Head of Sales, Fiction (12 month FTC) (Hiring Immediately)

An exciting opportunity has arisen to lead sales for our HarperFiction division, working with retailers, the HarperFiction publishing teams and the wider UK sales organisation.

HarperFiction has a wide and varied list, from major global brand publishing from the likes of Phillipa Gregory, Dilly Court and Karin Slaughter, to some of the biggest launches across the market with Clare Mackintosh. That sits alongside the world-class Voyager imprint, The Borough Press and a full Estates list publishing Agatha Christie and Tolkien.

The Head of Sales is a key member of the UK Sales team, responsible for delivering the HarperFiction sales plan, managing key customer relationships and supporting the commercial success of the division.

Working closely with the Fiction Sales Director, the successful candidate will use market insight, customer knowledge and sales analysis to shape account plans, support publishing decisions and deliver agreed sales targets.

The role requires a collaborative and commercially focused manager who can build strong relationships, support the sales team and champion HarperFiction authors, brands and imprints.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver the HarperFiction UK sales budget in line with divisional priorities.
• Monitor sales, market share and print forecasts in key divisional meetings.
• Manage key customer relationships and negotiations across a range of UK trade retailers.
• Secure strong retail positioning and promotional support.
• Develop customer plans across physical and online retail and work collaboratively with group sales to deliver them.
• Identify growth opportunities across frontlist and backlist.
• Manage and support the HarperFiction sales team including direct reports.
• Work closely with Editorial, Marketing, PR, Operations and Finance.
• Ensure accurate forecasting, reporting and account planning with specific responsibility for print forecasts.
• Champion priority titles in internal and customer meetings.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• Strong sales and account-management experience in UK trade publishing.
• Good knowledge of the UK fiction market and key retail channels.
• A track record of delivering sales growth across major accounts.
• Confident negotiation and relationship-management skills.
• Commercial judgement and strong analytical skills.
• Clear written, verbal and presentation skills.
• Experience of managing or supporting a sales team.
• A collaborative approach across publishing functions.
• Good working knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint.
• Organised, proactive and comfortable working under pressure.
• Enthusiasm for commercial fiction and a broad range of readers.

Additional Information

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to [email protected] with subject heading ‘Vacancy Query’ plus the job title and we will aim to get back to you within 5 working days.