Head of Translations/Translations Publishing Manager

Bookouture is the UK’s most successful and innovative digital publisher of commercial fiction, and the publisher of authors such as Freida McFadden, Soraya Lane and Anna Stuart. We are part of Hachette UK and following fourteen years of market-leading growth have sold over 95 million books to readers worldwide with a further 13 billion Kindle pages read of our titles. In late 2021 we began translating and publishing some of our bestselling fiction direct to readers in other languages, initially German, followed by Italian and French; in 2026 we are adding Dutch and Spanish to that list. Over the last four-and-a-half years we have translated and published almost 500 books in languages other than English.

When applying for this role, we expect all candidates to complete their application without the use of AI.

What you’ll be doing

We have a rare opportunity to find the most exciting talent to take this key area of our business forward to the next level, managing a team of two, balancing the publishing schedule across all translated languages to optimise opportunity and revenue and looking at innovative ways to grow and develop our translated publishing and readership.

You will be an expert publishing all‑rounder, commercially driven and data competent, with some key responsibilities :

• You will need to be a native or near‑native level German speaker also fluent in French or a native or near‑native level French speaker also fluent in German; in any case fluency in English is also a necessity. A facility in other languages, such as Italian and Spanish will be an additional bonus
• Managing a team of permanent and freelance staff (the latter to include translators, copyeditors and proof‑readers, plus freelance editorial co‑ordinators in other languages)
• Overseeing all aspects of translations publishing across languages
• Overseeing publicity activities on Instagram and other platforms, and blogging communities with clear ideas to expand reader reach in translation markets
• Coordinating the publishing schedule as a managing editor to ensure the highest editorial standards
• Running weekly data analysis meetings to determine future actions on published titles to optimise performance
• Regularly communicating sales, royalties and performance to authors
• Liaising with and regularly presenting feedback to the wider Bookouture team

Who we are looking for

Skills & Attributes

• A good understanding of the German and/or French digital publishing landscape with specific reference to commercial fiction
• At ease with handling and analysing data and its use to inform publishing decisions
• Confident in market knowledge to pick future titles from existing content pool and work with the Contracts, Rights and Translations Director to plan the ongoing publishing schedule
• Able to juggle multiple tasks, prioritise and handle a large workload with ease, and manage a complex publishing schedule
• Able to transcreate titles, retailer descriptions and marketing material to optimise appeal to readers in other languages
• Able to work closely with designers on covers
• Have experience and understanding of metadata, keywords and sub‑categories that will optimise visibility in translation markets
• Excellent at oral and written author communication

Experience Required

• Experience in commercial publishing with demonstrable understanding of the digital marketplace
• Proven track record of using data to analyse and improve publishing performance and growth in revenue

Application Question

Please share your reasons for applying for this role and your particular interest in Bookouture. Please also tell us about a work of commercial fiction that you've recently seen everywhere, and why you believe this has been a bestseller.

What we offer

Our staff are our greatest asset, and our benefits reflect this:

• 28 annual leave days per year, increases to 29 days after 2 years' service and goes up to 30 days after 5 years' (+ bank holidays)
• Private medical insurance
• 2 community days per year
• Summer hours (finishing at 1pm on Fridays during the summer months)
• Retail discounts through Hachette rewards
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Wide-ranging training library
• Development programmes (including mentoring)
• Up to 70% off book purchases
• A charity bookshelf
• 12 Staff‑led employee networks that are voluntary, including AgeWise, Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing and religious networks
• Season ticket loans
• And much more!

The role will be based at our London or Sheffield office, with a blend of in‑office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week. There is the possibility of living and working remotely in Germany. In the latter case there is access to an office in Berlin.

Our Commitment

Hachette 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 require any reasonable adjustments to support you in the recruitment process, you will have an opportunity to make this request in your application.

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