Rights Executive

Pan Macmillan; London Borough of Islington; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 33,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days’ annual leave

Generous pension scheme

Private medical insurance or health VQ

Cycle to work scheme

Daily free breakfast and monthly teaml

Job summary

Pan Macmillan is hiring a Rights Executive in London to drive international sales of sub-rights and support the Rights Director. You will coordinate with Editorial, Production and Royalties while building strong relationships with overseas partners.

You will lead direct negotiations on English-language sub-rights, manage contract workflows, and help prepare materials for book fairs and market pitches. This is a full-time, hybrid role based in London with some remote work.

Qualifications

• Experience in an international rights department or literary agency.
• Knowledge of sub-rights, licensing agreements, and contract terms.
• Comfort with tracking financial information and sales targets.
• Structured planning to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
• Clear written and spoken communication with international partners.
• Commitment to diversity and inclusive publishing practices.
• Collaborative, proactive team player.

Responsibilities

• Direct sales and negotiation of English-language sub-rights, including North American rights for selected titles, and production rights.
• Provide administrative, sales, and deal support for the Rights Director.
• Negotiate, administer, and process sub-rights contracts from deals to invoicing.
• Handle negotiation, sale, and supply of production materials to international publishers.
• Data entry and upkeep of the publishing database (Biblio), plus generating reports.
• Create rights guides and pitch packs; coordinate meetings for major book fairs and sales trips.
• Develop and maintain relationships with overseas publishing partners.

Skills

Rights background

Licensing & contracts

Numbers & targets

Planning & task management

Communication with intl partners

Diversity & inclusion

Collaboration

Curiosity

Integrity

Tools

Biblio

Job description

Job Title: Rights Executive
Department: Adult Rights
Contract: Permanent, full-time

Are you curious about the international book market? Do you love connecting great stories with new audiences worldwide? We’re looking for a highly organized and sales-oriented individual to join the busy and successful Adult Rights team, with responsibility for direct sales for certain sub-rights, as well as supporting the Rights Director and the wider team in reaching our sales targets. This is an exciting opportunity to join an award-winning publisher at a key point of growth.

Your team:

The Rights Department are responsible for licensing rights across the whole adult publishing division, which includes the imprints of Macmillan, Macmillan Business, Pan, Picador, Bluebird, One Boat, Mantle, Tor and Macmillan Collector’s Library. We work closely with our sister companies in New York, Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne, and Stuttgart, but also with other international publishers, whether big or small, to find the right homes for our authors. We work directly with publishers in the major European and North American markets, and through a network of co-agents, with specialist local knowledge, in other selected territories throughout the rest of the world.

Your role:

In this role, you will play an essential part in driving our international sales. You will lead on deals across designated territories and sub-rights, while collaborating closely with the Rights Director to hit team targets and champion our titles abroad. Alongside direct selling, you will be a key point of contact across Pan Macmillan, coordinating with Editorial, Production, and Royalties, while building trusted relationships with our overseas publishing partners.

Your key responsibilities:

• Direct sales and negotiation: Managing the negotiation and sale of English language sub-rights, including North American rights for selected titles, and production rights.


• Director and time support: Providing administrative, sales, and deal support for the Rights Director.


• Contract management: Negotiating, administering, and processing sub-rights contracts, from deals being agreed to contracts being raised, signed, and invoiced.


• Production materials: Handling the negotiation, sale, and supply of production materials to international publishers.


• Systems & reporting: Data entry and accurate upkeep of our publishing database (Biblio), and generating reports.


• Book fair and trip planning: Helping create engaging rights guides and pitch packs, while managing meeting schedules for major book fairs and sales trips.


• Customer and partner relations: Developing and maintaining collaborative, long‑term relationships with overseas publishing partners.

Essential experience, abilities and knowledge you’ll need to succeed:

• Rights or literary agency background: Demonstrable experience working within an international rights department, literary agency, or related publishing sales environment.


• Understanding of licensing and contracts: A working knowledge of sub‑rights, international licensing agreements, and common contract terms.


• Working with numbers: Comfortable handling figures, tracking financial information or sales targets, and maintaining numerical accuracy.


• Planning and task management: A structured approach to prioritizing day‑to‑day tasks, tracking details across multiple projects, and meeting agreed deadlines.


• Collaborative communication: The ability to communicate information clearly and constructively in writing and when speaking with international partners and colleagues.


• Inclusion and representation: An active dedication to promoting diverse voices and inclusive practices, taking personal responsibility for ensuring our workplace and publishing reflect the communities we serve.


• Community: A collaborative approach to building a supportive, positive, and vibrant working environment.


• Curiosity: A genuine drive for learning, keeping up with international market trends, and embracing new perspectives.


• Integrity: A commitment to openness, accuracy, and accountability in administrative and commercial negotiations.

Desirable skills we’d love you to have:

• Publishing systems: Practical familiarity with Biblio or experience using similar publishing databases.

What you’ll get in return:

In return we can offer you a range of great projects, a supportive and collaborative working environment as well as a competitive salary and benefits package.

Salary: £30,000 to £33,000

Note on salary: The offered salary is dependent on experience and expertise. We benchmark our ranges to ensure fair, competitive compensation that grows with your impact.

Closing date: 11 November 2026

This is a full time, permanent role, and will be based in our offices in Farringdon, London, with some flexibility to work from home each week.

Some of the benefits we offer:

• 28 days’ annual leave increasing with years of service + bank holidays


• Generous pension scheme


• Discounted private medical insurance or health cash plan


• Group income protection scheme


• Enhanced family pay and leave


• Flexible working hours and summer hours (early finish on a Friday during summer months)


• 2 volunteer days per year


• 75% off all Pan Macmillan books and regular staff book sales (highly reduced rates)


• Season ticket loan/advance


• Cycle to work scheme


• Daily free breakfast and monthly company lunch

Adjustment & support:

We want to ensure that all candidates are supported throughout the recruitment process. If you have any reasonable adjustments or accessibility requirements, please contact Kayelle Danyluk (Head of Talent Acquisition) at [e-mail].

Our commitment to diversity & inclusion:

At Pan Macmillan, we are committed to publishing a wide range of voices that reflect the full breadth of the communities we serve. Joining us means playing an active role in bringing our titles to life as part of a team that champions inclusion at every level. We are dedicated to building a workplace that is as diverse and welcoming as the stories we tell, ensuring all perspectives are celebrated across everything we do.

We welcome applications from all individuals, including any age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio‑economic background, religion and/or belief. Our efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are ongoing, and we continually strive to learn and improve. You can read our full Diversity, Equity and Inclusion pledge here.

Disability confident scheme:

As a Disability Confident employer, we actively encourage applications from disabled candidates and people with long‑term health conditions, aiming to offer an interview to everyone who meets the essential criteria for the role and chooses to apply under the scheme. The essential criteria can be found under our ‘Essential experience, abilities, knowledge and values you’ll need to succeed’ section.

Please note, some of our vacancies attract an exceptionally high volume of applications. In these circumstances, to ensure a fair and focused process for everyone, we may need to limit the overall number of interviews. Where this happens, we will look closely at who most closely aligns with the requirements to select the candidates applying under this scheme who best meet the essential criteria, in line with official government guidance.

Please remember that you are never required to disclose a disability to us, and you only need to share what you feel comfortable with.

Privacy notice:

All personal information which we process in connection with your application will be treated in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice here. Please read this notice before submitting your application.