Job Description Questionnaire 1

Transcription

1 Job Description Questionnaire 1 JOB TITLE: Commissioning Editor REPORTS TO (TITLE): Senior Publisher JOB HOLDER: DEPARTMENT: Trade DIVISION: Educational DATE: 1 PURPOSE OF YOUR JOB To research markets and devise and commission resources to fit identified market needs, and to oversee the smooth development of the resources. 2 DIMENSIONS List: 1 Current year income and expenditure budgets relevant to your job List turnover: 3m List freelance and adviser budget: 80k 2 Staff numbers of those whose reporting lines come up to or through your job Commissioning and management of freelancer editors and up to one or two in- house staff. 3 Other relevant statistics about the scope of your job The number of titles to be commissioned each year varies, and may span from content for ages 3 through to 13, and whilst concentrated mainly on English and maths, may also include reasoning and logic titles.

2 3 ORGANIZATION Head of Publishing Operations & Trade [Admin team] Head of Children's Trade Books Home Learning Senior Publisher (Reading) Home Learning Senior Publisher (Assessment & Activity Books) [Children's team] Development Editor Commissioning Editor

3 4 PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES Strategy and market 1 Play an active role in contributing to brand strategy on designated projects, planning and implementing market research into parent/tutor/learner needs. Identify new product opportunities, the competitive environment and curriculum changes, and apply market knowledge to improve market focus of both the range of products within a brand, and the focus of individual products, helping to inform the sales and marketing messages for the brand. Editorial skills and best practice 2 Commission, pilot/trial, and consult internally with sales and marketing on new products within brands; direct authors on structure, shape, level and presentation of scripts and briefs; collate input from authors, partners and advisors, and implement structural editing and rewriting; organise and oversee editorial work in the production process, so that products are accurate, appropriate, and accessible for the target audiences, and are consistent with the project brief. Author relations 3 Identify and nurture new author talent and build author relationships, train to deliver right first time, negotiate effective terms and contract with authors/agents as directed by manager. Project management 4 Create and oversee schedules and manage projects, lead on process improvements, demonstrate exemplary working practices, use systems to their full potential, anticipate risks, plan ahead, allocate resources, and problem solve to ensure that products come out efficiently and on time. List management 5 Undertake market research among customers of backlist products, and discuss product revisions, new publishing, relaunches, and revised selling messages, and continuous promotions with sales and marketing to maximise the sales and life of products and brands. Help to create the core messages and brand information with sales and marketing to position the product competitively and accurately and present product at sales events. People management 6 Recruit, manage, brief, prioritise workloads of, and support the best freelance editors and casual workers, and in consultation with manager, recruit, manage, motivate and train talented editors so that they work efficiently and meet their deadlines. Financial management 7 Advise on first cost, freelance, and advisor s budget, and lead on project costings, maximising financial viability, keeping budgets across designated projects or lists under constant review and problem solve to keep within budget. Communication and teamwork 8 Communicate effectively with staff, other departments, and manager to ensure that all are aware of the drivers for success in projects, that interdepartmental teams have all

4 the information they need about the target audience, the competitive environment, and of the priority and budget of all projects. 5 EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES FOR EACH ACCOUNTABILITY AREA Strategy and market 1) Plan and implement market research campaigns, including school visits and parental surveys, to clarify needs with relation to specific products and brand development, and devise publishing proposals which respond to identified needs and preferences. Discuss specific market issues with sales and marketing staff. Read and become familiar with key government guidance relating to specific areas, and periodically scan media for any changes to this. Establish and nurture relationships with key influencers in education, including tutoring and parental organisations, as well as test curricula. Take proposals for material and profitable products to Publishing Meetings and respond to changes and additional research requested at those meetings. Play an active role at sales conferences and events to contribute to wider understanding of strategic direction. Editorial skills and best practice 2) Using findings from market research and other market feedback, independently find and commission authors to develop extensions to existing brands and to launch new brands. Give clear guidance to authors on approach, extent of print resource or format of digital resource, and how to present script and briefs. Take raw scripts for print and digital products and make decisions about how heavily to edit them, what s required to get them to the right level for the target readership and whether they achieve their pedagogical goals. Brief editorial staff, or personally undertake to rewrite and structurally edit where necessary. At all stages (script and proofs) incorporate author and adviser amendments at own discretion. Author relations 3) Find new potential authors and teams of authors and vet them before recruiting through asking for sample material for review. Draw up contracts. Raise specific queries with the author on their scripts, either on the phone or by , and gain their respect and trust. Negotiate changes with authors, explaining clearly why they improve the product. Ensure that authors receive advance copy or copies, and that royalty advances are paid at the stages identified in the contract. Project management 4) Either brief editorial colleagues, or personally undertake to convene scheduling meetings with project team and create realistic schedules with the team, emphasising required publication dates, and liaising with sales and marketing colleagues in advance of this meeting. Manage and maintain the schedules, holding regular schedule meetings to ensure all work is carried out on time. Brief the project team on the audience and competitive environment for the product, showing samples of competing titles. If script comes in late or requires extra editorial work, alert manager/senior colleagues and suggest solutions, and delegate work to the project team to ensure that this does not delay the schedule nor compromise the usefulness and attractiveness to the customer. Mediate between authors and advisers where necessary. Advise manager at an early stage about resource implications of publishing plans.

5 List management 5) Ensure that less senior colleagues manage the reprint process effectively and efficiently. Work with sales and marketing colleagues to find out what advance material they need and when (spreads, blads, etc) and create mini-schedules to produce it. Help sales and marketing colleagues to evolve customer value statements. Brief sales colleagues at conferences as requested, and answer product queries. People management 6) Give early notice of projects to freelancers and commission and them to work on scripts and proofs as necessary, briefing thoroughly, negotiating rates, and indicating how long the work should take. Nurture contact with good freelancers, to encourage them to work with us in preference to our competitors. Keep in touch with freelance editors and developers, and give them notice of when to expect jobs, and how long they are anticipated to take. Take responsibility for monitoring the quality of freelancer s work when it comes in, and feeding back to them. Train and coach less experienced colleagues at request of Publisher, giving feedback on their work, and recommending any relevant courses. Financial management 7) Create the freelance and adviser budgets for own list by anticipating spend on all projects on list as part of the budgeting process. Ensure that the artwork/photo/digital object budget is realistic and is known by those involved in editing, commissioning and researching. Alert manager to potential risk of overspend, and also of any likely underspend. Monitor the amount of time freelancers are spending on jobs, and feed back to them if this seems unreasonable. Through early cast offs ensure that titles do not over-run if at all possible. Communication and teamwork 8) Maintain good levels of formal and informal communication with wider project team, and contribute proactively to project team meetings. Liaise frequently with sales and marketing teams to keep market needs under review and respond to any changes with new emphases in products and revised marketing messages. Ensure that all opinions are listened to with respect, and that there is a positive atmosphere and no culture of blame at meetings and in other communication. Raise issues of concern to manager. 6 JOB CONTEXT a) OXED is the school and children s book publishing division of OUP UK. The Home Learning team is part of the Children s Trade team, one of three editorial groups within the Educational Division (OXED) the others being Primary and Secondary Education. Unlike many other publishers, OUP is a registered educational charity, and therefore has ethical as well as business objectives. Its mission is to publish high quality materials that deliver effective teaching and learning in line with the curriculum, and to gain market share at the expense of its competitors. The Home Learning list is focused on supporting children s learning in the home. It is focused on preparing children for school, supplementing and further developing school education, and supporting children in preparing for tests and exams, like National Curriculum (SATs) tests or the 11+. It s main brands include Bond 11+ preparation (both printed and online resources), Progress with Oxford English and maths activity books and the Read with Oxford reading brand, which includes Biff, Chip and Kipper reading books and support, Julia Donaldson s Songbirds titles, and Winnie the Witch early readers.

6 b) This role currently has no line reports. The position is supervised by a line manager through weekly meetings and coaching where appropriate. c) The Commissioning Editor s priorities are driven by the business needs to use their creativity in commissioning new products within the constraints of budgets, to maximise profitable turnover, in highly competitive markets. d) The key liaison points for this role are as follows: Senior Publisher (manager): to ensure that the Commissioning Editor s focus is aligned closely to the strategic objectives of the publishing group, and that their skill sets are used to their full potential. The Commissioning Editor in turn keeps the Senior Publisher up-to- date with developments on projects and on strengths and weaknesses of less senior colleagues. Sales and marketing teams: to ensure that the messages that they bring back from the market are listened to and influence publishing, and that they have the right tools and messages to take products to market effectively. Design, digital, and production teams: to ensure that projects move smoothly through the design and production processes and time and budgets are used as efficiently as possible. Parents/tutors and learners: to ensure that our resources are the best at serving and anticipating their needs in the classroom. e) MAJOR CHALLENGE/PROBLEMS FACED To work within time and cost constraints to design resources which are better targeted at parent/tutor and learner needs than those of our competitors, and to find and secure the best author and freelance talent to do this. f) NECESSARY EXPERIENCE Essential: Degree in a relevant subject Editorial experience High levels of literacy Familiarity with computers and main software packages (Word, Excel) Project management experience, ideally in a similar field Desirable: Experience of teaching/tutoring or otherwise working with children in education at primary level. Experience of writing or rewriting materials for students of different levels of literacy or numeracy..

7 9 APPROVALS Job Holder: Date: Manager: Date: Divisional Head: Date: