Designer, Penguin General (12-Month Ftc)

Penguin Random House Uk; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 37,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Job summary

Penguin General is seeking a Designer on a 12-month fixed-term contract to cover an internal secondment. The role involves designing covers for a broad range of books, collaborating with illustrators and photographers, and taking concepts from brief to print.

You’ll work across literary fiction to narrative non-fiction with a strong creative eye and commissioning experience. The position is hybrid, based in London, requiring three days per week in the office (Tue–Thu).

Qualifications

• Proven track record of designing and commissioning outstanding book covers.
• Adept at developing strong relationships with Editorial, Sales and Communications teams.
• Ability to manage multiple projects at once, whilst also collaborating with team members.
• Confidence in communicating with authors and agents.
• Strong commissioning experience in illustration, photography and design.
• In-depth knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite, including InDesign and Photoshop.

Responsibilities

• Design distinctive and commercially effective book covers across genres.
• Develop strong creative concepts in response to briefs.
• Take projects from initial ideas to finished artwork and print.
• Commission and collaborate with illustrators, photographers, designers and other partners.
• Build strong relationships with Editorial, Sales and Communications teams.
• Communicate creative ideas clearly with colleagues, authors and agents.
• Manage multiple projects, deadlines and priorities effectively.
• Keep up to date with developments in design, publishing and visual culture.

Skills

Cover design

Relationship management

Project management

Communication with authors

Art commissioning

Adobe InDesign/Photoshop

Tools

InDesign

Photoshop

Job description

Company Description

Penguin General are looking for a Designer to join the team on a 12-month fixed-term contract, covering an internal secondment. We are looking for a candidate to start in early December this 2026.

About Penguin General

Penguin General is home to Viking, Hamish Hamilton, Fig Tree, Penguin Life and Sandycove. With roots stretching back to the original Penguin Books and Allen Lane’s founding vision, we publish an extraordinary breadth of fiction and non-fiction, driven by curiosity about the world and a passion for great storytelling. We look for books that stand out, connect and endure — carefully chosen books by exceptional authors, published with ambition, imagination and care, for readers of all kinds.

Our authors include Richard Osman, Emily Henry, Arundhati Roy, Marlon James, Han Kang, Robert Macfarlane, Elif Shafak, Ben Macintyre, Dr Rangan Chatterjee, Dolly Alderton, Zadie Smith, Simon Sinek, Elizabeth Strout, Stanley Tucci and Meera Sodha, as well as major international voices including Michelle Obama and Barack Obama.

We value curiosity and are looking for people who notice the world, ask questions, and bring fresh perspectives to what we do. If you’re endlessly curious and love discovering and sharing new ideas, you’ll feel at home here.

The role

This is a brilliant opportunity for a designer who enjoys variety and wants to work across a broad range of books.

We are looking for somebody with a creative eye, who is curious and bursting with fresh ideas that you are eager to bring to life. You'll be someone who puts creativity first and thinks about design broadly - both within and outside of book covers.

The role is open to a designer with an interest in any part of the market – from literary fiction through to narrative non-fiction – creativity and excellence in your field is the only requirement.

Key responsibilities:

• Designing distinctive and commercially effective book covers across a range of genres and styles.
• Developing strong creative concepts in response to individual briefs.
• Taking projects from initial ideas and pitches through to finished artwork and print.
• Commissioning and collaborating with illustrators, photographers, designers and other creative partners.
• Building strong working relationships with colleagues across Editorial, Sales and Communications.
• Communicating creative ideas clearly and confidently with colleagues, authors and agents.
• Managing multiple projects, deadlines and priorities effectively.
• Keeping up to date with developments in design, publishing and wider visual culture, and bringing fresh ideas and inspiration to your work.

What you’ll bring

Essential criteria:

• Proven track record of designing and commissioning outstanding book covers.
• Adept at developing strong relationships with Editorial, Sales and Communications teams.
• Ability to manage multiple projects at once, whilst also collaborating with team members.
• Confidence in communicating with authors and agents.
• Strong commissioning experience in illustration, photography and design.
• In-depth knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite, including InDesign and Photoshop.

Salary

£32,000 - £37,000, dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

Hybrid working

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.

For this role, we expect you to work three days per week from our London office, usually Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

AI

Here at Penguin, we believe in the power of authenticity and human creativity. When you apply for a position, we want to encourage you to showcase your unique voice. Throughout our recruitment process, please share your own thoughts, experiences, and skills. This helps us get a true sense of who you are and what you might bring to our team.

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 Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable with, for us to support your request.

Additional Information

Disclosure requirements pertaining to the collection of your personal data:

Responsible for processing the information provided in your application is the company specified in the job advertisement, with its registered office as indicated. The company processes your data for the purpose of establishing an employment relationship on the basis of Art. 6 (1) b GDPR / Section 26 (1) sentence 1 BDSG.

The retention period for your data is determined by the statutory time limits applicable in the respective country, beginning upon completion of the recruitment process. You can find these .

You can contact the company’s Data Protection Officer at the above-mentioned postal address.

Further information on data protection and your rights can be found .