Communications Assistant, Publicity - Penguin General
At a glance
Junior Communications role at Bertelsmann. London.
Bertelsmann states pay in the role description below.
growthroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Keep publicity operations moving by arranging meetings, writing up minutes, handling invoices and expenses, and sending books
- Prepare press releases for distribution and stay in touch with journalists and authors as a contact for the team
- Help publicists run book launches by coordinating schedules, travel and accommodation for authors
- Go with authors to interviews, events and festivals, including some evening or weekend work
What you bring
- You bring strong organisation, careful attention to detail and the ability to manage competing priorities
- You communicate clearly in writing and conversation with a wide range of people, including by email and phone
- You can take initiative, work independently and contribute reliably as part of a team
Who this fits
This junior assistant role suits someone who is organised, adaptable and comfortable switching between administrative tasks and author-facing support. Expect to work from the London office three days a week, with two remote days, and to attend some events outside regular hours. The hiring process includes a virtual first interview and an in-person second interview.
From the employer
Job Description
Communications Assistant – Publicity (Penguin General)
Do you enjoy talking about the best new books with everyone you know? Are you organised, proactive and thrive in busy, fast paced environments? This could be the role for you. We are looking for a Communications Assistant to join our Publicity Team at Penguin General.
Penguin General is one of the eight publishing divisions that make up Penguin Random House UK. There are five adult imprints at Penguin General: Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Life, Viking and Sandycove. The latter is based in Dublin. Penguin General publish some of the very best storytellers and thinkers in the world, spanning literary fiction classics such as John le Carré and Bernardine Evaristo; non-fiction bestsellers including Ben Macintyre, Arundhati Roy and Michelle Obama; and chart-topping fiction writers such as Richard Osman, Emily Henry and Dolly Alderton.
The role
Key responsibilities:
To provide general administrative support to the Publicity team to facilitate the smooth running of the department. Organising meetings and taking minutes, producing and sending out press releases, coding invoices and processing expenses, sending out books
Acting as a point of contact for the press, and regularly communicating with journalists and authors
To provide support to publicists with their book launches - accompanying authors to interviews and events, organising schedules, travel and accommodation
This role may involve out of hours work on weekends and evenings in order to attend events and festivals.
What you’ll bring
Essential criteria:
Strong personal organisation and time management skills with excellent attention to detail
Proactive and reactive - ability to multitask and handle competing priorities
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively to a wide range of people on email, phone and in person
Solutions focused
Flexibility and helpfulness
Taking initiative
A strong team player
The ability to work on your own – and to push yourself
A positive mindset
The ability to think creatively
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 29th October 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 three days per week and offer the other two days to be worked remotely.
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 here.
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 here.
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