Production Assistant – Ebury (5-month FTC)
A great opportunity has arisen for a proactive and detail-orientated individual to join the Ebury Production team on a fixed-term basis as a Production Assistant.
This role will be primarily responsible for managing the Ebury backlist catalogue, which will be working across a diverse range of titles, spanning a range of non-fiction and fiction genres, from cookery to sport biography.
About the team
Ebury is home to unique, bestselling authors with outstanding content and global reach, including Yotam Ottolenghi, Charlie Mackesy, Glennon Doyle, Fearne Cotton, Rick Stein and Mary Berry.
The role
Working closely with both internal colleagues and external suppliers, you will be responsible for delivering reprints and reissues to budget, on schedule and to a consistently high quality. We’re looking for a highly organised and efficient individual to cover all aspects of production - estimating, scheduling, and managing content updates to both print and eBooks.
This would be an ideal first role for someone with a passion for books and the publishing industry, and a strong interest in how our books are put together.
Key responsibilities:
- Cost backlist titles for various markets and formats, negotiating schedules and costs.
- Create accurate print orders and schedules for delivery.
- Oversee shipping, delivery, invoicing, and file archiving post-printing.
- Manage Print on Demand (POD), Standard Reprint (SR), and Automatic Standard Reprint (ASR) lists.
- Handle production of reissues and reformats for backlist and some frontlist titles.
- Suggest specification changes to improve margins.
- Collaborate with Editorial and Design teams to ensure timely reprint updates.
- Maintain accurate information on our system Biblio.
- Provide administrative support to the Production Manager for Ebury.
- Flexibly support other Production Assistants and continuously develop production skills.
What you’ll bring
Essential criteria:
- Strong organisational skills to prioritise tasks, retrieve information quickly, and keep track of work.
- Proactive work management to keep printings on track, with a willingness to ask for help when needed.
- Ability to build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, understanding their roles and needs.
- Clear and accurate communication, keeping all parties informed and up to date.
- Strong IT skills
Preferred criteria:
- Experience of Apple Mac and the Adobe Creative suite is desirable but not essential.
Disability Confident
If you have opted into our disability confident scheme, the above are the essential criteria you must meet to be considered for our interview scheme. Please note, there may be occasions where the volume of applicants means we can’t take all eligible candidates to interview.
Application instructions
Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on 30th September 2026.
- Please ensure you include a cover letter, as it is a crucial part of our assessment process. The cover letter offers an opportunity to show how your experience and interests align with the role requirements. Typically, we expect the cover letter to be no more than one or two pages in length.
- Please note we are looking for someone to join the team as soon as possible, but we are also happy to accommodate a reasonable notice period for the right candidate.
- We anticipate a two-stage interview process which will include a virtual first-stage interview and in-person second stage interview. We are happy to discuss this further with you throughout the recruitment process.
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
£29,000 plus 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 the successful candidate to work from our London-based office three days per week, including Tuesdays and Thursdays, and offer the remaining two days to be worked remotely.
Additional Information
Disclosure requirements pertaining to the collection of your personal data:
Responsible for processing the information provided in your application is the company specified in the job advertisement, with its registered office as indicated. The company processes your data for the purpose of establishing an employment relationship on the basis of Art. 6 (1) b GDPR / Section 26 (1) sentence 1 BDSG.
The retention period for your data is determined by the statutory time limits applicable in the respective country, beginning upon completion of the recruitment process. You can find these here.
You can contact the company’s Data Protection Officer at the above-mentioned postal address.
Further information on data protection and your rights can be found here.
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