Designer / Middleweight Designer

John Murray Press is one of the fastest growing divisions of Hachette UK, with imprints that encompass a range of bestselling, pioneering and prize-winning publishing. We are home to bestselling authors and brands such as Billy Connolly, Miriam Margolyes, Mick Herron, Trevor Noah and Akala. We pride ourselves on being entrepreneurial, curious, and excited about discovering and nurturing new voices that can shape and shake our world.

What you'll be doing

Reporting into the Deputy Art Director, you will be an organised and energetic individual, delivering market-leading book cover designs. Working across the full range of our list, with a particular focus on our literary fiction and non-fiction imprints John Murray and Baskerville, this is a fantastic opportunity for a designer who is keen to take the next step in their career.

Who we are looking for

You’ll be a self-starting, organised creative who thrives on working with an engaged, passionate team. You’ll bring a positive, can-do approach and a desire to build strong relationships across all departments, as well as with illustrators and authors. Experience in fiction and non-fiction cover design within the publishing industry is essential.

RESPONSIBLITIES

• Create appropriate and distinctive designs that fit market needs across all imprints, with a particular focus on John Murray (literary fiction & non-fiction) and Baskerville (literary crime thrillers)

• Design approximately 40 covers per year

• Seeing through projects from initial research and visuals stage to sending print ready files to production

• Commissioning freelance designers and illustrators on relevant titles

• Keeping up to date with publishing and design markets and trends, to inform your designs

• Build good working relationships with the editorial team, where conveying ideas and effectively interpreting feedback are key

REQUIREMENTS

• Knowledge & experience in book design is essential

• Strong technical design skills, including proficiency with a Mac and Adobe creative suite

• A portfolio showing a passion for design along with strong commercial awareness and ability

• Understanding of both print and digital production techniques

• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team

• Flexible, highly motivated and organised – can prioritise workloads effectively

• Excellent communication and presentation skills

• Meticulous eye for detail

In your application, please submit your CV, cover letter, and a Portfolio of recent relevant work (which is in the cover letter section).

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

• 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 Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing and religious networks

• Season ticket loans

• And much more!

This role can be based at our London, Manchester, Sheffield or Bristol office, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.