Head of media (12 month FTC)

Hachette UK; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading publishing company in London is seeking a Head of Media to shape and execute the media strategy. The role includes developing annual media plans, acting as a thought leader, and managing budgets across channels. Ideal candidates will have significant experience in marketing/media and excellent communication skills. This role offers a competitive salary and generous benefits in a hybrid work environment.

Benefits

28 annual leave days, increasing with service

Private medical insurance

Generous pension schemes

Cycle to Work scheme

Up to 70% off book purchases

Qualifications

• Experience working across a variety of different sectors and media channels.
• Ability to set a strategic vision, coupled with operational focus.
• Significant years experience in marketing/media with a strong media focus.

Responsibilities

• Develop media strategy and annual plan based on business objectives.
• Act as the media thought leader in the business.
• Manage the budget across externally managed media channels.

Skills

Experience across different sectors and media channels

Ability to set a strategic vision

Significant years of experience in marketing/media

Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Strong negotiation skills

Strong people skills

Job description

Closing date for applications: 8th December 2025

Salary: £50,000+ dependent on experience (+bonus +benefits)

Location: This role can be based at our London office, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week

Help shape and execute the media strategy of a top UK publisher.

Hachette UK is a creative powerhouse and the UK's second largest book publishing group. Our mission is to make it easy for everyone to discover new worlds of ideas, learning, entertainment and opportunity. We're made up of 10 autonomous publishing divisions and over 60 imprints with a rich and diverse history and an incredible range of authors. We're also the market leader in e-books and publish a range of bestsellers in audio format, the fastest growing part of our business.

Our award-winning adult publishing divisions are Orion, which won Publisher of the Year at the 2021 British Book Awards; Little, Brown; John Murray Press; Hodder & Stoughton; Headline; Octopus, and Bookouture. They publish fiction and non-fiction in digital, audio and print format, from the world's best and most diverse authors, including Brit Bennett, Candice Carty-Williams, Martina Cole, Michael Connelly, John Grisham, Stephen King, Stieg Larsson, Nelson Mandela, Stephenie Meyer, Maggie O'Farrell, Delia Owens, Ian Rankin, J.K. Rowling, Colson Whitehead, and Malala Yousafzai. Hachette Children's Group publishes a wide and vibrant range of books for children across all age ranges, while Hachette Learning is a market leader in resources for both primary and secondary schools.

What you’ll be doing

Hachette has established a group marketing team in the UK based on the successful introduction of a similar model in the US. The group marketing team works in partnership with the marketing teams that are embedded in the divisions, the vision is for the group team to take responsibility for strategy, media buying and activation, data and new channels.

The team has been growing over the past twelve months, and considerable progress has been made across CRM, Meta, data and channel expansion. The focus for 2026 is media planning and activation across other channels (DOOH, audio, CTV, programmatic). Hachette UK has a media agency of record and together we are revisiting our media planning and buying strategy, transitioning to a more centralised approach. To support this transition we are creating a new role in the team for a head of media.

Responsibilities

Strategic

• Media strategy and annual plan based on business objectives
• Deliver target audience insight and share best practice across divisions within the business
• Contribute to the data project with specific focus on measurement of media impact and effectiveness

Leadership

• Act as the media thought leader in the business, bringing the benefits of the new centralised structure to life
• Demonstrate strong partnership with the embedded marketing teams, working to bring them along with this transition whilst setting a clear direction

Commercial

• Budget management across externally managed media channels (DOOH, audio, CTV, programmatic)
• Work with media agency and publishers to negotiate best value for Hachette UK

Who we are looking for

• Experience working across a variety of different sectors and media channels
• Ability to set a strategic vision, couple with operational focus to ensure it is delivered
• Significant years experience in marketing/media (if the former, strong media focus)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Commercial nous and ability to negotiate directly with media owners to ensure good deals and deliver added value
• Strong people skills

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
• Dental insurance
• Generous pension schemes
• Rent deposit loans
• 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
• Eye care vouchers
• 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!

Our commitment

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 www.booktradeentrysupport.org

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 need us to make any adjustments to help you attend for interview, please let us know.

Please state in your application that you found this role through Creative Access.