 23rd Oct 2025 BST

Perks and benefits

• Work from home option
• Wellness programs
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Mentoring/coaching
• Cycle to work scheme

Candidate happiness

8.66 (32024)

Job Description Introduction to the role

Pavilion is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, specialising in illustrated non-fiction full-colour publishing across food and drink, craft and lifestyle, gift, and popular culture. We create confidently unique titles and take pride in establishing a strong identity for each book through our integrated editorial and design team.

Our ambition is to publish evergreen titles with strong backlist potential, discover authors, and assist them in building their brands, all while being trend-aware and publishing in a timely manner. This commissioning role requires a clear understanding of the full-colour non-fiction market, the ability to spot trends and identify publishing opportunities for the list, and the chance to work with an ambitious, collaborative team.

Desirable candidates will possess excellent contacts with a wide range of agents, authors, ghostwriters, talent managers, etc., with whom we can develop publishing partnerships, as well as a proven track record of publishing successful, bestselling titles in the aforementioned categories. The role will suit digitally savvy and commercially astute candidates who demonstrate initiative and energy, are excited to think creatively about how we commission and publish our books, and have the ability to develop and implement a profitable publishing strategy across a diverse range of titles. Line management experience and skills are highly desirable.

Key Responsibilities

• Editorial:
  • To commission, edit and publish titles successfully and profitably for the Pavilion list
  • To read and respond promptly to agent submissions
  • Build relationships with agents, with a view to bringing in the best talent to Pavilion
  • Ownership of and main point of contact for your own stable of authors
  • To maintain strong relationships with authors and agents, providing regular updates on publishing strategy, campaign, sell in and sell out for ongoing authors
  • To work closely with the production team, desk editor and pub ops manager to keep titles on critical path
  • Understanding and wider reading of international commercial non fiction market, ensuring strong knowledge and market focused publishing strategies
  • Briefing jackets and liaising with designers, seeing covers through from start to finish
  • Copywriting, creating and checking sales/marketing material, e.g. catalogues, sales presenters, etc.
  • Clear direction of metadata/AIs for individual authors, ensuring this fits with emerging trends in the market, and is completed in line with critical path
  • Writing cover/catalogue copy as required
  • Presenting titles at monthly International, Rights, Sales and Marketing meetings
  • To create deal memos and ensure contracts completed for each acquisition
  • To delegate effectively when required, supporting the growth and development of junior staff
• Publicity & Marketing:
  • Work closely with the in house Publicity & Marketing teams to ensure maximum exposure for authors and titles, according to agreed priority list
  • Work in conjunction with the Publicity & Marketing teams on author events/launches where necessary
  • Attend launches and festivals as required

Skills Required

• Demonstrate entrepreneurial publishing talent and commercial awareness
• List building and strategic skills
• Good team player, willing to carry through projects
• Global thinker - someone able to think 'beyond the book' and help us develop digital, international and audio sales
• Excellent communicator (presentations) and writer (catalogue, cover copy)
• Proven editorial skills including four colour illustrated publishing
• Detail orientated and cost aware
• Hybrid working model (3 days in the office)

28 days holiday plus bank holidays (option to buy and sell holiday days)

Enhanced pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave

Private healthcare cover and life assurance

Summer Hours

Free access to HeadSpace, employee assistance programme (24 hour helpline), mental health first aiders, and a wellbeing portal

Season ticket loans (from day 1 for entry level) and cycle to work scheme

Relocation Rent Support Loan

Employee networks: HC All In (open forum), Elevate (for ethnic minority colleagues), HarperParents, Menopause at Work, Pride at HC, Social Mobility Network and Neurodiversity at Work

Unlimited training on our Learning and Development portal, management courses (up to MA level) and mentoring programmes

Virtual GP and eyecare vouchers

Onsite physiotherapy (London only)

Charitable donation matching and 2 volunteering days

Green Electric/Hybrid Car Benefit Scheme (salary sacrifice)

With Trees for Life we plant a tree in the Highlands of Scotland for every permanent hire

Free e-books and audiobooks, digital newspaper subscriptions and discounts on books

Subsidised canteen and retail discounts

Onsite prayer room

At HarperCollins, we value authenticity and integrity in our recruitment process. To ensure a fair and accurate evaluation of all applications, we ask that all responses to assessment questions reflect your own thoughts, experiences, and capabilities. This allows us to fairly assess your knowledge, skills, and experience to determine how they align with the role. We value diverse perspectives and genuine contributions, even if answers are not perfect. The use of AI tools or external assistance to generate responses is discouraged unless explicitly permitted for specific tasks.

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to with subject heading 'Vacancy Query' plus the job title and we will aim to get back to you within 5 working days.

Please note, if you are interested in the role you would need to submit your application via Applied. We do not accept email applications.