Managing Editor - Custom & Proprietary

Sourcebooks; Deutschland; Hybrid; EUR 60.000 - 65.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k) Plan

Disability Insurance

Generous PTO

Zusammenfassung

Sourcebooks is seeking a highly collaborative Managing Editor to oversee scheduling and coordination across Custom and Proprietary titles. You will build realistic project plans, surface risks early, and ensure smooth cross-functional delivery from idea to final release.

The role sits at the center of Editorial, Marketing, Sales, Design, and Manufacturing, with a strong emphasis on data-driven planning, process improvement, and clear communication in a fast-paced publishing environment.

Qualifikationen

• 7+ years in editorial production, publishing, or project management.
• Proven track record managing complex schedules across teams.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical abilities with curiosity.
• Experience with PM platforms such as Smartsheet, Filemaker, or Basecamp.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with clear stakeholder focus.
• Adaptable to shifting priorities and timelines; data-informed.
• Collaborative mindset for cross-team partnerships.
• Familiarity with Agile project management methods preferred.

Aufgaben

• Take ownership of schedule creation and entry for Custom/Proprietary projects, building realistic timelines from testing to delivery.
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Design, Editorial, and Manufacturing to define scope, milestones, and production needs.
• Act as primary cross-functional liaison, keeping stakeholders aligned on schedules, priorities, risks, and goals.
• Use Smartsheet to map publishing seasons, track milestones, and monitor schedule adherence in real time.
• Coordinate with Manufacturing to ensure adequate production time and protect on-sale dates.
• Question assumptions about timelines, dependencies, and scope to prevent downstream issues.
• Communicate deadlines, changes, and risks clearly and proactively; convene stakeholders when needed.
• Ensure project specifications and key data are accurate across tracking systems.
• Track metrics across departments, identify bottlenecks, and pursue improvements.
• Continuously evaluate workflows and adopt improvements for scheduling accuracy and efficiency.

Kenntnisse

Editorial project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Scheduling expertise

Smartsheet

Analytical thinking

Communication

Agility

Data-driven decision making

Tools

Smartsheet

FileMaker

Basecamp

Jobbeschreibung

_ Shape the schedules, questions, and cross-functional partnerships that move custom publishing projects from idea to delivery. _

Sourcebooks is seeking a highly collaborative and intellectually curious Managing Editor to oversee scheduling and coordination across Custom and Proprietary titles. This role sits at the center of Editorial, Marketing, Sales, Design, and Manufacturing—building realistic project plans, keeping teams aligned, surfacing risks early, and helping complex projects move forward with clarity and momentum.

The right person will bring more than strong project management. They will ask why a process works the way it does, challenge assumptions before they become constraints, and use data, curiosity, and cross-functional partnership to improve how the work gets done. This is an ideal opportunity for someone who thrives in a fast-paced publishing environment and enjoys turning ambiguity into thoughtful, executable plans.

This position can be hybrid or remote in New York or Naperville, Illinois, or remote based in any of the following states: Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC., and Wisconsin.

This is an exempt, salary position with a salary range of $70,000 - $75,000. We determine starting pay based on a thorough evaluation of job-related factors, including geographic location, market conditions, relevant experience, training, and education. This process ensures a fair and competitive salary that aligns with both the company and the candidate’s qualifications.

What you’ll do

• Take ownership of schedule creation and entry for Custom/Proprietary projects, building realistic timelines from title testing through final delivery.
• Partner with the Custom Sales Publisher, Marketing, Sales, Design, Editorial, and Manufacturing to define project scope, dependencies, milestones, and production needs.
• Act as a primary cross-functional liaison, keeping stakeholders aligned on schedules, priorities, risks, and business goals.
• Use Smartsheet to map publishing seasons, track key manuscript and final-production milestones, and monitor schedule adherence in real time.
• Coordinate closely with Manufacturing to ensure adequate production time for all versions and imprints and protect on-sale dates.
• Bring a questioning mindset to project scoping by challenging assumptions about timelines, dependencies, and scope before they create downstream problems.
• Communicate deadlines, schedule changes, and risks clearly and proactively, and convene the right stakeholders when issues need resolution.
• Ensure project specifications and key data are accurate and consistently maintained across tracking systems.
• Track metrics across Editorial, Design, Production, and Manufacturing, identifying patterns, bottlenecks, and opportunities for stronger execution.
• Continuously evaluate workflows and recommend or implement improvements that increase scheduling accuracy, efficiency, quality control, and cross-departmental coordination.
• Explore publishing best practices, emerging tools, and adjacent workflows to bring fresh thinking into established processes.

What you bring

• 7+ years of experience in editorial production, managing editorial, or project management within publishing.
• Demonstrated success managing complex schedules across multiple teams, projects, or imprints in a deadline-driven environment.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, paired with the intellectual curiosity to question the problem itself—not just solve the most immediate symptom.
• Expertise with project management platforms such as Smartsheet, Filemaker, or Basecamp
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a strong sense of clarity, transparency, and stakeholder awareness.
• Agility and adaptability when priorities shift, timelines change, or project requirements evolve.
• Strong organizational skills and comfort using data to support decision-making and continuous improvement.
• A collaborative working style and the ability to build genuine partnership across teams.
• Comfort with ambiguity and a habit of asking the questions that help teams surface risks, assumptions, and better paths forward.
• Familiarity with Agile project management methodologies is preferred.

Why Sourcebooks?

Sourcebooks is a thriving entrepreneurial publisher driven by our mission to change lives through books. The fifth-largest publisher in the U.S. by print units sold, we bring extraordinary authors to readers in dynamic, data-driven ways, leading to hundreds of national and international bestsellers. Our insight-driven approach has earned us recognition from Fast Company as a Most Innovative Company, a Best Workplace for Innovators, a Most Loved Workplace by Newsweek, a Best Workplace by Inc., and Publishers Weekly’s nod as “the most successful self-made publisher operating in the 21st century.” Story by story, book by book, we have changed more than 300 million lives. Join us as we change 300 million more!

Full-time employees are eligible for our comprehensive benefits program. Our range of benefits includes, but is not limited to, Medical/Prescription Drug Insurance, Dental, Vision, Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Account, 401(k), Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance, Life/AD&D Insurance, and generous paid time off.

Sourcebooks values the array of talents and perspectives that a diverse workforce brings. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status.