We’re looking for an enthusiastic and relationship-driven Waterstones Key Account Executive to join our Sales team and help bring Penguin Random House books to life in one of our most important retail partnerships. Working closely with the Waterstones Head of Sales and Bookseller Engagement Manager, you’ll play a key role in driving sales across all Penguin Random House publishing divisions, building strong relationships with booksellers, and championing our titles both in stores and across digital communities.
Role Summary
As Waterstones Key Account Executive, you’ll support the delivery of our sales strategy by working collaboratively with Waterstones to maximise opportunities and strengthen grassroots bookseller engagement. Alongside managing key relationships, you’ll create engaging social media content for our growing online bookseller communities, helping to increase audience reach, foster engagement, and celebrate our books and authors. This is an exciting opportunity for someone with a passion for books, strong commercial awareness, and excellent communication skills who enjoys building relationships, thinking creatively, and making a real impact across both physical and digital channels.
Key responsibilities
Social Media
- Work across all eight publishing divisions to create a strategic plan for bookseller engagement balancing all priorities and needs across the different publishing houses alongside the BEM.
- Interact directly with booksellers on Instagram and Twitter in an engaging, personal manner
- Help create social media assets for the Penguin Huddle
- Regularly offer prizes and exclusive gifts to booksellers
- Liaise with the publishing divisions to organise cover and title reveals
- Develop direct relationships with Waterstones booksellers both online and offline to optimise bookseller grass roots support in stores
- Respond directly to booksellers via email and other social media platforms and collate daily bookseller requests
- Manage weekly Publisher News submissions across the group (adding multi formats such as Netgalley and audio books as an alternative to physical proofs)
- Effectively communicate marketing and publicity campaigns to Waterstones stakeholders in a weekly newsletter
- Help organise sales support materials such as POS for creating and delivering visibility in stores, liaising with our divisional Marketing departments
- Help organise proof mailouts and ad hoc reading copies mail outs for all publishing divisions
Internal
- Build up excellent relationships with all 8 divisional teams, understanding their USP in the market place and how best to capitalise on this (set up buddy- scheme with divisional Marketing)
- Read widely and develop a deep understanding of our publishing across PRH
- Regularly share ‘on the ground’ feedback to sales team and to the wider company
- Attend and contribute to internal meetings as required
- Create a list of ‘Bookseller Champions’ for different areas of the market and share intel with divisions
- Continually review backlist opportunities as well as frontlist
- Develop deep understanding of the overall book industry and TCM market
What you’ll bring
- Bookselling experience and a genuine passion for books and reading.
- Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
- Strong organisational skills and the ability to juggle multiple priorities.
- Confidence using social media to build communities and create engaging content.
Preferred criteria
- Experience planning promotional campaigns.
- A creative approach to engaging audiences, both in person and online.
- A collaborative, proactive approach and the ability to work with a wide range of colleagues.
Disability Confident
As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we offer interviews to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role, and opt‑in on their application form. The essential criteria for this role are listed as part of the ‘What you’ll bring’ section. There may be times when the volume of applications means we cannot take all eligible candidates to interview. We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable with, for us to support your request.
Circa £30,000 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.
While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. Our Waterstones Sales team work flexibly and so hybrid working arrangements will be discussed further at the interview stage.
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