Contracts and Business Affairs Assistant

About Penguin We’re the UK’s largest publisher; made up of some 2,000 people and publishing over 1,500 books each year. Our doors are open to all kinds of talent. In a constantly evolving industry, we work hard to stretch the definition of the word publisher. Here, you’ll work with a breadth of talent who all play their part to make each of our books a success. Together, we make books for everyone because a book can change anyone.  Contracts and Business Affairs Assistant Are you interested in a career on the business side of the publishing industry? Are you organised with great attention to detail? We’re looking for an Assistant to join our busy and social Contracts & Business Affairs team on a permanent basis. The role Our Contracts & Business Affairs Department is an integral part of the business and is responsible for the preparation and negotiation of all publishing agreements within the business. The team works across all our Penguin Random House books. Diversity is important to us, and we aim to grow, maintain and promote a diverse team. We support team members playing an active part of Employee Networks and aim to create a sense of belonging and inclusion in our team and in the business. As a Contracts & Business Affairs Assistant, you’ll be ensuring the publishing contracts are properly processed and the data is captured, and you will be supporting on some contract drafting. You absolutely don’t need to have worked in Publishing before. We’re looking for someone who is eager to learn and approaches their work positively and proactively. Key responsibilities: Drafting, checking, and negotiating contracts and managing a wide range of contract requests Processing signed contracts, ensuring contracts are returned to author/agent and maintaining contracts and correspondence files Liaising with colleagues across Editorial and Royalties Ensuring databases and records are up to date Being involved with projects (for instance, researching terms agreed with a particular agency) Providing general ad hoc administrative support across the team as requested. What you’ll bring Essential criteria: Highly organised with strong attention to detail Motivated to develop a career within a Contracts & Business Affairs department Excellent word processing skills Confident handling and analysing data Strong knowledge of MS Office (including Word and Excel) Strong communication skills, both written and verbal Able to build effective working relationships with people at all levels A collaborative team player Capable of managing and prioritising a varied workload Able to balance multiple tasks while maintaining accuracy Disability Confident If you have opted into our disability confident scheme, the above are the essential criteria you must meet to be considered for our interview scheme. Please note, there may be occasions where the volume of applicants means we can’t take all eligible candidates to interview. Application instructions Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on 26 th February 2026. Please ensure you include a cover letter, as it is a crucial part of our assessment process. The cover letter offers an opportunity to show how your experience and interests align with the role requirements. Typically, we expect the cover letter to be no more than one or two pages in length. Please note we are looking for someone to join the team as soon as possible, but we are also happy to accommodate a reasonable notice period for the right candidate. We anticipate a two-stage interview process which will include a virtual first-stage interview and in-person second stage interview. We are happy to discuss this further with you throughout the recruitment process. 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. We celebrate creativity and diverse perspectives, so please be yourself! While we recognise AI tools can be helpful, we recommend using them thoughtfully to ensure your responses reflect you. Salary £29,000 plus 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 the successful candidate to work from our London-based office a minimum of three days per week (including Tuesdays) and offer the other two days to be worked remotely. Benefits Income Protection Health assessment Gym flex Life event leave Dental insurance Cycle scheme Please note that we do not accept any CVs via agencies, and any sent speculatively will not be eligible for a fee.