Contracts Assistant (12 month FTC) London, England
Job description
This is an entry-level role reporting to the Senior Manager, Contracts & Business Affairs (HCG). The successful candidate will work closely with their colleagues in the Headline and Hachette Children’s Group contracts teams as well as supporting the Dialogue contracts team with a number of vital functions:
- Process contract and paperwork requests, updating contracts log and ensuring all queries are allocated within the team.
- Arrange signature of contracts via Docusign and process signed contracts in Biblio publishing database
- Manage reversion requests, providing information and guidance to editors, draft reversion letters and update Biblio and other databases
- Provide departmental administrative support in relation to the contracts process as required
- Handle sub rights agreements as required
- Draft and/or check contractual paperwork such as addenda and renewals and other straight forward contracts under supervision and guidance
- Support automation of contracts templates and assist Editorial and Rights with queries regarding contracts they draft
- Respond to permissions requests
- Scanning and indexing of contracts as needed
- Undertake research and take part in departmental projects as requested
The above list is not exclusive or exhaustive and the job holder may be required to undertake such other duties as may reasonably be required.
Who we are looking forWe are looking for someone with:
- Meticulous eye for detail
- Computer literacy – good skills in Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Knowledge of, or aptitude for, relevant applications/systems, e.g. Biblio
- Excellent organisation and administrative skills including time management
- Excellent standard of written and spoken English
- Ability to proof-read accurately
- Ability to communicate well and build positive working relationship with contacts at all levels
- Ability to work collaboratively and proactively as part of a team
- Ability to learn and work quickly
- Interest in the publishing industry
Any experience with contracts and/or systems such as Docusign and Biblio is desirable but not necessary.
What we offerOur staff are our greatest asset and our benefits reflect this. In addition to 28 days annual leave days per year + bank holidays, we have an extensive list of benefits that include: a wide-ranging training library, development programmes including mentoring, Cycle to Work vouchers, Private Medical Insurance, eye care vouchers, up to 70% off book purchases, a charity book shelf, 2 community days per year, many employee networks to join, summer hours (finishing at 1pm on Fridays during the summer months!), season ticket loans, rent deposit loans, generous pension schemes and much more!
The role will be based at our London office, Carmelite House, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.
Our CommitmentHachette employs people on the basis of their abilities. We aim to attract and develop talent from a base as broad as the world of readers we want to reach, with a wide and representative range of age, faith, disability, race, gender, sexuality and socio-economic, regional and cultural backgrounds.
If you are shortlisted and need us to make any adjustments to help you attend for interview, please let us know.
The Book Trade Charity offers financial support to people looking to enter the book trade but who may struggle to afford the costs of attending interviews and undertaking junior roles. For more information visit www.booktradeentrysupport.org
Who we are and what we doAbout Hachette UK
Hachette UK is a creative powerhouse and the UK’s second largest book publishing group. Our mission is to make it easy for everyone to discover new worlds of ideas, learning, entertainment and opportunity.
We’re made up of 11 autonomous publishing divisions and over 60 imprints with a rich and diverse history and an incredible range of authors. We’re also the market leader in e-books and publish a range of bestsellers in audio format, the fastest growing part of our business.
Our award-winning adult publishing divisions are Orion, which won Publisher of the Year at the 2021 British Book Awards; Little, Brown; John Murray Press; Hodder & Stoughton; Headline; Quercus; Octopus and Bookouture. They publish fiction and non-fiction in digital, audio and print format, from the world’s best and most diverse authors, including Brit Bennett, Candice Carty-Williams, Martina Cole, Michael Connelly, John Grisham, Stephen King, Stieg Larsson, Nelson Mandela, Stephenie Meyer, Maggie O’Farrell, Delia Owens, Ian Rankin, J.K. Rowling, Colson Whitehead, and Malala Yousafzai. Hachette Children's Group publishes a wide and vibrant range of books for children across all age ranges, while Hodder Education is a market leader in resources for both primary and secondary schools.
Hachette UK is part of Hachette Livre, the world’s third largest trade and educational publisher. As well as our headquarters in Carmelite House, London, and our state-of-the-art book distribution centre in Didcot, Oxfordshire, we have recently opened five new offices in Manchester, Bristol, Sheffield, Newcastle, and Edinburgh. The UK region also includes offices in Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, the Caribbean, and Ireland.
It’s an exciting time to join our business because the publishing market continues to grow and thrive. The UK remains the largest exporter of physical books in the world and book adaptations for film and TV are the foundation of the UK’s creative industries.
We are looking for an assistant to work particularly with HCG, Headline and Dialogue divisions of HUK on a 12-month contract.
