Commissioning Manager

Commissioning Manager

This Commissioning Manager role, based in central London, is the opportunity to join the Publications department of a well-known organisation and take responsibility for the development and commercial growth of its book publishing list. You will commission content and oversee a number of publishing projects, while also managing a small team of commissioning editors. You will have input into the publishing strategy and responsibility for meeting agreed revenue, profitability and delivery targets. This is an exciting and varied role – suitable for an experienced commissioning editor – and requires a strong background in product development and line management skills.

Key duties:

• Developing a coherent publishing strategy and taking responsibility for the commissioning and delivery of the publishing plan on time and to budget
• Identifying projects with a view to commissioning and developing high quality content 
• Conducting market research into the commercial feasibility of new products 
• Creating book proposals, including P&L projections, and presenting at relevant meetings
• Identifying and commissioning/contracting authors to ensure quality and timely delivery
• Meet personal commissioning targets based on validated 12-month revenue forecasts 
• Ensure the commissioning team meets its joint targets each financial year
• Line manage 2 commissioning editors; helping them with commissioning plans and providing feedback and coaching
• Maintain accurate information and awareness of competitor activity and report to the team
• Manage the financial performance of the list and contribute to ongoing publishing strategy, reporting on performance of the team and recent activity 
• Manage backlist publications to ensure new editions are commissioned as appropriate within the commissioning team, titles remain in stock or are put out of print on time
• Work closely with the production team to ensure a smooth and efficient publishing process 
• Work with the marketing team to create and execute the marketing strategy to ensure maximum reach and visibility for the publishing list and commercial success
• Develop and maintain a high level of knowledge of current and general issues within the legal profession and apply this to the development of new products and publishing strategies

Essential

• Proven experience working in a professional or academic publishing environment in a commissioning 
• Previous experience in line management with proven ability to lead a team to meet targets
• Strong project management, organisational, and negotiating skills and the ability to plan and prioritise work to ensure all activities are completed within deadlines
• Experience in managing authors and achieving results in terms of timely delivery of manuscripts and coaching authors to deliver high quality content
• Commercial awareness and an ability to identify opportunities, as well as good financial knowledge and ability to manage a P&L
• Ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels
• A self starter who enjoys a challenge and who is passionate about achieving results

Desirable

• Proven experience in developing new publishing lists and expanding product offering 
• Knowledge of current and general issues within the legal profession
• Knowledge of eBook production and digital publishing processes