Senior Designer, PRH Children’s

Description

The company is a children's publisher that brings together a wide range of stories, brands and authors. You would join the 6+ team.

The team works with many well-known authors and illustrators. Designers handle a varied mix of books, and the common thread is inventive design, business sense and high standards.

Responsibilities

• Report to the Deputy Art Director and design across the fiction list, from full-colour books for developing readers to YA and New Adult titles in any genre.
• Own each title's design from first concept and visual research through to print-ready files.
• Lead projects from pitch to print, guiding them through every stage.
• Commission and art direct illustrators and designers, and spot and develop new talent.
• Generate original ideas and creative approaches.
• Contribute regularly and continuously to creative meetings.
• Follow design trends in publishing and the wider creative industries, and bring back research that sharpens your work.
• Build lasting creative relationships with well-known illustrators, authors and other outside contacts.
• Work with editorial, sales, production, rights, marketing and publicity to meet creative and commercial goals.
• Weigh creative ambition against commercial priorities.
• Negotiate well, communicate clearly and keep spend under control.
• Plan schedules and workflow so priorities line up.
• Present your ideas with confidence.
• Thrive in a fast-moving, hands-on setting, combining big-picture thinking with technical skill and attention to detail.

Requirements

• These are essential criteria:
• A strong portfolio in children's fiction, including illustrated fiction and YA, with work on commercially successful titles or brands.
• A clear grasp of the commercial publishing market.
• Real interest in children's publishing, including current illustrators, authors, brands and visual trends.
• The ability to generate original creative ideas across different formats.
• Experience taking titles from concept to launch with a commercial mindset.
• Excellent technical design skills, advanced knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite and print production know-how.
• A flexible, agile, solution-focused approach, with the ability to champion ideas and shift quickly and positively as priorities change.
• A proven record of sourcing, commissioning and building relationships with illustrators and freelance designers.
• Strong project management across several projects with different lead times.
• The ability to deliver accurate, high-quality work on time and within budget, balancing creative ambition with the time and investment available.
• The ability to keep administration and file management current and accurate.
• Submit your CV and a cover letter by 11:59pm on 15 November 2026. The cover letter is typically no more than one page.
• Include a PDF in the additional documents section with a curated selection of your cover design work for children and young adults. Applications without it cannot be considered.
• Applications that do not follow these instructions will not be considered.

Conditions

Permanent role.

Salary of around £41,000, depending on how your skills and experience match the role.

Hybrid working: work from the London office at least three days a week.

Your application data is used for recruitment under GDPR Art. 6(1)(b) and BDSG Section 26(1), and kept for the period set by law after recruitment ends.

The company is Disability Confident Committed: candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria and opt in on the form are offered interviews, though high application volumes may mean not every eligible candidate can be interviewed.

To discuss reasonable adjustments, contact the company's careers team. You only need to share what you are comfortable with.

Benefits

• Bonus and benefits in addition to salary.