Job Description

Design Studio Admin Assistant (6 month FTC)

Application Deadline: 6 November 2026

Department: Design

Employment Type: Fixed Term Contract

Location: London

Compensation: £29,500 - £30,000 / year

Description

Please note this vacancy will close once 200 applications have been received. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

This is the perfect role for someone who loves books, possesses exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail, and wants to understand the inner workings of a major publisher. The role will provide administrative support across the Design team, alongside dedicated operational support for our subscription business The Locked Library for two days per week.

Key Responsibilities

Administrative & Financial Operations

• Freelance & Vendor Management: Act as the primary point of contact for freelance designers, illustrators, and picture researchers. Manage the onboarding process for new vendors, as well as payment and contract queries.
• Tracking, updating and maintaining all image use records.
• Contract Administration: Coordinate and track design contracts, illustration agreements, and copyright permissions

Workflow & Asset Management

• Digital Asset Archiving: Maintain and organize the department’s digital asset management (DAM) system. Ensure final print-ready files, high-res jacket images, and layered artwork are properly archived and easily searchable.
• Metadata & Systems Maintenance: Update internal publishing databases with cover images, design metadata, and status updates for sales and marketing visibility.
• Sales & Marketing Support: Prepare and distribute low-res and high-res cover files for seasonal sales catalogs, presentations, and digital marketing needs.

Locked Library & Subscription Operations

• Support the Locked Library design critical path, including issuing illustrator templates, coordinating feedback, sending finished copies to illustrators, and chasing key deadlines.
• Support day-to-day subscription administration, including skip/cancellation monitoring.
• Track website and operational issues, raising tickets and liaising with Technology and third party vendors as required.
• Maintain product pages, FAQs, shipping information, and other informational website content.
• Support customer service operations by tracking customer issues and recurring queries, coordinating damages and replacement copies, and helping with operational customer communications.
• Attend relevant Locked Library Sales & Operations meetings, taking minutes and tracking actions.

Communication & Coordination

• Meeting Coordination: Schedule and manage logistics for weekly cover design meetings and briefing sessions.
• Schedule Tracking: Monitor critical path deadlines for jacket and interior designs, gently nudging to keep book production schedules on track.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• Experience: Administrative, operations, or project coordination experience, ideally within publishing, media, or a creative agency, but not necessary.
• Organization: Proven ability to multitask, prioritize a heavy workload, and maintain meticulous attention to detail under tight deadlines.
• Communication Skills: Strong verbal and written communication skills. You must be comfortable liaising with both internal teams and external suppliers.
• Comfortable learning new systems and analysing data.
• A genuine interest in trade publishing, book cover design, and the commercial book market is desirable.

Additional Information

HarperCollins operates a hybrid working policy where employees are expected to work from our London office three days per week.

Please note, for this position we are unable to offer visa sponsorship.

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position, please contact recruitment@harpercollins.co.uk with the subject line 'Vacancy Query' followed by the job title. We aim to respond within 5 working days.