Marketing & Publicity Manager, Children’s

Full time, permanent contract

Salary: £34,000 p.a.

Hybrid working potential, based in Central London

Closing date: Monday 29 June

Thames & Hudson, one of the world’s leading publishers of illustrated books, is seeking a confident, creative, energetic and engaged Marketing & Publicity Manager to manage the campaigns and communications for our highly successful Children’s list. We publish exceptional fiction and non-fiction illustrated books for children, by the finest children’s authors and illustrators from across the world. We work with household names as well as exciting new talent, including Yuval Zommer, Alice Melvin, Grace Easton, Marion Deuchars, Alan Ahlberg, Beatrice Alemagna and Jennifer N.R. Smith. Alongside books under the Thames & Hudson brand, we co-publish children’s books with external partners including the Miffy license holders and V&A Publishing.

The role

You will have responsibility for devising, planning and implementing high impact marketing and publicity campaigns for the Thames & Hudson children’s list, driving both individual title success and building the profiles of our repeat and brand authors and estates. There will also be involvement in strategic projects: for example, the National Year of Reading is a focus in 2026.

Organised, confident and enthusiastic, you will demonstrate the ability to think strategically and creatively and be comfortable working on multiple campaigns simultaneously. Strong internal and external stake-holder management and ownership of campaigns is essential to success in this role and will be a measure for success.

Working collaboratively across editorial, design, our international offices and the wider Communications team, the Marketing & Publicity Manager reports to the Head of Publicity & Communications and will play a role in shaping our campaigns and partnerships.

We invite applications from candidates with a minimum of two years’ experience in a Children’s Marketing & Publicity role, with exposure to campaign and stakeholder management.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

General overview – integrated campaign fundamentals:

• Create integrated campaign plans for marketing and publicity outreach on our children’s titles. Execute this activity to a high standard and report on results and return on investment on a regular basis
• Brief and execute trade marketing materials, including point of sale collateral, sell-in / pitch decks and promotional plans
• Research, plan, brief, book, execute and report on advertising across online, social and offline media, in line with agreed budgets
• Brief freelancers and agencies on key titles
• Pitch and secure partnerships, competitions and giveaways
• Plan and deliver publicity for individual titles, organising media outreach and review copy mailings, secure review coverage
• Plan and brief social media activity (in collaboration with the social team)
• Manage the production of content for our bought and owned media channels
• Work with the Marketing Executive responsible for our children’s non-book products, to ensure these campaigns are on-brand and considered holistically alongside the author’s children’s books
• Organise external author events, to include author tours, school visits,
  festival appearances and bookshop events, liaising with the team assistant to ensure travel is booked
• Anticipate potential pinch-points and respond proactively to issues as they arise
• Support / organise key in-house launches, events and signings, with time off in lieu to be agreed in line with our policies
• Develop and manage our relationships with influencers, content creators, bloggers/vloggers and other tastemakers to ensure that our books are represented.
• Manage children’s book prize submissions, in collaboration with the Marketing & Publicity Assistant
• Manage and develop our schools, libraries, charities and children’s organisation outreach, to find new routes to audience for our books
• Take ownership of admin tasks, processing invoices and expenses in a timely manner.

Stakeholder management:

• Manage internal relationships by attending all relevant meetings with the Children’s team, circulating action points in a timely manner
• Attend author/agent meetings and present our forward-planning activities and reports on the outcomes of prior campaigns
• Keep our sales, comms and editorial colleagues informed of all campaign
  activity, circulating promotional plans, post-campaign reports and review coverage on a regular basis
• Provide exceptional author care, keeping authors and agents abreast of all key logistical information around the marketing & publicity activity on their campaigns, from key dates / tour schedule communication to travel information and other details.
• Work closely with our license, museums and galleries and brand partners to ensure they are kept fully abreast of plans for their titles, and maintain a frequent two-way communication channel to deliver success for these relationships
• Develop strong relationships with bookshops, festivals, schools, librarians and literacy organisations
• Contribute to the ongoing visibility of the list by taking part in industry events, panels and presentations where required

Skills, experience and attributes:

• Minimum two years’ children’s marketing & publicity experience, gained within publishing
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, and ability to take ownership for active internal and external relationship management
• Proven strong administrative skills with the ability to multi-task
• Demonstrable strong interest in and
  understanding of the children’s landscape / children’s fiction and non fiction picture books is essential
• Good time-management and prioritisation skills
• Good copy skills, with the ability to adapt for the target audience/s.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office is essential
• Experience in using Adobe Creative Suite and/or Canva is an advantage
• Confidence using Meta Ads Manager and other digital / social advertising platforms
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills
• Proactive and enthusiastic – a team player
• Creative and curious, seeks to improve our approaches where sensible
• Level-headed and calm under pressure
• Creative and interested in digital storytelling
• A passion for children’s illustrated publishing

 Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK.

At Thames & Hudson, we believe that employing a diverse workforce is essential to succeed and selection decisions are based on applicants’ experience and skills. We welcome applications from everyone, irrespective of age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, race, religion or belief.

To apply, please send your CV with a cover letter to Victoria Fishpool at recruitment@thameshudson.co.uk.
Use the cover letter to address how you meet the requirements listed in Skills, experience and attributes above. The deadline for applications is 29 June 2026.

Some of the benefits of working with us:

Apart from working with a highly talented and creative bunch of people, we offer:

• 28 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Profit share scheme
• Interest-free loan for rent deposit or season travel ticket
• Discounts off our lovely T&H books and co-editions
• Generous pension contributions
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Free entry into hundreds of museums and galleries, nationwide