Head of Translations OR Translations Publishing Manager (depending on experience) Full Time on the ground

Overview

Bookouture is the UK’s most successful and innovative digital publisher of commercial fiction, and the publisher of authors such as Freida McFadden, Soraya Lane and Anna Stuart. We are part of Hachette UK and have sold over 95 million books to readers worldwide, with a further 13 billion Kindle pages read of our titles. In late 2021 we began translating and publishing some of our bestselling fiction direct to readers in other languages, initially German, followed by Italian and French; in 2026 we are adding Dutch and Spanish to that list. Over the last four-and-a-half years we have translated and published almost 500 books in languages other than English.

Note: We expect all candidates to complete their application without the use of AI.

What you’ll be doing

We have a rare opportunity to find the most exciting talent to take this key area of our business forward, managing a team of two, balancing the publishing schedule across all translated languages to optimise opportunity and revenue and looking at innovative ways to grow and develop our translated publishing and readership.

You will be an expert publishing all-rounder, commercially driven and data competent, with some key responsibilities:

• You will need to be a native or near-native level German speaker also fluent in French or a native or near-native level French speaker also fluent in German; in any case fluency in English is also a necessity. A facility in other languages, such as Italian and Spanish will be an additional bonus
• Managing a team of permanent and freelance staff (the latter to include translators, copyeditors and proof-readers, plus freelance editorial co-ordinators in other languages)
• Overseeing all aspects of translations publishing across languages
• Overseeing publicity activities on Instagram and other platforms, and blogging communities with clear ideas to expand reader reach in translation markets
• Coordinating the publishing schedule as a managing editor to ensure the highest editorial standards
• Running weekly data analysis meetings to determine future actions on published titles to optimise performance
• Regularly communicating sales, royalties and performance to authors
• Liaising with and regularly presenting feedback to the wider Bookouture team

Who we are looking for

SKILLS & ATTRIBUTES

• A good understanding of the German and/or French digital publishing landscape with specific reference to commercial fiction
• At ease with handling and analysing data and its use to inform publishing decisions
• Confident in market knowledge to pick future titles from existing content pool and work with the Contracts, Rights and Translations Director to plan the ongoing publishing schedule
• Able to juggle multiple tasks, prioritise and handle a large workload with ease, and manage a complex publishing schedule
• Able to transcreate titles, retailer descriptions and marketing material to optimise appeal to readers in other languages
• Able to work closely with designers on covers
• Have experience and understanding of metadata, keywords and sub-categories that will optimise visibility in translation markets
• Excellent at oral and written author communication

Experience required

• Experience in commercial publishing with demonstrable understanding of the digital marketplace
• Some line-management experience
• Proven track record of using data to analyse and improve publishing performance and growth in revenue

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
• 12 Staff-led employee networks that are voluntary, including AgeWise, Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing and religious networks
• Season ticket loans
• And much more!

The role will be based at our London or Sheffield office, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week. There is the possibility of living and working remotely in Germany with access to an office in Berlin.

The Book Trade Charity

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

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