Senior Managing Editor - Ebury

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Ebury is looking for a Senior Managing Editor to join its Managing Editorial team. Reporting to the Publishing Director, the individual should be experienced in project-managing books through the production process, highly organised and skilled in all levels of editing, with a self-motivated attitude and willingness to help and advise editors on their books.

The Senior Managing Editor will be responsible for the smooth running of the critical path for a designated list of black-and-white books across Ebury's Hubs, supervising titles through the editing process to turn a manuscript into a finished product.

About Ebury

Ebury is the home of non-fiction. We publish the books that bring readers and authors together around shared passions in life: from cookery to creativity, from sport to spirituality, and from the most compelling personal stories to the biggest new ideas.

At the heart of Ebury are our Hubs - Food, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Self and Smart - and our BBC Books and Ebury Partnerships lists that publish across each. Our Hubs have an expert team of editors, publicists and marketers, working closely with our authors. Investing our boundless energy and collective creativity into every book, we craft the record-breaking, chart-topping, perennial bestsellers that will get you through.

The role

Key responsibilities:

The tasks and requirements of this position are as follows.

• Shaping Ebury's managing editorial processes, devising and implementing new strategies and unblocking issues
• Line-management of the team's Assistant Managing Editor, which will entail the allocation of new titles and management of their workload
• Managing the internal book process for a designated number of titles, which will entail creating schedules; cleaning manuscripts of Track Changes; planning text designs; checking and collating proofs; liaising with authors; and meeting deadlines for print and export
• Maintaining the production schedules of these books, obtaining deadlines from Production and communicating them to commissioners
• Attending biweekly progress meetings with Production and Editorial staff from each Hub
• Liaising with stakeholders in Rights, Legal, Audio and Comms and ensuring they have the material they need at key deadlines
• Hiring editorial freelancers, such as copyeditors, proofreaders, indexers, sensitivity readers and typesetters/designers; communicating expectations; ensuring that edits are carried out to the expected standard and giving feedback where needed
• Copyediting and proofreading text as needed and checking jackets for errors
• Updating Ebury's house style guide and editorial best practices documents as necessary
• Operating as the first point of contact for general editorial matters

What you'll bring

This role will suit someone keen to work on market-leading non-fiction books, who is passionate about editorial project management, highly organised and thrives in a fast-paced environment.

Essential criteria:

• Experience project-managing a high volume of books from acquisition to publication
• Strong personal organisation and time management skills
• Ability to multitask and handle competing priorities
• Ability to work autonomously using initiative
• Expert knowledge of Microsoft Office and Adobe suite

Preferred criteria:

• Copyediting and proofreading job experience/certifications
• Familiarity with Biblio

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we offer interviews to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role, and opt-in on their application form. The essential criteria for this role are listed as part of the 'What you'll bring' section. There may be times when the volume of applications means we cannot take all eligible candidates to interview. We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable with, for us to support your request.

Application instructions

Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 23:59 on 6th of March 2026.

As part of your cover letter please let us know about what recent non-fiction books you wished you'd worked on and why. (300-word limit)

AI

Here at Penguin, we believe in the power of authenticity and human creativity. When you apply for a position, we want to encourage you to showcase your unique voice. Throughout our recruitment process, please share your own thoughts, experiences, and skills. This helps us get a true sense of who you are and what you might bring to our team.

We celebrate creativity and diverse perspectives, so please be yourself! While we recognise AI tools can be helpful, we recommend using them thoughtfully to ensure your responses reflect you.

Salary

Circa £45,000 depending on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

Hybrid working

While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. For this role, we expect that you will work from our Embassy Gardens office 3 days a week.

Company: The Random House Group Limited | Job ID: 286754