Commissioning Editor, Construction & Property

Company Description

Taylor & Francis Group is an Informa Business

Informa is a leading academic publishing, business intelligence, knowledge, and events business, creating unique content and connectivity for customers all over the world. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.

Taylor & Francis Group produces high quality, peer reviewed books and journals. We produce unique, trusted content by expert authors, spreading knowledge and promoting discovery globally. We aim to broaden thinking and advance understanding, providing academics and professionals with a platform to share ideas and realise their individual potential.

Job Description

We currently have an exciting opportunity for a Commissioning Editor at Taylor & Francis, working on a broad range of academic and professional books as part of the Engineering Team working on the growing Construction and Property list.

Reporting to the Publisher for Engineering, you will be an important member of the team in helping us to grow the lists by developing a strong commissioning strategy in line with overall team objectives, including developing an awareness of the academic and professional markets and competitor strengths/weaknesses to take advantage of any gaps and opportunities in the market.

You’ll work closely with the existing authors and editors and also liaise with editorial colleagues across the wider Engineering team as well as working with other internal departments such as production, marketing, rights, and sales to champion our titles and ensure both our manuscript handover and revenue goals are met. The position may also involve conference attendance and campus calling.

What you’ll be doing:

• Meeting annual commissioning and revenue goals, commissioning new books that respond to market needs.
• Meeting annual publishing goals, working with an editorial assistant to ensure that manuscripts are submitted on time and handed over to production on schedule, and that publication dates are met.
• Researching the market, with the goal of commissioning new projects as appropriate.
• Identifying market needs and recruiting authors to write books that meet said needs, evaluating book proposals for quality, content, and market viability.
• Proposing quality projects to publishing committee, including compiling an internal proposal document and preliminary financial costing.
• Negotiating contract terms with authors or their representatives to arrive at favorable agreements.
• Working closely with team editors to develop and maintain strategy for the lists as a part of the overall strategy of the Engineering team.
• Working closely with authors, and editorial, production, marketing, and sales colleagues to ensure that goals are met

Qualifications

What we're looking for:

• Must be a self-starter who can work quickly and independently, while liaising effectively with team members globally.
• Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills, be highly organized, detail-oriented, and have a financial focus and ability to budget and analyze financial data.
• Exceptional word processing, spreadsheet, and database skills.
• Experience in academic publishing, ideally in North America, and familiarity with the academic book publishing process.
• Experience commissioning in academic or professional publishing.
• Ability to coordinate and prioritise numerous tasks under pressure and to work on your own initiative.
• Excellent team-working skills to deal with internal and external contacts at all levels.
• Inventive and proactive in dealing with problems and queries.
• Good publishing business awareness and the ability to learn quickly.

Additional Information

hat we're offering in return:

• Annual base salary of $58,708 + performance incentive bonus
• An excellent work/life balance with a fantastic, flexible working culture
• Paid sick time
• 15 days annual leave per year plus an extra day off for your birthday
• Paid leave for significant life events (e.g. moving, marriage, etc.)
• 3 additional discretionary paid days off during the holiday season at the end of the year
• Up to 4 weeks of paid parental leave
• Medical, vision, and dental benefits
• 4 volunteer days per year
• 401(k) + employer match
• Seasonal social and charitable events

• Work/life balance: At Taylor & Francis we care about our colleagues, promoting work-life balance, wellbeing, and flexible working. You will be joining a thriving business, working alongside an exceptional group of people. We believe that the skills and experience you b