Job Openings

Direct Marketing Manager - UK and Export

Verso Books, the leading radical publisher in the English speaking world with a 50 year history, is seeking a Direct Marketing Manager. This is an exciting opportunity with a growing company which, as well as working with numerous distributors and booksellers, is developing its own significant ecommerce business.

The person will be responsible for the direct marketing of Verso’s publishing throughout the UK, European and Export territories. They will plan, design and commission dynamic digital content across all online channels—website, social media, and direct marketing—and deploy those assets in marketing campaigns across Verso’s list, working with, and managing, the Digital Marketing Executive. They will be responsible for growing website sales and engagement.

Salary range is £50-£52k per annum, depending on experience. The position is based in our London office, with a hybrid model.

Duties include:

Working with our US Direct Marketing Manager to create an annual global marketing and communication strategy.
Develop individual campaigns for select books, book series, backlist titles and digital products in order to meet agreed targets for those books or products, and reach the target audience.
Commission and develop all necessary materials in good time, and oversee the timely and effective execution of all campaigns.
Track marketing outreach, audience engagement, book sales, and all other relevant targets, assessing the success or otherwise of campaigns and using this information to inform the creation of future campaigns.
Develop and maintain an annual UK and Export marketing budget.
Managing the Digital Marketing Executive.

The applicant should have:

At least five years experience of marketing and communications.
Proven ability to drive ecommerce sales, using analytics.
Excellent written and verbal skills.
Strong project-management skills.
Ability to manage multiple projects with many stakeholders.
Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, Canva/Figma, direct marketing platforms, social media platforms, analytics software.
Demonstrable knowledge of online analytics and reporting.
Good understanding of digital touchpoints and tools to increase online engagement.
Familiarity with established and emerging digital tools and online platforms.
Excellent interpersonal skills, insightful and perceptive.
Broad knowledge of best digital practices and social media platforms.
Excellent attention to detail.
An understanding of, and sympathy with, Verso’s intellectual project.

PERKS AND BENEFITS

30 Days Annual Leave; office closure between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day; Summer Hours every Friday from start of June to end of August; sabbatical system.
Life Assurance and Employee Assistance Programme.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

We’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity.

Please apply with a CV and short covering letter, as separate attachments, to opportunities@verso.co.uk with the subject line: APPLICATION - DIRECT MARKETING MANAGER by no later than November 18th.

If you have not received a response from us by December 1st please assume you have not been successful in reaching our shortlist.

Editorial Assistant - Europe

Verso Books, the leading radical publisher in the English speaking world with a 50 year history, is seeking a highly organised and motivated Editorial Assistant to support the European Editorial Director in the management of day-to-day editorial operations, grant applications, and funding initiatives. This role will play a key part in tracking open access and translation grants, as well as providing general editorial administrative support. The successful candidate will ensure that grant applications and funding processes are managed efficiently and documented accurately across various projects.

Salary is £27,540. The position is full-time and based in our London office, with a hybrid model.

Duties include:

Editorial support, including coordinating endorsements, ordering and mailing books.
Scheduling and publishing blog articles.
Producing internal newsletters.
Preparing material for meetings.
Database and record keeping
Research, identify, and apply for open access grants, translation grants, and other available funding sources for Verso’s publications, particularly in the areas of politics, philosophy, and history.
Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of all grant applications, approvals, and funds received.
Work closely with the finance, production, and sales teams to manage the financial and logistical aspects of grants and funding.

The applicant should have:

Previous experience in publishing or a related field is preferred, but recent graduates with a passion for publishing and funding management will be considered.
Strong administrative and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and projects at once.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and familiarity with project management software (Airtable, Trello, Monday).
Familiarity with the process of applying for grants and funding is an advantage.
Attention to detail and the ability to work to deadlines.
A keen interest in radical publishing and the mission of Verso Books.
Proficiency in foreign language(s) is a plus.
An understanding of open access and translation publishing.
Experience in managing databases and working with multiple stakeholders.
Ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative team.
A proactive attitude and a strong sense of initiative.
Demonstrated ability to stay highly organised and proactive, effectively managing multiple projects across diverse timelines with precision and efficiency.
Knowledge of a foreign language is an advantage.

PERKS AND BENEFITS

30 Days Annual Leave; office closure between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day; Summer Hours every Friday from start of June to end of August; sabbatical system.
Life Assurance and Employee Assistance Programme.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

We’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity.

Please apply with a CV and short covering letter, as separate attachments, to opportunities@verso.co.uk with the subject line: APPLICATION - EDITORIAL ASSISTANT by no later than November 26th.

If you have not received a response from us by December 8th please assume you have not been successful in reaching our shortlist.

Publicist - Maternity Cover

Salary: £40-42k (pro rata £32,000 - £33,600), 4 days/per week.The position is based in our London office.

Verso operates a hybrid working policy but we will consider remote working.

Verso Books is looking for an experienced Publicist to join the team in our London office, covering a maternity period (starting March 2025 through to March 2026). The successful candidate will be responsible for securing interviews, reviews, features, op-eds, events, broadcast and online coverage for allocated titles, working across a wide range of subject areas (including politics and world history, economics and sociology, ecology and climate change, race, gender and feminism, art and culture).

Duties include:

Responsible for publicity coverage ranging across print, online, broadcast media, and events, as allocated.
Pre-season title strategy planning: putting together publicity planning sheets, developing and executing publicity plans and presenting these campaigns to internal and external stakeholders including editors, authors and agents.
Meeting with key media/events contacts to discuss current and upcoming books, alongside Senior Publicist.
Being a point of contact for Verso authors to deal with publicity queries.
Feedback on new editorial projects including publicity potential and positioning.
Circulating publicity company-wide including weekly updates, and keeping individual departments up-to-date about forthcoming publicity.
Coordinating on marketing campaigns as required.
Adhering to a publicity budget.
Managing publicity databases and contact lists.

The applicant should have:

At least three years experience working on national publicity campaigns.
Proven ability to achieve mainstream publicity for non-fiction titles in print, broadcast, podcast and online.
An exceptional network of publicity contacts in national print, broadcast and online media.
Excellent written and verbal skills.
Excellent attention to detail.
Ability to manage multiple campaigns with many authors and stakeholders.
Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, GSuite.
Ideally, an understanding of, and sympathy with, Verso’s intellectual project.

PERKS AND BENEFITS

30 Days Annual Leave; office closure between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day; Summer Hours every Friday from start of June to end of August.
Life Assurance and Employee Assistance Programme

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

We’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity.

Please apply with a CV and short covering letter, as separate attachments, to opportunities@verso.co.uk with the subject line: APPLICATION - PUBLICIST MATERNITY COVER by no later than November 26th.

Verso reserve the right to close the role early if we exceed the required number of applications.

If you have not received a response from us by December 8th please assume you have not been successful in reaching our shortlist.